Big East Conference to Name New Commissioner

The Big East Conference is expected to name John Marinatto, the league's second-ranking official, to succeed Commissioner Michael Tranghese at season's end.

A conference call has been scheduled for 11 a.m. today "to make a significant announcement concerning the direction of the conference," league officials announced.

The decision, coming five months after Tranghese announced his plan to retire, suggests an effort by conference officials to orchestrate a smooth, orderly handoff of what is one of the more challenging and high-profile jobs in college sports.

The search was led by Georgetown President John J. DeGioia and Pittsburgh Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg.

Tranghese, who has held the office since 1990, supervised a period of dramatic growth and realignment for the 16-member league, the biggest in college sports.

Most significantly, he kept the conference from splintering after losing key members Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College to the ACC, replacing the defecting football powers with Cincinnati, Louisville and South Florida and bolstering its traditional basketball ranks with the additions of DePaul and Marquette.

Like Tranghese, Marinatto came to the Big East from Providence, where he served as athletic director for 15 years. He will become the third commissioner in the history of the league, which was formed in 1979 with Dave Gavitt at the helm.

-- Liz Clarke