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Big East commissioner John Marinatto has resigned, leaving the league without a leader as the conference works to find its footing amid a radically shifting landscape.
The conference announced the move in a statement released Monday morning.
"Our recent expansion efforts have stabilized the conference for the long term, and we are likewise well positioned for our very important upcoming television negotiations," Marinatto said in the news release. "As a result, I felt this was the right time to step aside and to let someone else lead us through the next chapter of our evolution."
A source said Marinatto's exit had been building for weeks. The source said the basketball members in the Big East were upset that they had no say in the expansion process.
Marinatto also wanted to accept a TV deal a year ago but was shot down by a 12-4 vote with Georgetown leading the charge not to accept.
Joseph Bailey, a recruiting firm executive who has in the past held positions as CEO of the Miami Dolphins and administrative VP of the Dallas Cowboys, will assume the commissioner's post on an interim basis while a search is conducted, the conference said.
"Joe is a proven leader who will do a terrific job guiding the conference through this time of transition," said Judy Genshaft, South Florida president and chair of the Big East, in the statement. "His experience as a manager and his knowledge of the sports industry make Joe uniquely qualified."
Marinatto became Big East commissioner in July 2009, succeeding Mike Tranghese.
In that time, the league has lost three of its founding members -- Pitt, Syracuse and West Virginia -- and perhaps its spot as one of the top tier conferences in the country.
CBSSports.com has reported Marinatto was asked to resign Sunday night.
"I know I speak for the entire Conference when I express my sincere gratitude to John for his leadership and dedicated years of service," Genshaft said. "John helped build the Big East into what it is today, and played a critical role in our successful expansion efforts, and for all of that we thank him."
The Big East seemed to be in good shape just one year ago. The league added TCU, one of the top non-AQ programs in the country, and was looking to expand further.
But dominoes fell in other conferences, and Pitt and Syracuse decided to jump to the ACC in September, de-stabilizing the conference.
Other Big East schools then began to scramble in attempts to find other homes. After Missouri and Texas A&M decided to move to the SEC, the Big 12 turned to TCU -- which never played a down as a Big East member -- and West Virginia.
That led to dueling lawsuits between West Virginia and the Big East -- the Mountaineers sued to get out of the required 27-month waiting period before exiting. The Big East filed its own suit to keep West Virginia in the league.
A financial settlement was reached, and the Big East was left scrambling for an eighth member for 2012. Temple was added at the last minute. Meanwhile, Boise State and San Diego State had also been added as football-only members, along with SMU, Central Florida, Houston and Memphis for 2013. Navy is set to join in 2015.
In addition, Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich was a close confident of Marinatto and his pending departure has pushed the Cardinals to further consider the Big 12 if they can get an invitation from the current 10-team league, a source said.
And Connecticut is known to covet a move to the ACC.
Multiple industry sources said that one of the reasons the Mountain West Conference didn't expand beyond 10 football members with the addition of San Jose State and Boise State was in case they wanted to return.
Boise State is slated to put its other sports in the WAC in 2013. But with the WAC facing a decline in membership, the Broncos are looking at the Big West, where the Aztecs' non-football teams will play, mulitple sources have said.
Marinatto had come under increasing fire for not doing enough to keep the league from falling apart. While those additions have kept the league viable, without its flagship schools, the Big East has been left with a major perception problem.
With the BCS headed for major changes in the next postseason cycle, it remains unclear whether the Big East will be among the top conferences when it comes to revenue distribution from BCS money.
Automatic qualifying status is already gone, which many believe could have a major impact on the Big East and the addition of new members Boise State and San Diego State. The conference is also set to begin negotiating a new television deal in September.
While the Big East is in line for a significant bump in TV revenue, it remains unclear just how big the boost will be with the newest additions. Few people in the industry expect the Big East to garner what the ACC has gotten, for example. The Big East has its spring meetings set to begin May 21 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
The conference announced the move in a statement released Monday morning.
"Our recent expansion efforts have stabilized the conference for the long term, and we are likewise well positioned for our very important upcoming television negotiations," Marinatto said in the news release. "As a result, I felt this was the right time to step aside and to let someone else lead us through the next chapter of our evolution."
A source said Marinatto's exit had been building for weeks. The source said the basketball members in the Big East were upset that they had no say in the expansion process.
Marinatto also wanted to accept a TV deal a year ago but was shot down by a 12-4 vote with Georgetown leading the charge not to accept.
Joseph Bailey, a recruiting firm executive who has in the past held positions as CEO of the Miami Dolphins and administrative VP of the Dallas Cowboys, will assume the commissioner's post on an interim basis while a search is conducted, the conference said.
"Joe is a proven leader who will do a terrific job guiding the conference through this time of transition," said Judy Genshaft, South Florida president and chair of the Big East, in the statement. "His experience as a manager and his knowledge of the sports industry make Joe uniquely qualified."
Marinatto became Big East commissioner in July 2009, succeeding Mike Tranghese.
In that time, the league has lost three of its founding members -- Pitt, Syracuse and West Virginia -- and perhaps its spot as one of the top tier conferences in the country.
CBSSports.com has reported Marinatto was asked to resign Sunday night.
"I know I speak for the entire Conference when I express my sincere gratitude to John for his leadership and dedicated years of service," Genshaft said. "John helped build the Big East into what it is today, and played a critical role in our successful expansion efforts, and for all of that we thank him."
The Big East seemed to be in good shape just one year ago. The league added TCU, one of the top non-AQ programs in the country, and was looking to expand further.
But dominoes fell in other conferences, and Pitt and Syracuse decided to jump to the ACC in September, de-stabilizing the conference.
Other Big East schools then began to scramble in attempts to find other homes. After Missouri and Texas A&M decided to move to the SEC, the Big 12 turned to TCU -- which never played a down as a Big East member -- and West Virginia.
That led to dueling lawsuits between West Virginia and the Big East -- the Mountaineers sued to get out of the required 27-month waiting period before exiting. The Big East filed its own suit to keep West Virginia in the league.
A financial settlement was reached, and the Big East was left scrambling for an eighth member for 2012. Temple was added at the last minute. Meanwhile, Boise State and San Diego State had also been added as football-only members, along with SMU, Central Florida, Houston and Memphis for 2013. Navy is set to join in 2015.
In addition, Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich was a close confident of Marinatto and his pending departure has pushed the Cardinals to further consider the Big 12 if they can get an invitation from the current 10-team league, a source said.
And Connecticut is known to covet a move to the ACC.
Multiple industry sources said that one of the reasons the Mountain West Conference didn't expand beyond 10 football members with the addition of San Jose State and Boise State was in case they wanted to return.
Boise State is slated to put its other sports in the WAC in 2013. But with the WAC facing a decline in membership, the Broncos are looking at the Big West, where the Aztecs' non-football teams will play, mulitple sources have said.
Marinatto had come under increasing fire for not doing enough to keep the league from falling apart. While those additions have kept the league viable, without its flagship schools, the Big East has been left with a major perception problem.
With the BCS headed for major changes in the next postseason cycle, it remains unclear whether the Big East will be among the top conferences when it comes to revenue distribution from BCS money.
Automatic qualifying status is already gone, which many believe could have a major impact on the Big East and the addition of new members Boise State and San Diego State. The conference is also set to begin negotiating a new television deal in September.
While the Big East is in line for a significant bump in TV revenue, it remains unclear just how big the boost will be with the newest additions. Few people in the industry expect the Big East to garner what the ACC has gotten, for example. The Big East has its spring meetings set to begin May 21 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
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