Projo Sports Blog

By KEVIN McNAMARA

Mike Tranghese, the long-time commissioner of the Big East and the conference's very first employee nearly 30 years ago, has decided to step down after next year. Tranghese will leave the conference in June, 2009, he said today.
"It's been 30 years and 19 years as commissioner. It's time for someone else," said Tranghese, a Bristol resident.
Tranghese, 64, has always harbored a distinct fear of flying that he says is getting worse with both time and the lack of larger aircraft in the industry.
"I have an incredible fear of flying that's only gotten worse. I really detest it," he said. "In order to do this job right, you have to go out and see all of our people."
Tranghese said he felt the time was right to leave next June because the Big East is on such strong ground. The conference expanded to 16 schools three years ago and the move has made the basketball conference the deepest and strongest it's ever been. On the football side, recent improvements at Rutgers, Connecticut and South Florida have solidified a group that was severely harmed by the exit of Boston College, Miami and Virginia Tech four years ago to the ACC.
"I wanted to leave at a time when I thought things were in place and our presidents can go out and hire someone who can be successful," he said. "If I thought we were in trouble in any way, I would not leave right now."
Tranghese left his publicist job at Providence College in 1979 to become the Big East's first employee as Dave Gavitt's right-hand man. The two went on to spear-head the formation of the conference and have always run it from their downtown Providence offices. When Gavitt left the commissioner's post to run the Boston Celtics, Tranghese was the easy choice to succeed him.
Who will be the next Big East commish? "Bill Flynn, the great former Boston College athletic director, once said `it's up to you to decide when to leave and it's up to them to decide who to replace you.' I don't think I should decide who succeeds me."
Former PC athletic director John Marinatto is currently the Big East's senior associate commissioner. Dan Gavitt, the son of Dave Gavitt, is the associate commissioner in charge of basketball and is well thought of. So is Nick Carparelli, the associate commissioner in charge of football.
A group of league presidents is likely to meet and decide on how they wish to go about naming a successor.

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