Culture Sports Tufts

Tufts ’72 Grad Named BIG EAST Commissioner

Mike Aresco ’72 (Fletcher ’73) becomes the BIG EAST conference commissioner next month. He  is currently serving as an Executive Vice President at CBS sports where his contributions to the station’s college programming are immense.

“He is responsible for managing the division’s college sports properties, including contract negotiations and future acquisitions for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship, regular-season college basketball and football bowl games.  He also has been responsible for administering the network’s various NCAA properties,” says a release by Tufts Athletics.

Aresco is also quoted praising the “superb education” he received during his time as a Jumbo and touts “friendships  and interaction with so many highly intelligent and interesting fellow students.”

In a 2003 interview with Tufts Magazine, Aresco–who spent time at a young ESPN in the early 8o’s–gives advice to Jumbos looking to go into sports media. He also waxes nostalgic about his favorite Tufts professors, and, of course, the Ellis Oval.

“College sports, especially big-time college sports, have always been part of the fabric of this country. They are part of the culture. When they are done right, they are a terrific vehicle for bringing people together,” Aresco says.

The BIG EAST Conference includes University of Cincinnati,  UConn, DePaul, Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, PC, Rutgers, Seton Hall, St. John’s, Syracuse, Temple, USF, and Villanova.

BIG EAST is not an acronym.