Tranghese to step down

Mike Tranghese, who presided over the Big East's expansion from a basketball conference to one of college football's top-tier leagues, is leaving as commissioner next year.

Under Tranghese, the Big East eventually expanded to 16 schools to become the largest Division I-A conference in the nation, a move that saved the league when it appeared football would break it apart.

The league added five schools in 2005 following the high-profile defections of Boston College, Miami and Virginia Tech -- all football powers -- to the Atlantic Coast Conference. Tranghese said the conference's ability to absorb those losses and remain intact was his proudest memory as commissioner.

"The vast majority of people wrote us off for dead," Tranghese said. "It was an interesting time, because I think you find out who your friends are."

Tranghese, who was commissioner during the league's inaugural football season in 1991, said he was pleased with the recent success of Big East schools on the gridiron. The conference now has an automatic BCS berth, and Tranghese said West Virginia's win over Georgia in the 2006 Sugar Bowl was a defining moment in his tenure

Before joining the Big East, Tranghese spent seven years as the sports information director at Providence. He succeeded Dave Gavitt as Big East commissioner in 1990. Both Gavitt and Tranghese made sure the conference had contracts with national networks such as CBS and ESPN, and Tranghese was the force behind the Big East Television Network, one of the most successful regional deals.