Val Ackerman emerges as leader for Big East Commissioner

Andy Katz of ESPN is reporting that Val Ackerman is "emerging as the front runner" as the Commissioner of the new Big East.

The newly formed league consisting of Villanova, Georgetown, Marquette, St. John's, Butler, Xavier, Creighton, Providence, DePaul, and Seton Hall is chartered to start on July 1st with autumn athletics beginning in August.

Ackerman, 53, was the first chief of the WNBA and is currently working as a consultant for the NCAA trying to grow the sport of Women's Basketball. Additionally, she was to focus on revenue generation, marketing and television strategies, Image and branding, Youth/grass-roots tie-ins, Cost structures, Scheduling, Governance/management, and Championships.

She submitted that report to the NCAA earlier in the week.