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Big East commissioner Mike Aresco opens up about conference’s television negotiations

Mike Aresco Big East commissioner

For the Big East, the deal that emerges from negotiations over the next few months will be the foundation of long-term stability for a conference that has see its share of shake-ups.

New commissioner Mike Aresco, a former television executive, was installed to be the face of the negotiations, and the conference is looking forward to striking a deal.

The Big East is currently in an exclusive negotiating window with ESPN, who holds the conference’s rights, but Aresco says a deal is “not anywhere near done,” according to the Chicago Tribune. That window runs through October.

After that point, the conference would be able to open up negotiations with other networks, many of whom have expressed interest, including NBC.

“We need to do a good TV/media deal,” Aresco told the Tribune. “We need to do a deal that gives our schools the resources they need, that gives them the confidence financially, the stability they need. And also the exposure they need.

“We want to make sure most of our games are televised nationally or quasi-nationally on the best platforms available. We want to make sure we’re leaders in new media, that’s extremely important. We want to make sure we’re at the cutting edge and doing all the right things.”

At the time of Aresco’s hiring, the consensus was the he was a near-perfect fit for the job, with the conference needing a strong media deal and his experience in television contracts seeming to complement those needs.

To read the entire report, click here.

Daniel Martin is a writer and editor at JohnnyJungle.com, covering St. John’s. You can find him on Twitter:@DanielJMartin_