Big East commish steps down/forced out/resigns/shamed publicly

In news that's not so surprising as it sounds, the commissioner of the Big East, John Marinatto, has resigned his position reportedly at the urging of a number of college presidents. His tenure (since 2009) is the shortest of any commish in conference history (to be fair there have only been two others).

Opinions on John Marinatto are not hard to come by. Many regard him as ineffectual, if not a buffoon, who dithered as the Big East conference was ravaged. Others defend him as one who tried to make the best of a realignment situation out of his control considering the Big East's position on the college football totem pole.

If I was forced to pick one camp, I suppose I'd put myself in the latter category, since I think realignment was unprecedented and largely out of his hands. One of my least favorite things was reading the snark whenever the conference added a new member, as if Marinatto was Neville Chamberlain because he couldn't woo Ohio State and Alabama to the Big East.

Still, bungling the TV contract negotiations last go around will likely go down as Marinatto's biggest failure that put the conference on its downward trajectory, and since it's that time again to enter into future contract talks, apparently many wanted a new sheriff in town when they sit down at the table.

Rick Pitino and Tom Jurich have been huge public supporters of Marinatto and have always defended his leadership. In a statement today, Jurich credited him for largely facilitating UofL's move to the Big East in the first place.

So it's unclear what this means for Louisville, though it's fair to assume the next commish will have a tough task meeting the Cardinal contingency and selling them on a future that doesn't include the Big 12.

As always with this neverending story, stay tuned.