John Marinatto (November 7, 1957 – June 12, 2021) was an American collegiate sports commissioner. He served as senior associate commissioner of the

Big East Conference The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and ...

from 2002 until he began his tenure as third commissioner of the conference on July 1, 2009. He resigned from his position as commissioner on May 7, 2012.

Biography

Marinatto was a native of

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...

, and graduated from Providence College in 1979 with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in business management. He later worked at Providence as an Associate Director of Alumni/Development and as Director of Sports Information. Marinatto was later the athletic director at Providence for 14 years. He directed all aspects of the

Providence Friars The Providence Friars are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Providence College, located in Providence, Rhode Island. They compete in the Big East Conference (NCAA Division I) for every sport except for ice hockey, where they compe ...

athletic program, including a $10 million annual budget and a staff of over 100 employees. While at Providence, Marinatto served as the Chairman of the Big East Athletic Directors' Executive Committee from 1996 to 2000, the longest tenure of any athletic director in the history of the conference. He also served the conference as the Chairman of the Athletic Directors' Finance Committee from 1992 to 1993. In addition, Marinatto served as Chairman of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Women's Basketball Committee and Television Committee, and was a member of the Men's Basketball Committee, Academic Affairs Committee and Championships and Competition Committee. As senior associate commissioner, Marinatto served as the Big East's Chief Operating Officer and was responsible for the daily administration of the conference office. He oversaw all administrative operations, including

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

governance, finance, compliance, communications, television and championships. Marinatto was the daily contact with the league's athletic directors regarding governance and operational matters. He was a member of the NCAA Management Council and NCAA Business and Finance Cabinet and served as the Conference's representative to the NCAA Leadership Council. He served as the Chief Financial and Business Officer of the Bowl Championship Series from 2002 to 2004.

Death

He died on June 12, 2021, at the age of 63. He had been living in his native Providence at the time of his death.

References

External links

Big East Conference
1957 births 2021 deaths Big East Conference commissioners Providence College alumni Sportspeople from Providence, Rhode Island {{US-sport-bio-stub