NEW YORK (AP) — Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman will retire at the end of August, the conference announced Monday.
Ackerman, 66, has served in that role since 2013, presiding over the rebirth of the conference following the decision a year earlier for the Big East to split. Ackerman led the negotiations that resulted in the return of UConn in 2020 from the American Athletic Conference.
“It’s been an extraordinary honor for me to serve as the Commissioner of one of the most prestigious and storied organizations in college sports,” Ackerman said in a statement. “I want to thank our Presidents for entrusting me with this one-of-a-kind leadership opportunity and for supporting the investments needed to maintain the Big East's stature and meet our schools’ high competitive and academic standards."
Big East men's basketball teams won four national championships during her tenure, with two by Villanova and two by UConn — more than any other Division I conference in that span. The UConn women's team won its 12th national title in 2025.
“Speaking on behalf of all the BIG EAST Presidents, we announce Commissioner Val Ackerman’s retirement with a tinge of sadness and deep gratitude,” said St. John’s president, the Rev. Brian J. Shanley, who is the chair of the conference's Board of Directors. “When we re-founded the BIG EAST in 2013 as a basketball-centric conference, our first task was to find a commissioner who could provide the strategic vision needed to position us as a basketball peer with the power football conferences and compete with the country’s best. We found that visionary leader in Val Ackerman."
She presided in the relocation of the conference headquarters to New York in 2014, and the Big East moved to the famed Empire State Building last year. Ackerman also ensured that the Big East men's basketball tournament will remain at Madison Square Garden until 2032, which would be the 50th anniversary of the event there. The women's tournament is set to be held at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut until 2029.
Before coming to the Big East, Ackerman was the first president of the WNBA when it was launched in 1997 and was in charge of the league for eight years. She also held positions including president at USA Basketball.
Ackerman played at Virginia and was a four-year starter, becoming the first 1,000-point scorer in program history.
AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball
FILE - From left, basketball commentator Bill Raftery, Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman, and basketball commentator Gus Johnson hold jerseys at a news conference during the Big East Conference NCAA college basketball media day in New York, Oct. 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle, File)
FILE - From left, University of Connecticut men's basketball coach Dan Hurley, University President Susan Herbst, Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman, women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma and Director of Athletics David Benedict, pose for photos during the announcement that the University of Connecticut is re-joining the Big East Conference, at New York's Madison Square Garden, June 27, 2019. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
FILE - Class of 2021 inductee Val Ackerman speaks at a news conference for the Basketball Hall of Fame, Sept. 10, 2021, at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill, File)
LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer acknowledged Monday that he made the wrong judgment when he picked Jeffrey Epstein ’s friend Peter Mandelson as U.K. ambassador to Washington, but said he would have withdrawn the appointment if he'd known Mandelson had failed security checks.
Starmer brushed aside a barrage of opposition calls to resign as he tried to explain why Mandelson was given the U.K.'s most important diplomatic post. Starmer placed blame squarely on Foreign Office officials who he said failed to tell him about the security concerns and approved Mandelson's appointment despite them.
He said the facts about Mandelson's vetting "could and should have been shared with me before he took up his post.” Starmer told lawmakers in the House of Commons that “I would not have gone ahead with the appointment” had he known the truth.
He fired Mandelson in September, nine months into the job, when new details emerged about his friendship with Epstein, a convicted sex offender who died in prison in 2019.
Starmer called it “frankly staggering" that officials didn't tell him about the failed vetting. His explanation was greeted with jeers from opposition lawmakers, incredulous that the nation's leader hadn't known such a crucial piece of information.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said Starmer's lack of curiosity was hard to believe.
“It doesn’t appear that he asked any questions at all. Why? Because he didn’t want to know," she said.
Starmer was attempting to set the record straight after repeatedly telling lawmakers that “due process” was followed when Mandelson was appointed.
Though he apologized for his error of judgment, he denied misleading Parliament, which is usually considered a resigning offense.
Starmer fired the top Foreign Office civil servant, Olly Robbins, within hours of the revelation by The Guardian last week. But allies of Robbins say he never would have been able to share sensitive vetting information with the prime minister.
Robbins is expected to give his own version of events to the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday.
Badenoch noted that Robbins is the latest high-profile government departure linked to Mandelson. She said that instead of taking responsibility for his mistakes, Starmer "has thrown his staff and his officials under the bus.”
Ed Davey, leader of the centrist Liberal Democrats, said Starmer "gives every impression of a prime minister in office but not in power.
“The prime minister knew that appointing Mandelson was an enormous risk. He decided that it was a risk worth taking, a catastrophic error of judgment. And now that it’s blown up in his face, the only decent thing to do is to take responsibility."
Senior government colleagues have defended the prime minister. Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy said that if Starmer had known about the failed security vetting, “he would never, ever have appointed him ambassador.”
But lawmakers in Starmer’s center-left Labour Party, already anxious about its dire poll ratings, are restive. Starmer already defused one potential crisis in February, when some Labour lawmakers urged him to resign over the Mandelson appointment.
He could face a new challenge if, as expected, Labour takes a hammering in local and regional elections on May 7, which give voters a chance to pass a midterm verdict on the government.
Critics say the Mandelson appointment is more evidence of bad judgment by a prime minister who has made repeated missteps since he led Labour to a landslide election victory in July 2024.
Starmer has struggled to deliver promised economic growth, repair tattered public services and ease the cost of living, and has been forced into repeated policy U-turns.
He picked Mandelson as ambassador despite being warned by his staff that Mandelson’s friendship with Epstein exposed the government to “reputational risk.”
Mandelson’s business links to Russia and China also set off alarm bells. But his expertise as a former European Union trade chief and contacts among global elites were considered assets in dealing with President Donald Trump’s administration.
A trove of Epstein-related documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice in January included emails suggesting Mandelson had passed on sensitive, and potentially market-moving, government information to Epstein in 2009, after the global financial crisis.
British police launched a criminal probe and arrested Mandelson in February on suspicion of misconduct in public office. Mandelson has previously denied wrongdoing and hasn’t been charged. He does not face allegations of sexual misconduct.
Starmer said he had ordered a review into any security concerns arising from Mandelson’s access to sensitive information while ambassador.
Many questions remain unanswered, including why Mandelson failed the vetting and whether officials felt political pressure to approve the appointment.
Several lawmakers asked why Starmer chose Mandelson for the job despite red flags.
“I’m interested in his judgment,” said Scottish National Party lawmaker Stephen Flynn. "Does he believe himself to be gullible, incompetent or both?”
Peter Mandelson is seen outside his home in London, Monday, April 20, 2026 as Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing a showdown in Parliament over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington.(AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer leaves 10 Downing Street in London, Monday, April 20, 2026 to face a showdown in Parliament over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington.(AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer leaves 10 Downing Street in London, Monday, April 20, 2026 to face a showdown in Parliament over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington.(AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer leaves 10 Downing Street in London, Monday, April 20, 2026 to face a showdown in Parliament over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington.(AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Peter Mandelson is seen with his dog outside his home in London, Monday, April 20, 2026 as Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing a showdown in Parliament over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington.(AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks as Starmer hosts social media industry leaders to discuss child safety online Thursday, April 16, 2026, in London. (Leon Neal/Pool Photo via AP)
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer co-hosts a multinational virtual summit with French President Emmanuel Macron, not pictured, at the Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris, Friday April 17, 2026 (Tom Nicholson/Pool Photo via AP)
FILE - Peter Mandelson, the former U.K. ambassador to the United States, leaves his house in London, March 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
