PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Big East Commissioner John Marinatto stepped down from his post Monday, a day after he was asked to resign by the league's presidents, CBS Sports reported, citing industry sources.
His departure, after less than three years in the job, comes a week ahead of the league's spring meetings in Ponte Vedra, Fla., and amid negotiations over the Big East's revenue in the new playoff format being planned for 2014.
The 54-year-old's term oversaw a series of high-profile defections amid conference realignment, with West Virginia departing for the Big 12 and Pittsburgh and Syracuse bound for the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
TCU also scrapped its plan to move to the Big East, opting for the Big 12 instead.
Marinatto, a native of Providence, R.I., negotiated the arrival of eight new members over the next three years.
Temple was added to the Big East's 2012 lineup of football schools under his watch, with the Philadelphia school set to make an all-sports switch to the conference in 2013, alongside Houston, Central Florida, SMU and Memphis.
Boise State and San Diego State committed for football only in 2013, while Navy will join for football only in 2015.
Marinatto, who joined the Big East in 2002, became the third man to hold the role after succeeding longtime commissioner Mike Tranghese in July 2009.
But his time in charge was far less than that of his two predecessors.
Tranghese led the conference for 19 years after succeeding inaugural commissioner Dave Gavitt in 1990.
Gavitt enjoyed an 11-year reign that began with the Big East's creation in 1979.
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