WASHINGTON – Atlantic 10 Conference Commissioner Bernadette V. McGlade announced Wednesday the hiring of Ed Pasque, Deputy Commissioner. Pasque, who is the current Commissioner of the Sunshine State Conference, previously worked for the Atlantic 10 from 2008 to 2014 as Senior Associate Commissioner.
As Deputy Commissioner, Pasque will serve as in-house legal counsel, while also developing and coordinating conference strategic initiatives with the Commissioner and senior staff. Research and planning in the new model of intercollegiate athletics will be under Pasque’s purview as guidelines surrounding Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) and future permissive opportunities to provide enhanced benefits to student-athletes will increase. Pasque will also oversee all aspects of A-10 men’s basketball, including regular season scheduling and operations, championship enhancement, officiating, strategic planning, brand enhancement, marketing and championship ticket sales strategies. He will also serve as the liaison with the league’s television partners, CBS Sports, ESPN and NBC Sports, as the league begins new five-year partnerships with all three companies. A-10 brand enhancement, distribution, quality control, and annual game selections will be managed by Pasque.
“Ed is a seasoned administrator in intercollege athletics, having distinguished himself as an exceptional leader the past 10 years serving as Commissioner of the Sunshine State Conference,” stated McGlade. “He has been a trusted colleague who has an innate ability to see the big picture, anticipate change and connect with external constituents, administrators, coaches and student-athletes. I am excited to welcome Ed back to the A-10 team, as he will have an immediate positive impact.”
Pasque’s decade leading the Sunshine State Conference saw the league expand conference membership by 22 percent and sport sponsorship by 24 percent. He increased corporate sponsorship by 120 percent over the previous 10 years and he launched the Sunshine State Digital Network in 2017. The league finished No. 1 or No. 2 in NCAA graduate rates each year under his leadership and SSC schools claimed 40 national championships.
“I’m excited to return to the Atlantic 10 and work with Commissioner McGlade again,” said Pasque. “Her leadership made an impact in my career, and I look forward to serving the membership of a league that has been at the forefront of college basketball for almost 50 years.”
During his first tenure with the A-10, Pasque oversaw men’s basketball, served as in-house legal counsel, was involved in the negotiations and decision to move the men’s basketball championship to Barclays Center and participated in the first renegotiation of the A-10 media rights deal in 2012. Prior to his time at the A-10, Pasque worked at Northern Illinois and Campbell as an athletic administrator, and also had two stints as an assistant men’s basketball coach. He was a practicing attorney at Foley & Lardner, LLP before transitioning into intercollegiate athletics. Pasque served in the United States Navy for four years after his graduation from Eckerd College, where he was a basketball student-athlete. He also is a UC Berkeley School of Law graduate, and spent the last three years on the Board of Directors for WeCoach.