Achievement Award from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Since 2009, she has been a member of the adjunct faculty for Columbia University's Master of Science in Sports Management Program, where she has taught Leadership and Personnel Management with Neal Pilson, former President of CBS Sports. In 2010, she was named an inductee of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame's Class of 2011. In 2011, she was named a Champion in Sports Business by Sports Business Journal. The Women's Sports Foundation named Ackerman one of its "40 for 40" honorees as part of its celebration of the 40th anniversary of Title IX in 2012. On June 26, 2013, she was named as the commissioner of the Big East Conference, which split from the American Athletic Conference that year. Also in 2013, Ackerman received USA Basketball's Edward S. Steitz Award. She has also been a contributing columnist for ESPNW.com. Awards and honors Ackerman's other honors have included the Brandweek'' Co-Marketer of the Year Award in 1997, which she shared with Rick Welts, then President of NBA Properties; the New Jersey Sportswriters Association Executive of the Year Award in 1998; the March of Dimes Sports Achievement Award in 1997; induction into the GTE Academic All-America Hall of Fame in 1999; and the National Mother's Day Committee's Outstanding Mother Award in 2002. She was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011. Ackerman has also been inducted into the International Scholar-Athlete Hall of Fame; received the National Women of Distinction Award from Girl Scouts of the USA; and was granted a Women And Sport Achievement Diploma by the International Olympic Committee. Ackerman report In November 2012, Ackerman was hired by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to study the women's game and come up with recommendations for improvement. She conveyed preliminary conclusions in a presentation at a Women's Basketball Coaches Association convention, and followed up with a formal written report in June 2013. Some of the proposals including cutting the number of scholarships (to improve parity), changing the dates or locations of the NCAA Tournament, and possible rules changes such as reducing the shot clock. Personal life Ackerman lives in New York City with her husband, Charles Rappaport. They have two daughters, Emily and Sally. References 1959 births Living people Big East Conference commissioners New York (state) lawyers Hopewell Valley Central High School alumni People from Pennington, New Jersey Simpson