NEW YORK — As the Big East prepares to negotiate a television contract that could make or break the conference, it has chosen a man who has been part of some of the biggest media rights deals in college sports to be its new commissioner.

The Big East on Tuesday hired CBS executive vice president Mike Aresco as it continues to rebuild from a tumultuous year of defections.

“I’m not daunted by it all. I embrace the challenge,” Aresco told the AP in a telephone interview. “I would not be on the sidelines. I believe the reconstituted conference really has vast potential.”

Aresco has been a vice president in charge of programming for CBS since 1996. He’s handled the network’s contract negotiations with the NCAA for the rights to the men’s basketball tournament, and negotiated CBS’s 15-year deal with the Southeastern Conference.

A Connecticut native who resides in Southport, Conn., Aresco worked for ESPN for 12 years before his long run at CBS. He has never worked for a conference or university, but his experience lies in the field where the Big East needs the most help.

“He has all of the characteristics that we need in a commissioner,” University of South Florida President Judy Genshaft said in a statement. “His career has been filled with achievement and success in intercollegiate sports. Mike Aresco knows the Big East and he has a great vision for our future.”

The conference is in the middle of a massive membership overhaul and will begin crucial negotiations on a new television contract in September.

“It would be hard to overstate it,” Aresco said of the importance of the next TV contract. “I consider it job one. All eyes are going to be on it. I’m not making any predictions, but I’m very confident our value is going to be recognized and maximized.”

The departures of longtime members West Virginia, Pittsburgh and Syracuse cost former Commissioner John Marinatto his job earlier this year.

Joe Bailey has been interim commissioner since May.

Before Marinatto was forced out, he helped the conference add eight schools, six that are slated to join next year, but the long-term viability of the far-flung league is still in doubt.

“We did discuss it. There is some risk,” CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus said in a telephone interview. “Obviously the conference is serious about being aggressive and protecting its brand, protecting its makeup and protecting its participants.”