In this episode, Linda Bruno shares her insights related to the contrasting worlds of NCAA DIvision I and Division III and her current challenges and opportunities running a Division III conference. She also talks about her development as a leader and lessons she has learned over her career.
Linda Bruno became commissioner of the Skyline Conference in January 2011.
Previously, Bruno served as commissioner of the Division I Atlantic 10 Conference for 14 years.
During her tenure, she strengthened the Atlantic 10’s membership with the additions of Charlotte, Dayton, Fordham, La Salle, Richmond, and Saint Louis; negotiated two television contracts with ESPN – the most lucrative and extensive packages in league history; was among the first to sign a contract with College Sports Television; added women’s rowing, men’s and women’s outdoor track & field, and women’s lacrosse to the conference’s championship slate; and created officiating bureaus for baseball, field hockey, men’s and women’s soccer and women’s volleyball to better serve those Atlantic 10 programs.
She also headed the Atlantic 10 as it evolved into one of the prominent basketball conferences in the country. Bruno also was responsible for securing the 2001 (regional) and 2006 (first and second rounds) NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournaments to Philadelphia, and the highly successful 2007 A-10 Men’s Basketball Championship at Boardwalk Hall marked the first of a two-year association with the Atlantic City (N.J.) Convention & Visitors Authority.
Prior to joining the Atlantic 10, Bruno served as associate commissioner to Dave Gavitt during that conference’s meteoric rise through the 1980s. Most recently, she has served as a consultant in intercollegiate athletics as well as an instructor at Drexel University in Philadelphia.
Bruno, who earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Iona College, was inducted into the school’s athletic Hall of Fame in 1998.
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