Val Ackerman was hired Wednesday as the new commissioner of the NCAA Division I Big East Conference, ESPN reported.

Ackerman, 53, has been in negotiations with the revamped conference since last week, but the terms of the deal were not disclosed. She said she was "honored" to receive the offer and that it is an "incredible opportunity."

Ackerman was the founding president of the WNBA and was recently hired by the NCAA on a consulting basis to recommend improvements to women's basketball. On Monday, the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel decided to alter certain rules in men's and women's basketball in an effort to support offense in games.

"The Big East is incredibly fortunate to have Val Ackerman lead us into this exciting new chapter for our conference," Providence College president Rev. Brian J. Shanley said in a statement. "Val is exactly what the Big East needs: She embodies the highest personal and professional values of the sports industry, and is a hard-charging and innovative leader who can shepherd the conference to continued success."

Ackerman was also the first female to serve as president of the USA Olympic basketball team, doing so from 2005 to 2008. Both the men's and women's team took home the gold medal in the 2008 Beijing games.

"To continue and enhance the Big East's legacy of intense competition, spirited rivalries and unparalleled achievement," she said in a statement from FIBA meetings in Switzerland. "Not only in college basketball, but in all intercollegiate sports."

The new Big East will include Georgetown, Villanova, Seton Hall, Providence, St. John's, Marquette and DePaul along with Creighton (from the Missouri Valley conference), Butler and Xavier (from the A-10 conference).

The revamped conference will be located in New York City and will still hold its annual tournament at Madison Square Garden. Before becoming the WNBA's first president, she served as vice president of business affairs in the NBA and a special assistant to commissioner David Stern.

"I congratulate the Big East for making such an inspired choice in Val Ackerman," Stern said in a statement. "I had the pleasure of working alongside Val for many years, including the period in which she transformed the WNBA from a mere concept into a thriving basketball league."