Mike Tranghese, the Big East sports commissioner who has made several key plays to keep the national spotlight shining on the athletic conference that includes West Virginia University, is coming to the College of Law Friday, Sept. 15.

Tranghese will give a public talk at 11 a.m. in the Lugar Courtroom as a guest of the College of Laws Sports and Entertainment Law Society chapter.

His topic will be how NCAA rules impact intercollegiate athletics at the Division I level, and how the Big East can keep its momentum both as a football force and basketball powerhouse.

Hell also look at the politics and particulars of agent regulation and recruiting standards for student athletes.

Tranghese is expected to take questions after his remarks.

The Big East has changed radically in recent years, and Tranghese has captained the conference through shifting seas that included the high-profile departure of Virginia Tech, Miami and Boston College in football.

He also successfully brokered a recent, high-visibility deal for football and mens and womens basketball between the Big East and cable giant ESPN .

Commissioner Trangheses appearance means a genuine opportunity for our students to comprehend the dynamics that accompany a high-profile position in the sports world,said law professor andre cummings, who teaches courses in sports law while advising the society chapter.

Sports in todays world means business, cummings said. And that business is constantly changingand open to elements that could care less about the purity of competition on the playing field.

College athletes earn millions of dollars for their respective institutions,cummings said.The NCAA creates rules that govern those athletes while collecting and distributing those earnings. Without question, that environment is ripe for exciting growth, but at the same time for corruption.

Which puts Tranghese right in the trenches, the professor said.

With television money and endorsements, and underclassmen turning professional,cummings said,its important that the game does not become secondary.

Tranghese became Big East commissioner in 1990. One of the first things he did after taking the job was to establish the leagues football conference.

The Sports and Entertainment Law Society was created to help address the growing interest and demand for employment in the two industries. Its geared to law students and other students across the University.

Former Mountaineer football coach Don Nehlen has already spoken to the group and other activities are planned for the year, including community service and employment workshops.