Hard to say. She seems like a very good choice at face value.
I would agree. At the end of the day though she can't make big changes unilaterally. To sign a tv contract, add schools, things like that.. she would need approval from the school presidents; and they're the ones who I don't have much confidence in.
School Presidents at these schools are some very smart and dynamic people. I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss them. They kept this one close to the vest, and I'm sure there was a reason for doing so. The fact that they kept the info from their own AD's and coaches tells me they likely didn't want info leaking about candidates from Athletic Departments. Maybe they had a reason to do so like keep the info from the ACC and others who have been a thorn in our side and looking to submarine us all the time? Don't know?
Ackerman seems to be very intelligent, and not nearly the puppet that Bladshun was suggesting the league was looking for. This is somebody who seems pretty analytical about both basketball and marketing and I'm sure it weighed heavily on the choice, as we need to out fannies in the seats to keep our tourney at MSG.
I like the hire a lot. Seems like a person who is well respected and has a strong skill set, spanning from basketball, to her law background, to her experience as lead administrator for WNBA as well as USA basketball. Glad we have somebody on board.