In anticipation for the Columbia University Athletics Hall of Fame this October, GoColumbiaLions.com is taking a look at the teams, student-athletes, coaches and staff members that are set to be inducted. Our next installment features the Columbia Soccer Stadium's namesake: Rocco B. Commisso.
Born in Calabria, Italy, former Columbia soccer standout Rocco Commisso '71SEAS has demonstrated a liftetime of commitment to Columbia Athletics and specifically to the institution's soccer program.
Despite not playing soccer in high school, Commisso earned a full four-year undergraduate scholarship to attend Columbia and was awarded three soccer letters. He started every game during his four-year career from 1967-70 (except for one due to injury) and earned a reputation as the “toughest” player in the Ivy League. A three-year All-Ivy League honoree both as a defensive and offensive player, Commisso guided the Lions to a four-year winning record. He served as Co-Captain of the 1970 team, the first-ever Columbia squad to advance to the NCAA Tournament, scoring 9 goals in 8 games as a center-forward, including Columbia's first two NCAA Tournament goals in school history. He was also a member of a freshman squad that finished with an undefeated record and was invited to try-out for the 1972 U.S. Olympic Team.
During his 49-year association with Columbia soccer, Commisso's support has helped the program achieve unprecedented accomplishments. In the mid-1970's, he co-founded Friends of Columbia Soccer and served as its chairman from 1978-86, during which time Columbia won eight straight Ivy Championships and became the only Ivy League school ever to compete in the NCAA Championship Final Game. In 2013, Columbia recognized his long-standing contributions to the university by naming its soccer venue at the school's Baker Athletics Complex as the Rocco B. Commisso Soccer Stadium. He also has provided significant financial commitments for the stadium and its bubble project in 2016.
As one of the most successful Italian immigrant entrepreneurs in our nation's history, Commisso's illustrious career in the cable television industry spans over 38 years. He is the Chairman and CEO of Mediacom Communications Corporation, a company he founded in 1995 to acquire and reinvigorate cable systems in the nation's underserved smaller communities. In 2000, he directed a successful initial public offering for Mediacom, paving the way for the company's dramatic growth into the nation's 5th largest cable television operator, with 4,600 employees serving over 1.3 million customers in 22 states. He took the company private in 2011, and now Mediacom, with annual revenues of $1.8 billion, is wholly-owned by Commisso and his family.
Commisso began his business career at Pfizer Inc.'s manufacturing facility in Brooklyn, NY. After graduating from business school in 1975, he spent a decade in the financial community, initially at Chase Manhattan Bank (now J.P. Morgan Chase) and then at Royal Bank of Canada, where he led the bank's U.S. lending activities to companies in the media and communications sectors. From 1986 to 1995, he served as EVP, CFO and Director of Cablevision Industries Corporation. During his tenure, the privately-held Cablevision Industries grew from the 25th to the 8th largest cable company in the nation, serving 1.3 million customers at the time of its merger with Time Warner.
Through the years, he has received a variety of prestigious professional awards for his accomplishments, generosity and leadership abilities. In 2004, on the 250th anniversary of Columbia's founding, the school's newspaper, the Daily Spectator, listed Commisso among Columbia's 250 greatest undergraduate alumni of all time.
He earned both a BS degree in Industrial Engineering and a MBA degree from the Graduate School of Business. At the Business School, he was elected president of the student body and was the recipient of the prestigious Business School Service Award.
