Rocco B. Commisso

Overview

Rocco B. Commisso

birth name	Rocco Benito Commisso
birth date	November 25, 1949
birth place	Marina di Gioiosa Ionica, Italy
death date	January 16, 2026
death place	New York City, U.S.
resting place	Maryrest Cemetery & Mausoleum, Mahwah, New Jersey, U.S.
alma mater	Columbia University (BSc, MBA)
occupation	Businessman
citizenship	Italy · United States
boards	NCTA C-SPAN CableLabs
known for	Founder of Mediacom Owner of New York Cosmos Owner of Fiorentina
spouse	Catherine Commisso
children	2
awards	Ellis Island Medal of Honor

Rocco Benito Commisso[1][2] ([3] November 25, 1949 – January 16, 2026) was an Italian and American billionaire businessman, and the founder, chairman, and chief executive officer (CEO) of Mediacom, the fifth largest cable television company in the United States. As of 2011, the company was privately owned by Commisso. He previously worked for companies including Cablevision, the Royal Bank of Canada, and Chase Manhattan Bank. From 2017, Commisso was the owner and chairman of the New York Cosmos, and from June 2019, the owner of the Italian football club Fiorentina.

Early life and education

Born in Marina di Gioiosa Ionica, Calabria, Italy, Commisso migrated to the United States at age 12.

Soccer

Columbia University Lions

Commisso played soccer for the Columbia University Lions in the 1967–1970 period. He was a three-time All-Ivy League Honouree.[18] In 1967, Commisso was a member of a freshman squad that finished with an undefeated record of 8–0. Commisso served as co-captain of the 1970 team that went 9-4-0 and made Columbia's first ever appearance in the NCAA men's soccer tournament.[19] Throughout his college soccer career, Commisso was cited numerous times for his skill and leadership[20][21][22][23][24] culminating in an invitation to try out for the US team for the 1972 Summer Olympics.[25]

From his time as a student, Commisso was a contributor to Columbia men's soccer program. From 1978 to 1986, he was Chairman of Friends of Columbia Soccer. Presently, Columbia awards an Annual Men's Soccer Prize in his name.[26] On October 12, 2013, Columbia University named its soccer venue at the school's Baker Athletics Complex as the Rocco B. Commisso Soccer Stadium.[27] In 2015, he was named a NYC Soccer Gala Honouree.[28] Commisso was inducted into the 2016 Columbia University Athletics Hall of Fame Special Category.[29]

New York Cosmos

In January 2017, Commisso purchased a majority ownership stake in the New York Cosmos soccer club and became the club's new chairman.[7] As the owner, he moved the team's games to MCU Park in Coney Island.[30] At the time, both the team and its league (the North American Soccer League) were struggling financially, and the move was seen as a sign of support for both.[31] At the time, several of the other bids for the team were to shut down the franchise in order to prevent it from remaining a competitive threat in the league.[32]

The North American Soccer League (NASL) filed an antitrust lawsuit against the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) and Major League Soccer (MLS) in 2017 after the USSF declined to renew the NASL’s Division II sanctioning status. The league alleged that the USSF, in coordination with MLS, had imposed and enforced sanctioning standards designed to favor MLS and limit competition from rival leagues. NASL owners, including Commisso, argued that the federation’s relationship with MLS helped maintain a closed-league structure without promotion and relegation, which they claimed restricted the ability of competing leagues to operate at the highest levels of professional soccer in the United States.

Fiorentina

On June 6, 2019, the purchase of Fiorentina by Commisso was formalized giving him recognition for field development.[35] The purchase was finalized on June 24, 2019.[36] It is believed that Commisso bought Fiorentina for somewhere between $150–200 million. Commisso was planning to grow Fiorentina's brand in the US market. The club's first venture was to see it play in the preseason tournament, the International Champions Cup 2019.[37] In the spring of 2020, Commisso led a GoFundMe campaign, Forza e Cuore, to raise over $1 million (€872,000) for hospitals in Florence during the coronavirus pandemic.[38] In the fall of 2023, Commisso commissioned Viola Park, a state-of-the-art sports training center hosting the Fiorentina men's, women's, and youth teams, opened in Bagno a Ripoli in the outskirts of Florence. This new facility was designed by architect Marco Casamonti, and spans over 31 ha.[39]

Rocco B. Commisso

Early life and education

Career

Soccer

Columbia University Lions

New York Cosmos

Fiorentina

Recognition

Personal life and death

External links

References