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He loves Italian football so much that he bought a team

FormerFall 2019

Rocco B. Commisso (left) recently bought the Italian soccer team ACF Fiorentina, pictured above, visiting Colombia. Photo: Columbia Athletics / Mike McLaughlin

Rocco B. Commisso ’71SEAS, ’75BUS , a lifelong fan of Italian football, is the new owner of the Florence-based ACF Fiorentina team. The founder, chairman and CEO of cable company Mediacom bought the club in June.

Commisso, a former Columbia men's soccer alumnus, grew up in Calabria, Italy and moved to New York when he was twelve. At Columbia, he received three All-Ivy awards and was the captain of the first team to make it to the NCAA tournament.

Columbia Athletics / Mike McLaughlin

Commisso has stayed close to his alma mater. From 1978 to 1986 he was chairman of Friends of Columbia Soccer, and in 2013 the home stadium was named after him inducted into the Columbia University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016.

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