Rocco Commisso

Born in Marina di Gioiosa Ionica, Calabria, Italy, Commisso migrated to the United States at age 12. Commisso attended Mount Saint Michael Academy high school in the Bronx and attended Columbia University on a full undergraduate scholarship where he earned a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering in 1971 from its School of Engineering and Applied Science. He earned an MBA in 1975 from Columbia Business School. He was co-captain of Columbia's varsity soccer team; elected president of the business school student body; and received the business school service award.

Columbia University Lions

Commisso played soccer for the Columbia University Lions in the 1967–1970 period. He was a three-time All-Ivy League honoree. 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. Throughout his college soccer career, Commisso was cited numerous times for his skill and leadership culminating in an invitation to try out for the US team for the 1972 Summer Olympics.

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. On October 12, 2013, Columbia University named its soccer venue at the school's Baker Athletics Complex as the Rocco B. Commisso Soccer Stadium. In 2015, he was named a NYC Soccer Gala honoree. Commisso was inducted into the 2016 Columbia University Athletics Hall of Fame special category.

Commisso began his business career at Pfizer. After returning to Columbia and graduating from business school, he spent ten years in the financial industry, initially at Chase Manhattan Bank (now J.P. Morgan Chase). In 1978, he began working with cable companies and other entertainment enterprises as a part of Chase's corporate financing department. He later worked at Royal Bank of Canada, where he led the bank's U.S. lending activities to the media and communications sectors. From 1986 to 1995, he was executive vice president, chief financial officer, and director of Cablevision Industries Corporation. During this time, Cablevision Industries grew from the 25th to the 8th largest cable company in the United States, with around 1.3 million customers at the time of its merger with Time Warner.

Commisso was the chairman and CEO of Mediacom Communications Corporation from the time when he founded the company in 1995 out of his basement. Initially, Mediacom acquired cable systems in underserved smaller American communities. Commisso took Mediacom public in 2000 after which time it grew to become the 8th largest cable operator in the United States with annual revenues of over $1.6 billion. In March 2011, the company then went private and wholly owned by Commisso. Since that time Mediacom was named the best cable company in the US in 2016, and in 2009 by CableFAX magazine. Commisso also served on the board of directors of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, C-SPAN, and Cable Television Laboratories, Inc. He was also a member of the Cable TV Pioneers.

Commisso was married to Catherine, they had two children, and lived in Saddle River, New Jersey. As of 2015, Catherine Commisso is head of corporate administration for Mediacom. Commisso died on January 16, 2026, at the age of 76, "after a prolonged period of medical treatment." Commisso's funeral was held on January 21 at St. Patrick's Cathedral on Fifth Avenue in New York City. Commisso was buried at Maryrest Cemetery & Mausoleum, Mahwah, New Jersey. A memorial mass for Commisso was celebrated in Florence, at the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore on January 26.