Ben Tario serves as Chief Operating & Business Officer of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Since joining the Conference in 2007, he has held a wide range of leadership positions spanning business, finance, technology, media partnerships, football operations and legal affairs.
As a member of the ACC’s executive leadership team, Tario helps shape the Conference’s long-term strategy and oversees its business and financial operations, including budget strategy, revenue distribution, media partnerships and long-term financial planning. His responsibilities also include human resources, information technology, office operations and shared leadership of sport administration. He serves as a primary liaison to ACC athletic directors, the Conference’s Board of Directors and its Finance and Audit & Risk Management Committees, as well as key external partners such as ESPN.
Prior to joining the ACC, Tario worked in football administration at the BIG EAST Conference and held athletic operations and communications positions at Nova Southeastern University and Florida State University. He also gained experience with the Miami Dolphins.
A native of Pleasanton, California, and later Englewood, Florida, Tario earned bachelor’s (2002) and master’s (2003) degrees from Florida State University in sport management and sport administration, respectively. He earned his Juris Doctor from Nova Southeastern University in 2006 and is an active member of The Florida Bar. He subsequently completed an Executive Certificate through the Sports Management Institute in 2011 and earned an MBA from Elon University in 2012.
In 2026, Tario was named Sports Business CFO of the Year by the Charlotte Business Journal. He was also named to Sports Business Journal’s Forty Under 40 class in 2020 and received the NCAA HPERD North Carolina Sports Management Professional of the Year Award in 2011, recognizing his mentorship and student-development efforts.
Active in the community, Tario has served on several boards and supported organizations including Habitat for Humanity, Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Greensboro Cerebral Palsy Association and Backpack Beginnings.
Tario and his wife, Marissa, reside in Charlotte with their two children.