The Big Ten is primed to enter its most lucrative and potentially most significant era in its existence. New massive media contracts and expansion additions have almost guaranteed that. Still, it is crucial to find the right person to usher in that new era.
The conference hopes they have done just that after hiring former MLB, CBS and MLB Network executive Tony Petitti to be the new commissioner of the Big Ten, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
He will replace Kevin Warren, who jumped over to the NFL to become the new team president and CEO of the Chicago Bears. ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips was reportedly a sought-after candidate for the role but agreed to an extension just hours before this move became official.
Petitti succeeded Rob Manfred as MLB’s COO in 2015 and obviously is familiar with navigating through new changes and the evolution of a league. Although football will be new territory for him, he will be inheriting quite the solid foundation. A new and lengthy media rights deal, which will earn the conference billions in revenue, had already been inked and will take effect this year. Additionally, USC and UCLA will officially leave the Pac-12 in the dust and enter the Big Ten in 2024.
Petitti’s credentials and experience should not be discounted by any means, but his job should primarily focus on not squandering an easy score. Keeping everything afloat and balancing the new power shift is obviously a task in of itself, but substantial growth should be inevitable going forward.
Whether or not that carries into the competition aspect will be a different issue. SEC has reigned supreme in college football for decades, and the Big Ten’s basketball reputation seems to take a slight hit every March Madness. That will not necessarily fall on Tony Petitti, though. The committee sees dollar signs with this hire.
But if championship success is on the horizon, then a truly legendary tenure could be about to commence.
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