Tag: Tony Petitti

New Big Ten commissioner makes one thing clear about football scheduling

.@RutgersWire gathered some of Tony Petitti’s recent remarks. The conference is not thinking about reducing future schedules.

Former Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren was not liked a whole lot by Big Ten member schools and administrators. It was a happy moment in a lot of Big Ten communities when Warren announced he was leaving to take an executive position with the NFL’s Chicago Bears. His move to bring USC and UCLA to the Big Ten did fatten the conference’s coffers, but it’s a move which was not unanimously supported within the conference and its established membership.

New Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti had the advantage of inheriting a situation (from Warren) in which his conference was poised to make a lot of money, but Petitti had a difficult job in that he had to tend to the messes and rough edges Warren left unresolved.

With Warren bailing on the Big Ten before the arrival of USC and UCLA, Petitti (albeit with a lot of help from established Big Ten administrators who were working before he arrived) oversaw the approval of the Big Ten’s new football scheduling format within the 16-team framework which will exist in 2024 with the Los Angeles schools in place.

As Rutgers Wire notes, Petitti made it clear the Big Ten will not consider moving from nine conference games to eight, even though the SEC chose to remain at eight league games for the 2024 season.

“The conference is playing nine games, there’s a commitment to continue to do that. Everything was studied,” Petitti said about the Big Ten’s plans.

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Initial thoughts on Ohio State and the Big Ten’s new football schedule model

What is your initial reaction to the new Big Ten football schedule? #GoBucks

With the Big Ten adding on USC and UCLA, it was inevitable that [autotag]Ohio State[/autotag] and other current members of the conference would undergo a schedule change.

That was all announced today, with some of it making perfect sense, while some of it wasn’t quite as straightforward. The change from Kevin Warren to [autotag]Tony Petitti[/autotag] as commissioner meant changes would be coming also, as Petitti would want to put his stamp on the conference as soon as he could.

There are going to be plenty of thoughts about how this all breaks down and here are my immediate reactions to the changes.

Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti: With UCLA and USC addition looming, conference will announce their division look soon

Tony Petitti talks Big Ten divisions, television windows for new media deal.

The Big Ten is set for a shakeup of their division structure in the not-too-distant future. That was the message from Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti who said an announcement is right around the corner in terms of how the conference will line up for football.

With UCLA and USC set to join the Big Ten in 2024, the current conference alignment will necessarily have to change. How the divisions look (will there even be divisions?) is anyone’s guess, but Petitti said that an announcement is coming soon.

In talking this week with Rich Eisen on his nationally syndicated radio show, Petitti was asked what the division makeup might look like with UCLA and USC joining.

“That’s a great question, I think we’re just honestly maybe just a few days away from sor tof revealing what that will look like going forward. I think there has been a lot about divisions – no divisions…and a lot of work obviously was done before I arrived, in terms of what the right path is,” Petitti said on Eisen’s show.

“The conference is playing nine games, there’s a commitment to continue to do that. Everything was studied. I think you’ll see in really short order some information coming out about how we’re going to play and how we’re going to organize around our college football schedule. It’s just days away.”

Eisen, a Michigan graduate and an unabashed fan of the Wolverines, asked several probing questions of Petitti as it related to the new look for the Big Ten.

Petitti takes over for Kevin Warren, who left to become president of the Chicago Bears. Before Warren left, he participated in two seismic moves:

UCLA and USC joining the Big Ten in 2024, adding the crucial Los Angeles media market

Ending the conference’s decades-long relationship with ESPN and signing a new media deal with FOX, CBS and NBC.

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This means that the Big Ten is navigating a new look and feel to their television package and how they might play out.

“Credit to FOX because what they did in creating this noon window I think was non-traditional thinking, putting big games at noon has worked extremely well,” Petitti said.

“It has just been a great decision on FOX’s part. Give those guys credit to take the chance to do that. They had the research and the data and they were right. At 3:30, to think about what we did at CBS when I was there to really anchor the SEC at 3:30 for all those years- (it) has been a great window to have that. Then you look at the opportunity in prime – where I think we have that great opportunity for consistency today.

“In today’s world especially, being able to own noon and 3:30 and primetime across – there will be a little bit of a bridge because this year, CBS will have SEC until they transition to the Big Ten. It will be great.”

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Big Ten is dealing with a mess its former commissioner left behind

A commissioner bungled a TV deal … but it’s not Larry Scott. Fortunately for #USC, the Trojans won’t have to deal with Kevin Warren.

Here is a story of a conference commissioner being sloppy and ineffective, and it does not involve Larry Scott. It turns out that when former Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren arranged the TV deals for the new era of the conference, with USC and UCLA as incoming members, that “arrangement” was very loose and not tied down with specifics.

Pete Thamel of ESPN came out earlier this week with a report on just how dysfunctional Warren’s handling of TV contracts was.

Here’s a small snippet from Thamel’s story, which illustrates a portion of the fallout from this mess the Big Ten and new commissioner Tony Petitti are scrambling to contain:

“They are going to have to pay back nearly $40 million to Fox because, according to sources, Warren delivered NBC the Big Ten football title game in 2026 without the full authority to do so. This all has unfolded under the complicated backdrop of the Big Ten conference not actually controlling the rights to the inventory of this latest deal — the Big Ten Network does, which is majority owned by Fox. (More on that below.)”

Basically, unfinished TV contracts and unclarified terms which some Big Ten schools are unhappy with are leading to a nasty combination: On one hand, the Big Ten is having to pay back some of its TV partners. On the other hand, the full value of previously negotiated — but uncompleted — TV deals might not be realized. Big Ten schools and athletic departments are confronting the reality that previous budgetary projections exceed actual incoming revenue.

Yes, the Big Ten is still going to make a ton of money for its member schools, but no one likes, wants or needs to receive a set of projections and then realize the actual numbers will be several millions of dollars short, quite possibly tens of millions short.

This is Kevin Warren’s mess. Larry Scott can relate. Tony Petitti is playing the role of George Kliavkoff, trying to clean up what his predecessor left behind.

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Big Ten officially announces new commissioner

Big Ten officially announces new commissioner

The Big Ten finally has a new commissioner. Kevin Warren moved on to become the President of the Chicago Bears and the conference hired Tony Petitti to take over.

He is the seventh Big Ten commissioner and will start on May 15. Petitti has had a long career in sports and business, having been the deputy commissioner and chief operating officer of Major League Baseball.

“At this important and transformational time in collegiate athletics, it is truly my great honor to be chosen by the Council of Presidents and Chancellors as the commissioner of the Big Ten Conference,” Petitti said in a statement from the conference.

“I am energized to work alongside the best athletics directors, coaches, conference staff and board in the country as – together – we continue to elevate the academic and athletic experiences and resources for our 14, soon-to-be 16, world-class universities with nearly 10,000 incredible student-athletes. Thank you to the extraordinary people and places that have led me to this next challenge in my career. I am ready to get to work for the Big Ten Conference community.”

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Big Ten officially announces hiring of new commissioner

The Big Ten officially has its new commissioner.

The Big Ten finally has its new commissioner.

After Kevin Warren moved on to become the President of the Chicago Bears, we’re fairly certain there was a lot going on behind the scenes, but the search for someone to replace Warren lasted a little longer than I think any of us anticipated. Especially seeing how Warren was there for less time than a U.S. presidential term lasts.

Regardless, the guy now in charge of charting the course in this brave, new world of college athletics is none other than the formerly reported move that was all but assured, Tony Petitti.

Petitti becomes the seventh Big Ten commissioner and will officially begin his post on May 15. He is a seasoned veteran of the sports, business, and media, having formerly served as deputy commissioner and chief operating officer of Major League Baseball and president and chief executive officer of MLB Network.

“At this important and transformational time in collegiate athletics, it is truly my great honor to be chosen by the Council of Presidents and Chancellors as the commissioner of the Big Ten Conference,” Petitti said in a statement from the conference. “I am energized to work alongside the best athletics directors, coaches, conference staff and board in the country as – together – we continue to elevate the academic and athletic experiences and resources for our 14, soon-to-be 16, world-class universities with nearly 10,000 incredible student-athletes. Thank you to the extraordinary people and places that have led me to this next challenge in my career. I am ready to get to work for the Big Ten Conference community.”

The search for the new commissioner was led by the Big Ten Council of Presidents and Chancellors’ Executive Search Committee. Members of that committee included University of Maryland President Darryll J. Pines as chair alongside University of Minnesota President Joan Gabel, The Ohio State University President Kristina M. Johnson, and Chair of the Council of Presidents and Chancellors and University of Illinois Chancellor Robert Jones.

“I would like to thank all the candidates who spent time with us during the commissioner search process as each illustrated outstanding leadership qualities and a breadth of experience,” President Pines said in a statement. “The Big Ten Conference is in an extraordinary position of strength. Tony’s capabilities to navigate the complexities of changing marketplace environments, history as a collaborative leader, and passion for academics and collegiate athletics made him the right leader, at the right time, for the Big Ten Conference.”

Petitti will no doubt have his work cut out for him. He’ll be coming alongside to usher in USC and UCLA into a 16-team conference and working to navigate one of the most well-known brands in college athletics through Name, Image and Likeness, playoff expansion, and more.

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Big Ten officially hires Tony Petitti to be conference’s next commissioner

Tony Petitti was named the next Big Ten Conference commissioner.

The Big Ten Conference’s search for its seventh commissioner is over. On Wednesday, the conference announced that Tony Petitti will be the conference’s next commissioner, replacing Kevin Warren who is leaving the conference to become the president of the Chicago Bears.

Petitti’s tenure will begin on May 15, one day following the final day for Kevin Warren.

The Big Ten’s search committee for their next commissioner was led by a team of four presidents and chancellors including the University of Maryland President Darryll J. Pines, who was the committee chair as well as the University of Minnesota President Joan Gabel, The Ohio State University President Kristina M. Johnson, and Chair of the Council of Presidents and Chancellors and University of Illinois Chancellor Robert Jones. The Big Ten was also assisted by TurnkeyZRG in their search.

Petitti comes to the Big Ten after serving as deputy commissioner and chief operating officer of Major League Baseball under MLB commissioner Rob Manfred.

He also has an extensive background in television and entertainment in general. During his time with Major League Baseball, he was also the president and CEO of MLB Network. Outside of that, he also worked with ABC and CBS in their sports television departments. He also for a short while was the president of sports and entertainment at the successful video game company, Activision Blizzard.

“At this important and transformational time in collegiate athletics, it is truly my great honor to be chosen by the Council of Presidents and Chancellors as the commissioner of the Big Ten Conference,” Petitti said in the Big Ten’s press release. “I am energized to work alongside the best athletics directors, coaches, conference staff and board in the country as – together – we continue to elevate the academic and athletic experiences and resources for our 14, soon-to-be 16, world-class universities with nearly 10,000 incredible student-athletes. Thank you to the extraordinary people and places that have led me to this next challenge in my career. I am ready to get to work for the Big Ten Conference community.”

Petitti comes to Big Ten at an interesting time for the conference. In Kevin Warren’s short tenure, he both negotiated the conference’s new lucrative television deal while also adding UCLA and USC to the Big Ten. Both schools are set to enter the conference in July next year. In the short term, the biggest issues on the table for Petitti will be the ongoing issues surrounding NIL as well as any potential further expansion possibilities.

The Big Ten’s new television rights deal that kicks in on July 1 of this year will run through the end of the 2029-2030 collegiate athletic year.

Report: Big Ten ready to hire new commissioner

According to multiple reports, the Big Ten is set to hire former MLB and CBS Sports executive, Tony Petitti, as its next commissioner.

It’s been awfully quiet in the search for a new Big Ten commissioner after the much-maligned Kevin Warren took a new job as the President of the Chicago Bears.

Until now.

After months of speculation, a somewhat surprising candidate seems to be in-line to be hired as the new commissioner of the conference in the heartland, one that is moving ahead as a defining force in college athletics. That man is none other than former Major League Baseball and CBS Sports executive, Tony Petitti. ESPN’s Pete Thamel was the first to break the news.

Petitti is currently the CEO of NFL media outlet, The 33rd Team. He has previous experience at Activision Blizzard, a video game company, and spent over a decade in MLB, both in the network arena and as an operations executive. He also served as the executive vice president and executive producer for CBS Sports.

There has been no formal announcement from the conference, but ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg reports that it is now mereley a formality.

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Big Ten hires its new commissioner

Seems like a good hire.

The Big Ten got its man.

Earlier on Tuesday, reports indicated that the premier intercollegiate athletics conference struck out with the person perceived to be its top candidate, ACC commissioner Jim Phillips.

Phillips was the former athletic director for Northwestern and was thought, before the hire of Kevin Warren, to be the heir apparent to Jim Delany. With Warren moving on to the Chicago Bears, Phillips’ name being at the top of the wish list made all the sense in the world. Yet, the Big Ten was left standing at the altar when Phillips re-upped with the ACC.

The conference moved fast. ESPN college insider Pete Thamel reported  Tony Petitti will take over the reins from Warren as the new Big Ten commissioner.

Previously the COO of Major League Baseball, Petitti went to Haverford College and Harvard Law. He is the former president of sports and entertainment at Activision Blizzard and was an executive at ABC Sports and CBS Sports.

With the MLB being his latest stop, he also served as the president and CEO of MLB Network.

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