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Written by Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)
Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany is entering his final year as the conference’s commissioner. He met the media during the conference’s annual media days. He touched on his retirement, his biggest regrets, his vision for the future and much more. Here are the quotes from his media day session.
Read MoreBig Ten Release
ROSEMONT, Ill. - The Big Ten Conference announced today that James E. Delany will officially conclude his term as Big Ten Commissioner at the end of his current contract which expires on June 30, 2020.
The Big Ten Council of Presidents and Chancellors (COP/C) has initiated a search process under the direction of the COP/C Executive Committee and led by COP/C Chair Morton Schapiro, President, Northwestern University. They have retained the services of Korn Ferry to assist in the search.
Read MoreWritten by Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)
One of the most discussed topics amongst Big Ten football fans, especially IU fans, are the severely lopsided divisions in football in the Big Ten Conference. The Big Ten has been in divisional play since 2011, when Nebraska joined the conference. Those divisions were based on competitive balance, but the Legends and Leaders names did not go over well. In 2014, when Maryland and Rutgers joined the conference, the Big Ten moved to geographical divisions that put Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State and Penn State in the East. Since divisional play started the teams in the East division has had 14 top-10 finishes while the West has only had five. Commissioner Delaney was asked if the conference should be concerned and his answer kind of threw the fans under the bus.
Read MoreAfter months of questioning, speculating and hand-wringing, the B1G will remain on ESPN as the Worldwide Leader came to an agreement with the B1G to buy the second half of the league's media rights package. According to John Ourand of the Sports Business Journal, ESPN has agreed to pay an average $190 million per year over six years for nearly half of the B1G's media rights package. In April, Fox Sports surprised nearly everyone by paying an average of $240 million per year. In addition, to the deal made with Fox Sports and ESPN, CBS Sports has choses to renew its basketball-only package for $10 million per year.
Read MoreWritten by: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)
1. After coming to an agreement with FOX on the first part of the B1G media rights package, Delany was asked about the ongoing negotiations. He offered few details but said a series of announcements would be made “sometime this summer”. For his part, ESPN president John Skipper spoke about the Worldwide Leader’s interest in keeping the B1G on ESPN: “We have been partners with the Big Ten for a long time. Our interest is high. We would like to remain partners.” (writer’s note: I believe it is critical that the B1G remain on ESPN, even if they take a small pay-cut on what they could get with other networks. I believe the exposure the Big Ten receives from being featured on the ESPN/ABC networks is monumental for recruiting in both football and basketball and losing that would be detrimental for all programs.) We’ll update this story as more information becomes available.
2. The SEC is testing a new centralized replay system for football during this coming season. Delany said the conference will be watching that experiment closely but, at this time, he doesn’t feel there is a need for a centralized system in the Big Ten. However, he remains open to a national college football replay center if this centralized system proves worthwhile.
3. The Big 12 (and the Hoosier Huddle podcast) are focused on possible expansion and realignment. Moves made by, or not made by, that conference could have a gigantic impact on the remainder of the power conferences. However, Jim Delany insisted the Big Ten wasn’t thinking about adding any more schools to the league: “We’re pretty much laser-focused on reform issues.”
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