Our next Big Ten commissioner is… Tony Petitti???

[CatManTrue]

WTH is this guy?

Big Ten hires ex-MLB, TV exec as commissioner

The Big Ten has announced the hiring of former MLB and television executive Tony Petitti, continuing the trend of nontraditional hires from outside the college sports space in the collegiate commissioner set.

www.espn.com

 

[dillonpgp]

Seasoned TV executive. The conference is hiring for its future -college football broadcasting and the ancillary issues associated such as compensating the players, that the Big 10 and SEC will be able to do at levels the others won’t be able to touch.

Jim Phillips got his participation trophy in the form of a contract extension with the ACC announced earlier in the day. Now he waits to see if Clemson, Miami and Florida State (and bybextension Notre Dame) attempt to bail and leave the ACC facing a similar future as the Pac-12. Yes, I know about the grant-in-rights and the money involved in that, but I think it’s clear that there aren’t many seats left at the proverbial adult table.

 

[ricko654321]

WTH is this guy?

Big Ten hires ex-MLB, TV exec as commissioner

The Big Ten has announced the hiring of former MLB and television executive Tony Petitti, continuing the trend of nontraditional hires from outside the college sports space in the collegiate commissioner set.

www.espn.com

Seasoned TV executive. The conference is hiring for its future -college football broadcasting and the ancillary issues associated such as compensating the players, that the Big 10 and SEC will be able to do at levels the others won’t be able to touch.

Jim Phillips got his participation trophy in the form of a contract extension with the ACC announced earlier in the day. Now he waits to see if Clemson, Miami and Florida State (and bybextension Notre Dame) attempt to bail and leave the ACC facing a similar future as the Pac-12. Yes, I know about the grant-in-rights and the money involved in that, but I think it’s clear that there aren’t many seats left at the proverbial adult table.

Yeah I thought / hoped they would bring Phillips back. The timing of the ACC extension seems to suggest he was in the mix but did not get the job. Too bad. Although I don't know anything (bad or good) about the new guy - to your point given the MLB TV background it seems like they are looking at the TV $$ side of things. There's a lot of other parts of the job though. How do deal with NIL and transfer rules is one of them. Views on further expansion another.

 

[NUCat320]

Yeah I thought / hoped they would bring Phillips back. The timing of the ACC extension seems to suggest he was in the mix but did not get the job. Too bad. Although I don't know anything (bad or good) about the new guy - to your point given the MLB TV background it seems like they are looking at the TV $$ side of things. There's a lot of other parts of the job though. How do deal with NIL and transfer rules is one of them. Views on further expansion another.

I think Phillips is still in traction after the beating Kevin Warren gave him over the previous few years.

 

[csh2088]

Seasoned TV executive. The conference is hiring for its future -college football broadcasting and the ancillary issues associated such as compensating the players, that the Big 10 and SEC will be able to do at levels the others won’t be able to touch.

Jim Phillips got his participation trophy in the form of a contract extension with the ACC announced earlier in the day. Now he waits to see if Clemson, Miami and Florida State (and bybextension Notre Dame) attempt to bail and leave the ACC facing a similar future as the Pac-12. Yes, I know about the grant-in-rights and the money involved in that, but I think it’s clear that there aren’t many seats left at the proverbial adult table.

None of those schools are going anywhere unless they can find eight schools to dissolve the conference and that is not going to happen. I don't believe the ACC will be around in ten years because football wise they don't have much.

Clemson has been great but has slipped the past couple of years.

Florida State had a very good year last year but overall they have been near the bottom of a weak conference the last several years.

North Carolina can never get over the hump no matter how much talent they bring in.

Boston College and Virginia Tech had a few good years but have been bad lately.

Miami hasn't won an ACC Championship yet and has been a huge disappointment.

Syracuse and Louisville have been a total disaster.

I know people are going to bring up a schools brand value but in ten years I don't believe ACC will have the brand value it has now and it doesn't have much now.

 

[FitzFan]

Oh boy, the guy that ran the MLB Network. That's one of the sports networks of all time. This is so exciting.

 

[Fighter of the Nightman]

Seasoned TV executive. The conference is hiring for its future -college football broadcasting and the ancillary issues associated such as compensating the players, that the Big 10 and SEC will be able to do at levels the others won’t be able to touch.

Jim Phillips got his participation trophy in the form of a contract extension with the ACC announced earlier in the day. Now he waits to see if Clemson, Miami and Florida State (and bybextension Notre Dame) attempt to bail and leave the ACC facing a similar future as the Pac-12. Yes, I know about the grant-in-rights and the money involved in that, but I think it’s clear that there aren’t many seats left at the proverbial adult table.

UNC is more valuable than Clemson. Clemson got insanely good at football for a decent stretch, but they’re still the less popular team in their own decently small state.

 

[CatManTrue]

Oh boy, the guy that ran the MLB Network. That's one of the sports networks of all time. This is so exciting.

"Petitti formerly served as chief operating officer of Major League Baseball and as president and chief executive officer of MLB Network. He later served as president of programming for ABC Sports before becoming an executive vice president at CBS Sports.

His main job there — overseeing NFL coverage. Then he oversaw CBS’ college sports platform."

 

[dillonpgp]

If the massive increase in TV revenue that the B10 is about to enjoy can be traced to down to two events, one would be the decision of the SEC to go all-in with ESPN (and leaving CBS looking for content) and the 2021 win by Michigan over Ohio State (showing that Michigan was going to be competitive in the rivalry and bring in the TV ratings - at Noon! - that would justify the costs, not for that game but for games involving the upper echelon of the conference the entire season)

I understand the sentimentality for some brands in college football. Some of it is pure nostalgia for the past, or the urge to transcend success in another sport to the gridiron. Clemson is, presently, a top brand in college football. North Carolina and South Carolina combined don’t bring in the eyeballs (to deliver to advertisers) that Clemson does. Miami doesn’t either, presently, but I believe had/has the potential appeal.

I don’t know if those schools could pull off a negotiated separation from the ACC (together or separately), but as was observed a few months ago from (IIRC) the FSU Board of Trustees, it would irresponsible not to ask. Otherwise they see themselves in the same boat as Washington and Oregon, just hoping someone asks them to Prom. The question isn’t if Florida St can win the B10, it’s if Minnesota needs to play FSU or North Carolina in October, which is going to deliver the better product (ratings) to FOX, CBS or NBC?


I’d also offer a hunch that with the increase in revenue (for both the B10 and SEC) will come the increasingly likelihood that they leave the NCAA and write its own set of rules, including player compensation.

Someone with NFL and other pro sports experience also isn’t going to be tied to geographical nonsense when it comes to expansion. I’ve wondered if B10 schools (non coastal) may be asked to provide a building that could house 3-400 visiting sports teams from the coasts that would allow multiple games on a road trip and allow students to complete class work remotely during a trip. Could Ohio State or Minnesota share practice facilities for Goitball, Basketball, Volleyball, baseball, softball and swimming to schedule USC/UCLA multiple away games without having to return to the coast in between.

 

[curdog]

UNC is more valuable than Clemson. Clemson got insanely good at football for a decent stretch, but they’re still the less popular team in their own decently small state.

Totally agree. After ND, UNC is the biggest fish in the non BIG/SEC pond. Not necessarily from a football perspective but from everything else (bball, demographics, academics, etc)

 

[CatManTrue]

Totally agree. After ND, UNC is the biggest fish in the non BIG/SEC pond. Not necessarily from a football perspective but from everything else (bball, demographics, academics, etc)

If we poach the ACC, right now I’d prefer UNC, Virginia, FSU, and either NC State or Virginia Tech.

If Notre Dame comes too, then it should be ND, UNC, Florida State, and Virginia.

 

[Sheffielder]

It's interesting to me that the conference presidents prioritized a "tv guy." With our tv deal effectively locked down (for now), I would have thought NIL issues and potential expansion would have taken center stage, and they would've hired a commissioner with skills to lead the sport in this space - very reasonable chance this guy isn't even the commish by the time the negotiation rights windows come back around (but I'll also contradict myself and acknowledge and further expansion would prompt a renegotiation, so...there's that).