Big ten conference realignment8/12/2023 ![]() ![]() ![]() And any Big Ten commissioner, whether Warren or someone else, will have to figure out what to do there.Ĥ. That is a massively thorny issue to dive into, and that’s part of why Warren’s been pretty noncommittal (but seemingly open) in remarks about it so far. And Big Ten players and coaches have been key parts of that conversation. Beyond NIL challenges, there’s a growing movement for schools and/or conferences to directly pay players. That’s the tough discussions ahead around player compensation. And yes, Warren faced opposition early on, especially around the decision to initially postpone the 2020 football season around the COVID-19 pandemic, but the current sentiment on him seems relatively positive.īut there is one absolute and rising disadvantage of working in college sports in general and the Big Ten in particular. But from a ways off, the disadvantages of that role seem higher than the disadvantages of being Big Ten commissioner (especially after clearing the hardest hurdle of media deals, and doing so in a way that has generally been viewed favorably). Bank Stadium deal done, so he’s a logical target for the organization on that front. And one of the moves Warren was most known for in the NFL was his work on getting the Vikings’ U.S. The Bears do have a big market and a lot of franchise value, and they do perhaps present an interesting challenge around their stadium discussions. ![]() Compensation for players: From the outside, there don’t appear to be a whole lot of great reasons to leave the Big Ten commissioner job (and accompanying listings in things like Sports Business Journal‘s 50 Most Influential) to be the president and CEO of one NFL team (a role not usually featured on those lists). And a new commissioner might have some decisions to make on those fronts.ģ. But the Big Ten does still have more of a stake in their “league network” than, say, the SEC or ACC (which have sold those full rights to ESPN for those ESPN-operated league networks), and that maybe gives them some more flexibility on content currently slated to go there. There are some outside factors to consider there, especially with Fox owning 61 percent of BTN these days, and with Sportradar having that B1G+ partnership the conference likely can’t unilaterally remove inventory from those partners. With the Pac-12 targets in particular, there’s been discussion of an additional BTN-level package sold to another media company if that expansion happens, and while that’s not a sure thing even if that expansion happens, some lesser version of it could perhaps go through even without expansion. Even if there’s no further expansion, there are also possibilities for change with further carveouts from what’s on the Big Ten Network and associated streaming option B1G+ (with Sportradar). Even if neither Notre Dame nor the four listed Pac-12 targets winds up joining the Big Ten, other expansion might be possible. Media rights: Yes, the Big Ten has its media deals done through 2029-30, but there could be change there. ![]() But if Warren does wind up moving on, it will be interesting to see the stance of his replacement vis-à-vis public discussion of expansion.Ģ. That doesn’t necessarily mean anything quieter college lifers have pulled off big moves of their own, including preceding Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany and past and present SEC commissioners Mike Slive and Greg Sankey. On that front, it’s notable that Warren (whose background is mostly as a NFL executive) has been perhaps blunter and more aggressive with remarks about expansion than many career college officials (albeit not as much as fellow out-of-the-box hires George Kliavkoff and Brett Yormark, of the Pac-12 and Big 12 respectively). And conference expansion and realignment feels like one of the most important parts of a conference commissioner’s job these days it’s certainly not all about them, with significant roles played by school presidents and athletic directors, other conference officials, and media executives as well, but the figure at the top of the conference matters. There’s been lots of smoke around that with the Big Ten in particular, from a “ continued pursuit” of four further Pac-12 schools (Cal, Oregon, Stanford and Washington) to escalators in the media deals (but, reportedly, only spelled-out ones for Notre Dame). Expansion: One of the biggest questions about the future of the college conference setup is if the current Power Two of the Big Ten and the SEC will expand further. ![]()
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