Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti's job is gaining more scope starting with Tuesday's first Big Ten Media Day.
Four new schools are arriving from the West Coast in Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington. The landscape of college sports is shifting with such conference realignments, revenue sharing and the continued Wild West of NIL.
Petitti called for transparency in finding “true” NIL deals for college athletes and talked about some of the processes involved in making the Big Ten's athletic schedules. He addressed the advancements in technology that are coming and talks of continued expansion as well.
- Petitti announced that Indianapolis will be home to the Big Ten Championship game for an additional four years, extending their stint hosting the contest through 2028.
- Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel was named the Big Ten's Athletic Director of the Year.
- Petitti made sure to shout out how successful women's sports were in the conference last year, specifically referencing former Iowa basketball superstar Caitlin Clark.
- The Big Ten won 20 individual national championships and five team national titles in the 2023-24 sports year.
- Petitti welcomed Oregon, Washington, UCLA and USC to the conference. "Our staff is working with all four institutions to make sure they hit the ground running this year."
- Petitti said there's a lot of work to do in addressing the shifting landscape of collegiate athletics. He called for more transparency in NIL deals and a leveling of the playing field through legislation where there are unbalanced laws at the state or local level.
- Petitti recognized the advancements of in-helmet communication and iPads on the sidelines for teams to review in-game video. "We're excited to have both of these innovations on display here at Lucas Oil."
- Petitti closed his opening remarks by revealing the conference's new "state of the art" replay center.
- On scheduling: "Every sport is different ... we start from that place. The process of building a schedule is that it's collaborative. ... We really feel good about where we've ended up at across all our sports, having said that, I believe that the schedule is something that will constantly need to be evaluated."
- While the conference is extending its agreement for the Big Ten championship in Indianapolis, Petitti said the league is still looking to expand its footprint and host key events across the country in the future.
- Reflecting back on the league's approach to how it adjudicated and punished Michigan football after its sign-stealing allegations: "It was a collaborative process inside the conference office ... there was a lot of conversation with the NCAA in terms of the information they had. ... I stand by the results of the decision we made."
- On why Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington made sense to add: "I know we're here to talk about football but the academic fit is really important. ... It's a complete match across all factors. ... I see great strength across matchups, the footprint that we'll have going forward."
- Petitti said the Big Ten is just "focused on the 18" schools it has right now and its mind is not currently on further expansion.
- On football schedule making: "The core of what we do is we are in the grind of conference football in November."
- With revenue sharing on the way, Petitti said that there will be "a lot of work ahead" in developing a reporting system, evaluationg true NIL deals, and establishing the role of third parties to connect student-athletes to "real" NIL deals.
- On what will constitute a successful season year-to-year for the Big Ten: "We want as many teams competing late in the season to earn a spot in the playoffs (as possible)."
- Petitti said that the Big Ten is "close" to an agreement with other conferences on what roster sizes for football and other sports should be.
