Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti began his state-of-the-conference address Tuesday morning in Indianapolis with a morsel of news — the football championship game will remain in Indianapolis through the 2028 season — but offered no comments that would make headlines across the college football world.
Which was precisely his intent.
Petitti’s podium time inside Lucas Oil Stadium to open Big Ten football media days was equal parts promotion and perspective.
He ran through the Big Ten’s accomplishments across multiple sports over the past year, welcomed the four West Coast schools — USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington will officially join the conference Aug. 2 — and offered context on myriad issues without wading too deep.
Future Big Ten expansion in the wake of ACC tumult? Petitti didn’t go there. “We’re focused on the 18,” he said, echoing SEC commissioner Greg Sankey’s comments on the same topic.
Specifics on football roster limits as dictated by the House v. NCAA antitrust lawsuit? He dodged that one, too.
Washington’s financial situation? Nope.
But Petitti was candid enough on other matters to paint a backdrop of appropriate uncertainty. After all, the Big Ten is effectively a 128-year-old rookie.
Founded in 1896, the pillar of college sports is entering an unprecedented era as it assimilates four schools located two time zones away, with all the accompanying logistical and procedural challenges.
In its combination of membership size (18 schools) and geographic scope — it stretches from New Jersey to Los Angeles to Seattle — the Big Ten is unlike any college conference, ever.
League executives have created a framework to navigate the initial years but freely admit adjustments are likely. There is no way to prepare for the unknown unknowns that will assuredly surface.
Add the looming changes to college sports following the House settlement, and the Big Ten we see in five years could look markedly different than the version Petitti leads today.
Those complementary themes, uncertainty and adjustment, surfaced repeatedly in Petitti’s question-and-answer session with the media:
— Asked about eventually staging flagship events, including the football championship game, on the West Coast (e.g. Los Angeles and Las Vegas), Petitti said:
“It’s really important that markets around the country get to experience Big Ten championships … You can fully expect that over time, you’ll see the footprint of how we host championships change and grow.”
— On the debut of Friday night football games on Fox, he noted:
“There are just traditional places that want to play more on Saturday. We understand that. It’s a league discussion that involves all 18 about the best way to format our schedule. Where coaches are embracing that opportunity to have exposure on Friday, we try to lean into that. Where are we more likely to go? That will change over time.”
— On managing cross-country travel:
“We feel really good about where we’ve ended up across all of our sports. Having said that, I really believe scheduling is something that has to be constantly evaluated.
“I anticipate that hopefully, we’ll get a lot more right these next couple years with the way we’ve formatted and scheduled. But it’s our responsibility to listen to student-athletes and listen to coaches to make sure we’re adjusting and making the changes we need …
“I anticipate that over time, there will be changes. It just seems like it will be the natural progression.”
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Jon Wilner
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