Wilner on Big Ten football media days: Previewing Petitti’s address, the West Coast arrivals and more

The first July this decade that hasn’t been swallowed whole by realignment — or a global pandemic — is not utterly devoid of news thanks to media extravaganzas ushering in college football’s new era.

The Big 12 was first to grab the midsummer spotlight, hosting its media festivities two weeks ago in Las Vegas. Then came the SEC, which held a four-day event last week in Dallas, followed by the ACC, which ramped up Monday in Charlotte.

The colossus goes last.

The Big Ten, the biggest conference in major college football history, takes the field Tuesday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis with players and coaches representing all 18 schools.

Over three days, the Big Ten’s old guard and its four newcomers will address issues offered by the assembled media members.

Will USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington temper expectations and tread lightly in their comments about the competitive landscape this fall? Or will they raise the bar and claim the narrative?

Will the 14 current schools treat the four arrivals with appropriate respect, or eye them as fresh meat?

Civility figures to rule the week, although an awkward moment or two seems inevitable with more than 70 coaches and athletes facing the press.

That said, the first 30 minutes of the event could be the most interesting stretch of the entire three days.

Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti is scheduled to take the podium Tuesday at 8 a.m. (Pacific) with his state-of-the-conference remarks.

Will Petitti make news, intentionally or otherwise?

He will likely field multiple questions on the tumult in the ACC and the potential for future Big Ten expansion — just as his counterpart, Greg Sankey, did at the SEC’s event last week.

Sankey repeatedly used the line “We’re focused on our 16” schools, and Petitti likely will take a similar tact with his 18.

What will he say about revenue sharing in the wake of the House v. NCAA settlement and the possibility of athletes becoming employees?

How might he respond to questions about additional College Football Playoff expansion? The event is locked into 12 teams for 2024-25 but could grow in the second half of the decade.

Will Petitti address, or even acknowledge, the outsized influence of the Big Ten and SEC, which have joined forces to shape the direction of college sports?

Petitti must be nimble with the narrative. He can’t completely ignore the shifting landscape; nor can he venture too deep into any single topic. (We suspect he watched Sankey’s masterclass performance with the media in Dallas last week.)

But when it comes to Big Ten policy and procedure, Petitti could make news Tuesday. There are several unresolved issues, including:

— The tiebreaker

With 18 teams, nine conference games and no divisions, the potential for end-of-season chaos is high.

Tiebreakers typically rely on record against common opponents to break deadlocks when head-to-head results cannot.

But each Big Ten team is missing eight of the others in any given season, increasing the likelihood that the standard tiebreaker process won’t suffice.

The issue isn’t merely about determining which teams qualify for the conference championship. The tiebreaker is critical for distinguishing the third-, fourth- and fifth-place teams for possible at-large berths in the CFP.

— Future sites

While reporters might be curious about the location of the 2025 midsummer media gathering, the site rotation for the Big Ten championship game is a more pressing issue.

The event is under contract with Lucas Oil Stadium through this season. Will the conference take the game on the road for ’25 and beyond?

Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas is an obvious candidate. Could the game rotate between the two venues? Might a third facility — perhaps SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles — be involved?

— Conference-wide issues

One morsel of news is already public: The Big Ten on Monday announced Discover will be the title sponsor of the football championship game. (Previously, the company had been the presenting sponsor.)

But Petitti could be asked about matters that aren’t specific to football, including travel mitigation for athletes in the Olympic sports athletes, his views on sports wagering (especially proposition bets involving athletes), making injury lists publicly available and private equity in college sports.

His remarks are scheduled to last 30 minutes. There are enough industry issues to fill three hours.

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