Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany, fresh off the announcement that the conference will hold its ’18 men’s basketball tournament at MSG, talked about his desire to establish a presence on the East Coast during a featured interview on day one of the ’14 IMG Intercollegiate Athletics Conference. Delany said, “When Rutgers and Maryland came in, it was important to be able to take action to actualize the vision, and the vision was we wanted to be in two regions.” While he anticipates there being a rotation between holding the event in the Midwest and on the East Coast, it will likely favor the Midwest in an 80-20 split. He added that the football championship game, which is bound to Indianapolis through ’21, “is a little different,” as it only involves two teams. Other efforts to establish an East Coast presence can be seen in the conference’s establishment of offices in N.Y. and DC, as well as the announcement that it will hold hockey-basketball doubleheaders annually from ’16-19. As for the two newest members of his conference, Delany characterized Rutgers and Maryland’s foray into Big Ten football as “a successful first year, both from the standpoint of those institutions and the collective perspective.” Delany: “I really thought that, especially in football with divisional play, ... there would be a tremendous fan response. In fact, there was. Both Maryland and Rutgers sold out more games than they had in previous years, percent of capacity was over 95%, we were fortunate to get Big Ten Network distribution early on.”
PRINCIPLED PRINCIPAL: Delany shared his thoughts on recent litigation against the NCAA regarding the use of student-athletes’ names, images and likenesses, admitting that collegiate administrators have made mistakes over the years. Delany: “The more you go into that commercial area of exploitation, the more you’re going to get these questions raised. I do think that with these video games and sales of jerseys and sales of playing cards, that we’ve walked into an area that’s somewhat of a philosophical and practical trap.” But Delany also admitted that the need to create new revenue streams is pressing, estimating that the conference’s institutions will spend $4-6B over the next 15 years on “scholarships, cost of attendance, miscellaneous expenses, counseling, nutrition, etcetera” for student-athletes. Still, he stressed his belief that providing student-athletes with the full cost of attendance is “the appropriate quid pro quo.” Delany said going forward that reform of college athletics needs to be based on three core tenets: allowing student-athletes to make their own choices regarding their futures, returning to a balance between athletics and academics and offering scholarship opportunities to both men and women. He added that change will unfold on three “ballfields” -- at the NCAA, in the courts and, eventually, in Congress.
QUICK HITS
* On preserving women’s and Olympic sports: “From a personal perspective, I think that we would be a lesser system if we’re not able to provide 100,000 opportunities in Division I, if we’re not able to provide them on an equitable basis. ... I would hate to see that spin out of control into a place that would reduce the opportunities to a narrower group, in a way that’s not equitably treated for both males and females.”
* On Congressional involvement in reform: “It’s important for Congress to look at this not as a political football, not as a way to get a vote here or there, but as an important American institution that has provided a lot of opportunities for a lot of people.”
* On the conference’s next media-rights deal: “I’m not looking for a windfall, I’m looking at paying the bills going forward.”
* On the recent academic scandal at North Carolina, his alma mater: “It’s very disappointing and very humbling. Damage has been done. We built a brand over many, many decades, and we’re going to have to earn our way back because trust has been broken. It’s more than an isolated incident, it looks like there’s a pattern of misconduct that affected a lot of people over a long period of time. ... As a graduate, (and) both of my sons are graduates, it’s very difficult, plenty of friends there. I hope the community can pull together and stay together.”
