Travis was in contact with the White House and attended meetings regarding the Big TenGETTY IMAGES
President Trump’s phone call with Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren was facilitated by Clay Travis, the media personality who is best-known for his coverage of the SEC, not the Big Ten. The White House first established a relationship with Travis in the spring. White House aides, many of whom are fans of Travis’ OutKick website, originally reached out to schedule Trump for a radio appearance on Travis’ Fox Sports Radio show. Among the aides was Dir of the White House’s Office of Public Liaison Timothy Pataki, a '07 Ohio State grad who played lacrosse there. Trump eventually appeared on Travis’ show on Aug. 11, where he talked about his desire for college football to be played this fall. That same day, a few hours after Trump’s appearance, the Big Ten postponed its football season. The conference’s decision to postpone football caused a cascade of negative press, which led the Big Ten to hire Anachel Communications CEO Carrie Cecil to help with the fallout. Coincidentally, Cecil began her career as an intern in the late John McCain’s office, and through her 25 years of experience working with reporters, she has relationships with several media members, including Travis.
RESPONSE TO BIDEN AD CAMPAIGN: Democratic nominee Joe Biden last week started running commercials in Big Ten markets that blamed Trump’s federal response to the pandemic as the main reason why the conference was not playing. That prompted frustrated White House aides to start talking about how Trump could play a role in getting the Big Ten’s teams back on the field to salvage a season and mute Biden’s attack. Travis, a vocal critic of the Big Ten’s decision, was part of those meetings. Cecil, working as a consultant for the Big Ten, spoke to Travis to see if he might soften his criticism of Warren, a first-year commissioner with a lengthy NFL background, but no college experience. Through those conversations, it became apparent that Travis was in contact with the White House and had taken part in meetings to figure out how to convince the Big Ten to play football this fall. The White House’s first contact with Warren came Monday at 5:12pm ET from Pataki. Warren huddled with Cecil to evaluate the pros and cons, knowing that Trump would be seeking political gain from the exposure. Within an hour and 23 minutes, Warren responded and told Pataki that he would speak with the president. By Monday night, they were all set for Trump to call Warren at 8:30am yesterday. The call lasted roughly 20 minutes.
LOOKING FOR MOMENTUM IN SWING STATES: Trump wanted the meeting to create momentum for his campaign in the important Midwestern swing states that make up the Big Ten footprint, but if it meant the federal government would provide more testing resources for Big Ten athletes, that would increase the likelihood of a safe season. Following the call, the White House aides, Cecil and Travis held a conference call to discuss how it went. Everyone said they were happy and hoped for a scenario that would enable the Big Ten to start its season as early as October.
