Jim Delany (left) and AD Tim Pernetti were all smiles in 2012 when Rutgers was announced as a Big Ten school.getty images
Prior to becoming Rutgers’ athletic director in 2009, Tim Pernetti reached out to Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany to ask a very bold question:
If the Big Ten expanded, would Rutgers, then a member of the Big East, get a real look?
Pernetti, a former media executive before going to work for his alma mater, knew that Rutgers held one significant advantage over every other expansion candidate — access to the New York TV market.
Delany’s response was firm and to the point. He told Pernetti that Rutgers had a single-digit percent chance of being invited to the Big Ten.
“Well, that’s good enough for me,” Pernetti replied.
Over time, Pernetti’s calls to Delany became more frequent. He’d call Delany early in the morning when the commissioner was usually on the treadmill, and talked about how Rutgers’ TV market would boost the Big Ten Network’s audience.
“Jim’s ability to see the vision, even if it’s through someone else’s eyes, really makes him unique,” said Pernetti, who was Rutgers’ AD from 2009 to 2013 and is now executive VP at Endeavor.
Rutgers accepted an invitation to join the Big Ten in 2012 and began league play in 2014. Most agree that it was a reach — the Scarlet Knights have struggled competitively. But Delany remains bullish on them long term.
“When Jim speaks about media, everybody listens,” Pernetti said. “He had credibility and political capital that cascaded across everything he did.”
