Ad Disclosure
Social media reacts to news of Jim Delany concluding run as B1G Commissioner in 2020
Published:
Major B1G news broke on Monday morning, as the conference announced that commissioner Jim Delany will step down when his contract expires on June 30, 2020.
Delany has served as the conference commissioner since 1989 and has implemented some tremendous changes throughout his run. Probably the most significant contribution was helping establish Big Ten Network, airing hundreds of B1G sporting events every year.
He brought Nebraska, Maryland and Rutgers to the conference, expanding the league’s reach throughout the Midwest and East Coast. He was also responsible for locking up Madison Square Garden as a B1G Tournament venue.
On the football field, Delany was responsible for helping increase the number of conference games to nine and establishing a B1G Championship Game.
In his 30-year run, Delany has overseen a lot of change in the B1G. While the news comes as a surprise, all great runs must come to an end at some point. Here’s how social media reacted to the news that Delany will end his tenure in 2020:
There are plenty of -largely superficial- reasons for Big Ten fans to be annoyed with Delany at any given moment, but between BTN, instant replay and massive revenue shares he has had the conference well ahead of many different curves https://t.co/z6UHxKnnpz
— Ben Jones (@Ben_Jones88) March 4, 2019
And if Northwestern AD Jim Phillips is not at least a finalist for this job, many of us will be shocked. https://t.co/Yf3FEc6WbJ
— Teddy Greenstein (@TeddyGreenstein) March 4, 2019
Agree with Teddy here about Jim Phillips as a very strong candidate to replace Jim Delany as Big Ten commish in a few years. Everybody seems to come away impressed with the Northwestern AD. https://t.co/UV6XniWNS7
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) March 4, 2019
The betting favorite to take the big chair for about five years now. https://t.co/dKX78iHzj5
— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) March 4, 2019
Jim Delany foretold this day when I asked him in 2016 if he'd be around for the next Big Ten media rights deal. https://t.co/4NSA1saWOV
— Dennis Dodd (@dennisdoddcbs) March 4, 2019
That’s per a Big Ten release just now. Believe this is not completely unexpected. Seem to recall him suggesting as much to @NicoleAuerbach not long ago.
— Zach Osterman (@ZachOsterman) March 4, 2019
It is official. There will be a new commissioner in the Big Ten for the first time since 1989. BTN will have more on this at 11am CT https://t.co/ay8Jjal2aR
— Mike Hall (@MikeHallHere) March 4, 2019
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB