Big Ten commissioner search: Potential candidate lands contract extension at current job, per report

The Big Ten commissioner search will be an intriguing storyline to track this spring. After taking the lead for the conference in 2020, current commissioner Kevin Warren will depart to become President and CEO of the Chicago Bears.

As soon as Warren’s move was announced, many began speculating that current ACC commissioner Jim Phillips would be a target for the job in the B1G. Phillips has led the ACC since 2021 but spent over a decade overseeing Northwestern athletics during a particularly successful and profitable stint for the Wildcats.

Whether or not Phillips was ever a serious target for the B1G is unclear, but it looks like he will be staying put with his role in the ACC. According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Phillips is in the process of finalizing a three-year extension with the ACC. That deal would essentially keep Phillips in charge of the ACC through the end of the decade, per Thamel.

Sources: The Atlantic Coast Conference and commissioner Jim Phillips are finalizing a three-year contract extension that will essentially keep him atop the league through the rest of the decade, sources told ESPN.

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) April 11, 2023

We will see who eventually winds up taking the job in the B1G, but it looks like Jim Phillips will not be the person to lead the conference forward..

Paul Harvey

Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.