Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren speaks following the cancellation of the men’s basketball tournament due to concerns over COVID-19 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on March 12, 2020, in Indianapolis. Credit: Joe Robbins | Getty Images via TNS
The Chicago Bears announced Thursday Kevin Warren will become the team’s next President and CEO after three years as Big Ten Conference commissioner.
Warren will start April 17, according to ESPN, and he will oversee Bears General Manager Ryan Poles and the team’s business operations. Warren is the first Black president and first president and CEO hired from outside the Chicago franchise.
“I am honored and recognize the responsibility bestowed upon me to lead the Chicago Bears during this exciting and pivotal time for the franchise,” Warren said in a statement. “I join the Chicago Bears with gratitude and drive to carry out and build upon the legacy and spirit of this founding franchise and my predecessors.”
The Big Ten will begin a national search for its next commissioner, according to a release.
Warren was unanimously voted to become the Big Ten’s sixth commissioner June 4, 2019, and he officially began Jan. 2, 2020.
His tenure included some of the most historic and pivotal moments for the conference.
Last summer, Warren and the Big Ten reached a new distribution agreement with CBS, FOX and NBC that will begin July 1 and extend through the 2029-30 seasons. The new media deal is expected to “bring in more than $7 billion” for the Big Ten.
The media deal came after the announcements that beginning Aug. 2, 2024, the University of California, Los Angeles and University of Southern California will join the Big Ten, a process in which Warren had a role.
Warren and the conference also held the first Big Ten Women’s Leadership Summit in June 2022, which marked 50 years since the passage of Title IX.
The Big Ten was the first Power Five conference to cancel its football and fall athletics seasons in August 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Warren and the conference voted one month later to resume the football season that fall.
Warren and the conference also established during his tenure the Big Ten Equality Coalition, Big Ten Mental Health and Wellness Cabinet and Big Ten Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases in response to mental health, racism, social justice, pandemic and wellness-related topics in society.
“He has been dedicated to building inclusion and equity in the conference while championing mental health and wellness,” the Big Ten stated. “We thank him for his service and wish him the very best in his new endeavor as the president and chief executive officer of the Chicago Bears.”
Warren previously served as an NFL executive with the St. Louis Rams from 1997-2000, Detroit Lions from 2001-03 and Minnesota Vikings from 2005-19.
“He is a proven leader who has many times stepped outside of his comfort zone to challenge status quo for unconventional growth and prosperity,” Bears Chairman George H. McCaskey said in s statement. “In this role, Warren will serve in the primary leadership position of the franchise to help bring the next Super Bowl championship trophy home to Bears fans.”
