An Ohio State and a Big Ten helmet sit on the stage at Big Ten Media Days at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on July 27, 2022. Credit: Casey Smith | Lantern TV Sports Producer
Tony Petitti has been named the next Big Ten Conference commissioner, according to a Wednesday release.
Petitti will replace Kevin Warren, who was named the Chicago Bears’ President and CEO in January, and officially begin his tenure May 15. Warren will serve his last day in the role Friday, according to the release.
Petitti is the former deputy commissioner and chief operating officer for Major League Baseball and has worked for both CBS Sports and ABC Sports in senior executive roles, according to the release.
For more than 40 years, Petitti has worked in the sports media industry and has won 14 Emmy Awards for his various work with both CBS and ABC. He’s also overseen rights acquisition deals at the professional and college sports levels, and Petitti will help lead the Big Ten into its new media agreement which it announced as a new seven-year pact with several media outlets in August 2022.
Among the events Petitti oversaw include the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, and he also had a hand in the inception of the college football Bowl Championship Series, which previously determined the college football national champion.
“At this important and transformational time in collegiate athletics, it is truly my great honor to be chosen by the Council of Presidents and Chancellors as the commissioner of the Big Ten Conference,” Petitti said in the release.
During his time as MLB Network’s CEO, from 2008-14, Petitti helped launch the network to 50 million people, which was the most substantial integration of a cable television network at the time.
Petitti also served as executive vice president of CBS Sports from 2002-08.
Among the topics Petitti and the Big Ten will be expected to address in the future include the conference’s upcoming expansion to include the University of California, Los Angeles and University of Southern California in 2024. UCLA and USC both participated in the interview process of Petitti’s hiring.
