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INDIANAPOLIS – Tony Petitti has been noticeably quiet lately.
In recent weeks, as his peers from coast to coast rushed to microphones, television sets and social media to voice their Very Serious Opinions, the Big Ten’s second-year commissioner has kept his own counsel. Even Saturday night, standing on the trophy stage erected at the south end of the Lucas Oil Stadium field, Petitti made no remarks before handing his conference’s championship trophy over to Oregon coach Dan Lanning.
During a season that never seemed able to outrun incessant, often inane politicking, Petitti virtually always took a pass. Because he didn’t need to — in so many ways, his conference spoke for itself.
So much about Saturday night offered affirmation for the nation’s oldest conference-turned-nation’s largest conference.
Oregon completed the best introductory season for a new member of any league in history, essentially, winning the Big Ten in its first season in the league. Petitti didn’t launch the Los Angeles raid into the Pac-12, but he was the one who moved nimbly to include Oregon and Washington when offered the chance, and in return he added an apparent superpower to his league.
The game was broadcast on CBS, one of three television partners in a record-setting media rights deal Petitti inherited in messier shape than people realized. He smoothed it over superbly. The job played into Petitti’s strength as a longtime television executive, but the delicate nature of the arrangement still required a fine balance Petitti struck neatly.
What folks feared might be an underwhelming atmosphere — with Ohio State the surprise outsider after its upset loss to Michigan and Oregon fans perhaps eyeing bigger road trips to come — turned out fine. Even if not every one of the 67,469 fans among the officially announced attendance…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/insider-why-isn-t-big-060435799.html
Author : IndyStar | The Indianapolis Star
Publish date : 2024-12-08 06:04:00
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