As was first reported late last month, commissioner Kevin Warren is indeed leaving the Big Ten to return to the NFL. He'll be the president and CEO of the Chicago Bears, according to multiple reports.
From a college sports perspective, Warren's departure is stunning. It's believed to be the first time in college sports' modern, big money era that a commissioner has voluntarily left for another job. (Big 12 commissioner Kevin Weiberg left to create the Big Ten Network, but I would argue that move started the big money era.) The commissioners of the Big Ten and SEC are the de facto commissioners of the entire college sports industry.
But from Warren's perspective, the departure makes sense. He'd never worked in college sports before taking the Big Ten job. He made his name in NFL circles overseeing the Vikings' move from the Metrodome to US Bank Stadium, and now joins the Bears as they prepare to leave Soldier Field for a new stadium in the suburbs.
Though his tenure began in an unmitigated disaster, as Warren and Big Ten presidents canceled the 2020 football season only to reverse course and play, he recovered with two major victories. Warren represented the Big Ten's interests in the College Football Playoff expansion by securing a 12-team bracket that guaranteed automatic bids to the top six conference champions and first-round byes to the four highest-rated conference champs. More importantly, he oversaw the conference's landmark TV deal and added USC and UCLA. Beginning next season, the Big Ten will earn more than $1 billion per year for a deal that will get B1G games on Fox, CBS and NBC each Saturday.
The Big Ten will have no shortage of suitors to replace Warren, but it will be interesting to see which direction the conference ultimately goes.
For decades, conference commissioners were the ultimate college sports insiders: former ADs and/or conference office executives.
The Big Ten hiring Warren away from the NFL signaled an industry shift toward college sports outsiders, and that trend has only continued. The Pac-12, Big 12 and NCAA hired CEOs whose experience came in business and/or politics, and soon we'll learn if college sports' richest conference will do the same.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.