By The Firsthis week, Coach Doherty talks with legendary Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany. Delany grew up in the diverse Newark/South Orange area of New Jersey. Because he was a basketball standout, he attended St Benedict’s Prep and the University of North Carolina where he went to two Final Fours with Coach Dean Smith. Delany then achieved a JD from UNC Law School to begin his professional career.
After working for the NCAA in an entry level position, Delany became the commissioner of the Ohio Valley Conference for 10 years before being appointed to the largest administrative role in college sports, the commissioner of the Big Ten.
During Delany’s illustrious tenure with the Big Ten, he is recognized for several achievements including creating the Big Ten Network; securing a $6B deal with CBS sports to air men’s college basketball games; ushering Title IX into the business of college sports serving as the foundation for the current success in organized women’s sports; increasing attendance at Big Ten college football games from an avg of 58k to over 72k per game by 2005; expanding the Big Ten to include Penn State (and eventually, 3 other teams); which at the time was an unprecedented and unique business & sports competition concept.
Delany served on many NCAA advisory boards and used his influence to help establish the Bowl Championship Series. After 31 years, Jim announced his retirement and officially stepped down 1/1/20. He remains a critical thought leader for education and sports.
