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With Jim Delany set to retire on June 30, 2020, the Big Ten has its new commissioner in Kevin Warren, which was first reported by 670 The Score’s Mully & Haugh show.
The Big Ten Conference is expected to name Kevin Warren to replace Jim Delany as Big Ten Commissioner tomorrow morning. Warren, 55, is the Chief Operating Officer of the Minnesota Vikings, the highest-ranking African-American executive on the business side of any NFL team.
— Mully And Haugh (@mullyhaugh) June 4, 2019
Should the reports be true, Warren, 55, would become the first African-American commissioner of any Power Five conference.
Warren has a background in law (he has his J.D. from Notre Dame), and has spent over 20 years working for various NFL teams — the St. Louis Rams (1997-2001), Detroit Lions (2001-2003), and the Minnesota Vikings (2005-2019). His most recent role with the Vikings was as COO, a position that he’s held since 2015.
I won’t pretend to know if this is a good hire or not, but he seems sports businessy (yes, I made up that word) which is about all I can offer. He also doesn’t have any ties to Ohio State or Michigan any Big Ten school, which is a big positive in my book.
Welcome to the Big Ten, Kevin!
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P.S. Kevin, when asked about if your Big Ten champion should get into the College Football Playoff, do not answer like this: “I’m not going to dissect it. That’s [the CFP Selection Committee’s] job, not mine. ... We wanted the human element in this process and regardless of what happens, I’ll be supportive of the outcome.”