The Big Ten Conference has hired former MLB and television executive Tony Petitti as its next commissioner, a source confirmed to Sports Illustrated’s Ross Dellenger. ESPN’s Pete Thamel was the first to report the news.
Petitti steps into the position after former commissioner Kevin Warren—who began his tenure in the summer of 2019—announced he would depart to become CEO and president of the NFL’s Bears in January. Petitti joins the Big Ten after spending more than a decade working for Major League Baseball. Previously, he served as an executive at ABC, CBS and NBC.
Petitti directed the launch of MLB Network and became the CEO of MLB when Rob Manfred was named MLB commissioner in 2015. Most recently, Petitti served as the president of sports and entertainment at Activision Blizzard Inc., a leading video game and esports company.
He joins the Big Ten at a time when the conference prepares to add USC and UCLA and embarks upon a media rights package worth $7 billion that will begin this summer and run through 2030.
