There's a lot of news in college sports every day, so TheHoosier's Alec Busse breaks down some of the day's biggest stories
SPRING GAMES VS. OTHER SCHOOLS?
On Saturday, Indiana football is hosting "Spring Football Saturday," a modified spring game intended to bring fans to Memorial Stadium to enjoy free tailgating, games, giveaways and on-field meet and greet with Hoosier football players and coaches.
Spring football games have largely become a joke with confusing scoring systems, and starters playing against second and third-string players. They're often played in front of primarily empty stadiums, unless the team playing is one of the blue blood of college football like Ohio State, Georgia or Alabama. Colorado sold out their spring game, but that's the Deion Sanders effect.
So when first-year Auburn coach Hugh Freeze suggested that spring games could be played between different teams it created quite the conversation. "Let Alabama play Troy and we play UAB or vice versa," Freeze said earlier this month.
Currently, it's against NCAA rules for teams to play against each other in the spring at the Division I level. But maybe this could potentially change. Games between two teams would be more entertaining for fans and there's certainly an increased revenue aspect to the equation for the teams playing too.
To steal a line from the Athletic's David Ubben about college sports, "if it makes cents, it makes sense."
CHALLENGES FACING TONY PETITTI
On Wednesday, the Big Ten officially announced the hiring of new commissioner Tony Petitti, a former executive for Major League Baseball and various television networks.
“At this important and transformational time in collegiate athletics, it is truly my great honor to be chosen by the Council of Presidents and Chancellors as the commissioner of the Big Ten Conference,” Petitti said in a statement. “I am energized to work alongside the best athletics directors, coaches, conference staff and board in the country as – together – we continue to elevate the academic and athletic experiences and resources for our 14, soon-to-be 16, world-class universities with nearly10,000 incredible student-athletes. Thank you to the extraordinary people and places that have led me to this next challenge in my career. I am ready to get to work for the Big Ten Conference community.”
Petitti is stepping into a position left by former commissioner Kevin Warren, who left the role to be the president of the NFL's Chicago Bears. Now, Petitti is faced with taking over one of the country's two most powerful conferences at a time of major transition in college sports.
Challenges facing Petitti include working through details of the expanded College Football Playoff and revenue distribution to schools/conferences that qualify for the expanded CFP. Warren wanted to continue pushing the Big Ten further West after the additions of USC and UCLA in the summer months of 2022, but Big Ten presidents -- the people who make decisions regarding conference expansion -- weren't interested. Where does Petitti stand on increasing the Big Ten's footprint and will he have a more communication with conference presidents to have more conversations about adding members to the league?
The NCAA/Power 5 conferences/member schools are facing a few different lawsuits that are currently being debated across the country about the benefits athletes can receive. Before Warren accepted his post with the Bears, he said he thinks there is a path where student-athletes become employees of universities. Of course, this would be the biggest change to college sports ever.
Petitti will soon be one of the two most powerful people in college sports along with SEC commissioner Greg Sankey. How he handles relationship building within the conference and industry will go a long way to determining how successful he is.
ULRICH NAMED B1G WOMEN'S FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Indiana sophomore Jayden Ulrich was named the Big Ten Women's Field Athlete of the Week on Wednesday afternoon.
Ulrich through the No. 5 mark in the NCAA in the discus at 59.29 meters and the No. 11 mark int he shot put at 17.06 meters in San Diego last weekend. She set the Indiana record in the discus last year and the 59.29 meter discus throw is the Big Ten lead.
She is the only thrower in the country to achieve distances of at least 17 meters in the shot put and 59 meters in the discus and is throwing more than seven feet further than any other Big Ten athlete in the discus.
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