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Jim Delany

Role(s) as quoted
  • Big Ten commissioner
Person type
Conference executives
Entries
4 (Apr 30, 2008 to 2012)
Topics
Playoff & bowls (4) Rivalries & tradition (2)

In the Ideas index

All entries (oldest first)

Jim Delany, Big Ten commissioner · · BCS (2006-13) · permalink
“There's a strong sense in that room of the slippery-slope view that there's never been a collegiate or professional playoff that's stopped at four teams.”
Explaining why commissioners rejected the 2008 plus-one, Delany cited the view that no playoff has ever stopped at four teams.
Source: The Seattle Times (AP): BCS officials reject proposal for a 3-game playoff
Playoff & bowls
Jim Delany, Big Ten commissioner · · BCS (2006-13) · permalink
“I don't necessarily think the slippery slope is theoretical. I think the slippery slope is practical.”
Delany argued that playoff expansion is a practical certainty rather than a theoretical risk, pointing to how the I-AA and basketball brackets grew.
Source: PennLive / The Patriot-News: Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany is OK with no automatic BCS bids as long as Big Ten has Rose Bowl
Playoff & bowls
Jim Delany, Big Ten commissioner · · BCS (2006-13) · permalink
“As long as I can go to the Rose Bowl, I don't really care.”
Delany opposed a four-team 'plus-one' playoff, calling it a slippery slope toward 8 or 16 teams and saying the only strong argument for it is financial. He said he was fine with dropping automatic BCS bids as long as the Big Ten kept the Rose Bowl.
Source: Sports Illustrated: As BCS change looms, Big Ten boss Jim Delany remains on own island
Playoff & bowls Rivalries & tradition
Jim Delany, Big Ten commissioner · · BCS (2006-13) · permalink
“It's a big part of the Big Ten culture and the Big Ten brand.”
During the 2012 playoff talks, Delany first lobbied to host semifinals on the higher seed's campus to protect the Rose Bowl. He later said that if a playoff was inevitable, the 'best four teams' should be picked by a committee.
Source: ESPN The Magazine: Blowing up the BCS
Playoff & bowls Rivalries & tradition