Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Chicago Tribune

    Jim Delany's run as Big Ten commissioner ends Jan. 1. And when it comes to his 30-year tenure, he has few regrets.

    by Teddy Greenstein, Chicago Tribune Dec 18, 2019 9 minutes

    ROSEMONT, Ill. - As Jim Delany exited the Lucas Oil Stadium field with wife Kitty after the Dec. 7 Big Ten championship game, a fan decked in Ohio State gear near the tunnel hollered: "Hey! Best commissioner ever!"

    Delany nodded to acknowledge the man known to Buckeyes fans as "Tennessee Jeff" Hamms. But he did not break stride.

    "People have yelled good things and bad things," Delany told the Tribune, chuckling. "It depends oftentimes whether you win or lose. I appreciate fans, but I don't think commissioners are per se supposed to be popular."

    During his 30 years at the helm of the Big Ten - which officially ends Jan. 1 - Delany's approval rating has ranged from roughly 0 to 100, depending on the timing and source of opinion.

    Big Ten presidents and chancellors worship him for the wads of cash that flow to their campuses each year, allowing them to construct jaw-dropping facilities and offer top dollar to coaches.

    Some Midwestern fans cursed him for rotating the Big Ten basketball tournament to Washington and New York.

    Parents of Big Ten soccer and volleyball players should love him whenever they get to watch their kids appear on BTN telecasts.

    Hordes of college football fans resented his loyalty to the Rose Bowl over his willingness to greenlight a college football playoff.

    Most Penn State and Nebraska fans appreciate him for their inclusion in the conference.

    SEC fans howled when he took a shot at the league's

    You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

    More from Chicago Tribune

    Chicago Tribune3 min read
    ‘Shardlake’ Review: A Tudor-era Murder Mystery On Hulu
    Historical procedurals are expensive to make and therefore all too rare on television. Enter the Tudor-era murder mystery “Shardlake” on Hulu, set during the reign of Henry VIII and adapted from the first book in a series by C.J. Sansom (who died ove
    Chicago Tribune4 min read
    From Devo To Women’s Soccer, Doc10 Film Fest Shows Us The Real World
    CHICAGO — They are older women now, their faces flashing across the screen in “Copa 71,” a film that corrects a terrible wrong and celebrates these women and others when they were young athletes out to change the world. Especially potent in a time th
    Chicago Tribune3 min read
    Review: Solo ‘Hamlet’ At Chicago Shakes Is From An Eddie Izzard Unwilling To Compromise
    CHICAGO — Back in 2010, Eddie Izzard sold out the United Center in Chicago. The trailblazing British comedian told me at the time of a burning need to prove comics could fill arenas. I first wrote about Izzard in a solo show called “Dressed to Kill”

    Related Books & Audiobooks