James E. Delany (born 1948) is the current commissioner of the Big Ten Conference, a role in which he has served since 1989. He is regarded among college athletics as being influential in the creation of the Bowl Championship Series and its maintenance.
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Early life
The 61-year old Delany is a native of South Orange, N.J. He received his undergraduate degree in political science from the University of North Carolina in 1970 and juris doctorate degree from the University of North Carolina School of Law in 1973. At UNC, Delany was a three year member of the varsity basketball team under legendary coach, Dean Smith. At Carolina, Delaney served as a tri-captain during his senior year, 1970. As a Tar Heel, Delany twice participated in NCAA Final Four competition.
Professional career
From 1973 to 1974 Delany was employed as counsel to the North Carolina Senate Judiciary Committee. From there, he was hired to the position of staff attorney for the North Carolina Justice Department. In 1975 he moved on to a position in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, working as an enforcement representative. He remained in this position for four years before moving on to the Ohio Valley Conference as its commissioner. He remained commissioner of that conference until 1989 when he was appointed commissioner of the Big Ten Conference.
Memberships and other positions held include a member of the Collegiate Commissioners Association (CCA), a member of the College Basketball Partnership, vice president of USA Basketball Executive Committee and a member of the board of directors of the University of North Carolina General Alumni Association.
Accomplishments as Big Ten Conference commissioner
During his tenure as commissioner of the Big Ten Conference, Delany has overseen:
- The expansion of the league to 11 schools.
- Established guaranteed participation in seven different bowl games.
- Development and implementation of the first college football instant replay system.
- An increase in average Big Ten football game attendance from 58,000 per game to 72,000 per game by 2005.
- Helped in negotiations with CBS to achieve a US$6 billion 11 year contract for men's basketball NCAA tournament games.
Influence
Due to his position, Delany controls a significant amount of power with regards to the BCS. 25% of all U.S. households are in the geographic region covered by the Big Ten Conference. This has had major implications on his influence over college football.
Mr. Delany opposes the idea of a college football playoff system, arguing that a playoff would diminish the value of regular season games. Detractors to this argument do not believe that this would be true, and that a playoff system would add value to the sport by allowing for a fair way to determine a college football champion.[1] Some fans opposed to the BCS refer to him as 'Darth Delany'.
Personal life
James Delany is married to Catherine Fisher Delany, with whom he has two sons, Newman McMurray Delany and Chance.
References
- ^ Playoff Plunderer, Yahoo! Sports, 05 Jan 2007
External links
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