Who is Tony Petitti? Taking a closer look at the professional career of the Big Ten commissioner

Tony Petitti was appointed Big Ten commissioner in May after a stint as the chief operating officer of the MLB. He has made waves with his conference expansionist views typical to the current college sports scene.

Petitti's extensive career in the media industry made him the perfect candidate for the Big Ten job with conference wars at an all-time high. Conference expansion and realignment is the name of the game and everyone is fighting for a share of the lucrative TV contracts.

Tony Petitti started off as a general attorney at ABC Sports before joining CBS as a senior vice president. He was also briefly the head of college sports channel CSTV which was absorbed into CBS.

Between 2017 and 2019, he was the deputy commissioner for media and business for the MLB and oversaw baseball digital sports content, scheduling and marketing activities.

He was then tapped to replace outgoing commissioner Kevin Warren in a trend that's seeing conferences place their trust in executives who don't fit the traditional mold of having a background in college sports.

CBS Sports President, Sean McManus explained what made Tony Petitti so different.

"Don't be surprised if Tony comes up with new events, new approaches, new schedules, just as he did when he joined me in 1997. He's going to dive into this. Nobody will ever outwork him or have more of a commitment."

Tony Petitti has the media background pedigree that is a staple of conference heads in the current college sports climate. Conference expansion and realignment are right down his alley.

Tony Petitti's legacy

Tony Petitti got right into the groove of things and as Big Ten commissioner has joined in the conference realignment and expansion games that have plagued college sports.

The Big Ten has already acquired USC and UCLA for the 2024 season from the Pac-12 and apparently, under Petitti's tutelage, aren't done just yet.

The SEC (Southeastern Conference) and the Big Ten have been at the forefront of the programs' arms race, plundering the other programs mercilessly. They have been accused of wanting to carve out a Power 2 out of the original Power 5.

Petitti is apparently targeting several powerhouse programs for the Big Ten's expansion plans. Some of the more concrete programs being targeted include Miami, Oregon and Washington.

All of those programs offer a gateway into huge markets that will massively benefit the Big Ten. Only last year, The Big Ten negotiated a new television deal with CBS, NBC and Fox worth $7 billion showing just how much money there is in college sports.

With the addition of more elite programs in huge markets, future TV deals will only get more lucrative and Tony Petitti intends for the Big Ten to fully reap the rewards of its current astute moves.