"You can't indicate any emotion": Commish Tony Petitti looks back at success in Big Ten with Ohio State's latest championship

Commissioner Tony Petitti has been with the Big Ten for nearly two years and has reaped massive success. The college football landscape is undergoing massive changes, with conference realignment, transfer portal, NIL, revenue sharing, and the latest House vs. NCAA settlement. When he thinks back on these two seasons, Petitti is filled with gratitude for the fans and coaches who supported him.

On Monday, the veteran executive spoke to Joel Kaltt on his weekly show, discussing the latest changes in the College Football Playoff format and his two years with the conference. In the last two years, Big Ten teams won the national championships: the Michigan Wolverines in 2024 and the Ohio State Buckeyes in 2025.

“It's a really interesting job," Petitti said (2:00). "When you're playing conference games, you're kind of stone faced, you're on the sideline. You can't indicate any emotion. You make sure the colors are gray and black. You don't reflect any school colors.

"Apparently, all those wins matter in terms of my job performance on the outcome of games, when you're sitting there ... And so you try to put people in position like, I think we've done a good job of trying to, you know, provide the resources and the support to let our coaches and student athletes do what they do best.”

Petitti mentioned that he has been lucky in that aspect, as his conference teams have beaten the opposition. Furthermore, in his first year, he handled conference restructuring, bringing programs from the Pac-12 and other conferences into the Big Ten. With 18 members, the Big Ten is now a formidable unit.

Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti demands College Football Playoff expansion

The extended 12-team playoff bracket doesn't seem to satisfy Tony Petitti, who thinks more teams should be contending for the natty. He claimed the Big Ten needs equal representation and in the current format, only a limited number of spots could be reserved.

Just like college basketball's March Madness bracket, more teams across the country should be able to make the postseason, according to the Big Ten commissioner.

"So I want more teams to feel like they're chasing an opportunity to compete for a national championship," Petitti said. "Teams can get hot late in the season, more meaningful conference games as late as possible. And I think you see that in the professional sports model.”

The current setup is due for revisions and every offseason, board members and ADs of conferences will meet to discuss potential changes in the format and make more amendments.