4 questions ahead of Big Ten’s 2023 football media days

INDIANAPOLIS — What a difference a year can make.

Then-commissioner Kevin Warren boasted at last year’s Big Ten football media days about having all 14 head football coaches back for 2022, “which shows the strength, the continuity of our coaches and of our conference.”

This year, continuity might not be the first word to come to mind with the Big Ten.

Warren now works as the president and chief executive officer of the Chicago Bears.

When coaches, new commissioner Tony Petitti and media alike descend on Lucas Oil Stadium this week, there will be three first-year head coaches and one interim head coach.

Northwestern is in the midst of turmoil after former athletes have come forward with allegations of hazing and sexual harassment. Longtime head coach Pat Fitzgerald has been fired, and civil rights lawyer Ben Crump is representing former athletes in lawsuits against the school.

As for Iowa, Kirk Ferentz and three players — defensive back Cooper DeJean, tight end Luke Lachey and linebacker Jay Higgins — will speak to media throughout the day on Wednesday.

Here are four questions, either conference-wide or Iowa-specific, ahead of this week’s media availabilities:

Are the details finalized in the Big Ten’s media rights deal?

The Big Ten announced its paradigm-shifting media rights agreement last July, but there was more work to be done before the final contracts were signed.

Outgoing Iowa athletics director Gary Barta alluded to that when asked by The Gazette in February what qualities he would like to see in the next Big Ten commissioner.

“Television is No. 1 because the final contracts need to get done,” Barta said at the time. “We have new partners, in addition to Fox, with NBC and CBS. So we have a lot of work to do. So having expertise and/or ability to navigate that is really important.”

An ESPN report in May indicated whether schools would have to play November night games has been among the things networks and schools had not yet resolved.

Considering the money in play — about $7 billion over seven years — it is an important thing to finalize, if it hasn’t been already.

What’s the latest with the sports gambling investigation at Iowa?

Considering it is an ongoing NCAA investigation, we might not hear much about it.

Kirk Ferentz will surely be prepared for questions about it. Time will tell whether either he or incoming AD Beth Goetz has anything to say on the topic.

Noah Shannon was supposed to be one of the Hawkeyes’ three players in Indianapolis, but his involvement in the sports gambling investigation prompted him to pass on the opportunity. Shannon was the first Iowa football player confirmed to be a part of the investigation.

Many of the other names involved in the investigation, along with a timeline for how soon penalties could come out, remain uncertain.

What is Iowa doing to avoid another lethargic offensive season?

Iowa’s recent offensive results certainly have not been ideal.

Last year’s offense ranked 130th out of 131 FBS teams in yards per game as an Iowa team with elite defense and special teams units finished with an 8-5 record.

Iowa’s coaching staff — whether it be head coach Kirk Ferentz or offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz — have made it clear major changes are not in the picture.

“We’re going to do the same things we do,” Brian Ferentz said when asked what he was going to do differently in 2023 to avoid another year of subpar results. “We’re going to do it better.”

How much Iowa’s offense can improve its execution of “the same things we do” will be a key for the 2023 season.

Personnel improvements, including the addition of quarterback Cade McNamara via the transfer portal, should help matters. What else Iowa is doing to improve will be a question for this week and a few weeks later at Iowa’s local media day.

What are Tony Petitti’s vision and top priorities for the conference?

Warren’s opening statement last year was almost 3,000 words.

Even if Petitti’s opening statement is only a fraction as long as Warren’s was, it likely will give the media a sense of what Petitti is prioritizing as its newest commissioner.

Petitti is leading the conference at a pivotal time in college athletics.

Name, image and likeness and the transfer portal have led to transformational changes, and legal challenges against the NCAA around athlete compensation could further that transformation.

The Big Ten seems to be ahead of the curve with the expansion to add UCLA and USC and its massive media rights deal. Petitti has a crucial role in keeping it that way.

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com