The Chicago Bears hired Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren to be the team’s president and CEO this week. The move caught a lot of attention from all over, including from SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey.
Warren presided as commissioner of the Big Ten Conference from 2020-2023. Over those three years, the Big Ten moved up the ladder, as they negotiated media deals with CBS and NBC, and also acquired USC and UCLA as the conference expands. So his time certainly went well, though, through COVID, there were many speed bumps. But jobs aren’t held forever, so Warren’s departure to the Bears wasn’t surprising in that regard.
Still, apparently, that didn’t stop the SEC Commissioner from appearing to take a shot at Warren after his exit from the Big Ten.
“We need leaders today in college football and college sports,” Sankey said during Georgia’s championship celebration on Saturday. “Not leaders who make a stop to build a resume and go onto something else. But those who understand the problems ahead are real and demand our attention.”
Commissioner on commissioner violence. (HT @jonathanganz) pic.twitter.com/n1X8R95WrL
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) January 14, 2023
As Stewart Mandel of The Athletic tweeted, this is a case of commissioner-on-commissioner violence.
Swipes from one conference to the other are about as common as it gets. Granted, usually, it comes from the coaches, players, and alumni. Not usually the commissioners. But, Greg Sankey definitely knows his audience here.
