Big Ten announces Jim Delany will step down in June 2020

ROSEMONT, Ill. (AP) — Jim Delany, one of the most influential figures in college athletics for three decades, will step down as Big Ten commissioner when his contract expires June 30, 2020.

The Big Ten announced Delany’s plans on Monday. The 71-year-old has been commissioner since 1989.

The Big Ten Council of Presidents and Chancellors has started a search for Delany’s successor led by Northwestern president Morton Schapiro and the executive committee.

Schapiro said Delany has had an extraordinary impact on the conference and “has been a forward-thinking, collaborative and decisive leader in every aspect of conference proceedings.”

Delany oversaw three expansion of the conference to increase membership from 10 to 14 schools, and conference revenues increased dramatically. When Delany launched the Big Ten Network in 2006, it was the first Power Five conference with a television network devoted solely to programming of conference events.