Paul Finebaum believes Tony Petitti is in a good position to lead Big Ten following the 'ill-equipped' Kevin Warren

ESPN’s Paul Finebaum is a fan of new Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti in the sense that he’s not outgoing commissioner Kevin Warren.

Warren was criticized for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 as it pertains to the Big Ten. But he was universally praised for the additions of USC and UCLA under his watch.

However, Finebaum concluded Warren’s tenure won’t be remembered too fondly despite the late push of expansion and a new television deal, which has its own complications.

“I think he was really ill equipped for the job and happened to, I think, look into his greatest accomplishment,” Finebaum said on McElroy and Cubelic. “And I say that because he got a lot of credit a year ago when Southern Cal and UCLA made the move. Many will dispute that he really had much more to do with it than answering the phone, but I think it’s a moot point now. He will not be remembered fondly. He nearly crashed the league during COVID as we all know, and I think Tony Petitti is really in a great spot now to guide the league forward. 

“There’s not much that he has to do other than maintain, but I think based on what I read, based on what I hear from people, he is well equipped to to bring the league back to the table so to speak. Meaning that a part of college sports, especially college football, which in many ways it had become an outlier.”

Petitti has eyes on the College Football Playoff expansion to 12 teams. He once served on the BCS committee.

Petitti lamented the sporting event itself. The College Football Playoff is just three total games at the moment.

But with games on campus in the earlier rounds before bowl sites, it could be epic.

“We’re fortunate it’s a great sporting event,” Petitti said. “If you go back and look at the last few years and try to figure out who the 12 teams would be if you did like a little regression like who would be hosting, who’d be on the road. And you start seeing these matchups and what these stadiums are going to look like. And then as they advance, it’s pretty incredible. 

“Like it’s going to be a great sporting event. I know I felt that excitement for being in the CFP meetings with the fellow commissioners and just listening and trying to learn as fast as I could. I could feel that they understand this because as big as it’s been, because it’s been great, you know, it’s going to be at another level which I’m really excited about.”