Ohio State football: Kevin Warren deserves some credit

I want you to close your eyes. Think back to the 2020 college football season. Remember when every major conference was going to play except for the Big Ten and Pac-12? Remember when the Ohio State football team made the National Championship Game in a season that almost didn’t happen?

That whole fiasco was the start of Kevin Warren’s tenure as Big Ten Commissioner. He certainly didn’t start off strong and definitely didn’t have any fans in Columbus. He might have had the worst start that anyone’s ever had in a job like that.

Since that tumultuous season, Warren has done some really good things. In fact, he actually deserves some credit for things that are happening around the Big Ten right now. He seems to have found his footing and learned from the mistakes that he made in 2020.

Warren was a key figure in adding USC and UCLA to the Big Ten. While the Athletic Directors and Presidents were the ones actually making the moves, Warren certainly was kept in the loop and helped things go smoothly. Adding two premier programs like that is a big move.

That move, along with other factors, is helping the Big Ten get some massive TV money. Warren helped negotiate a deal that will likely pay the conference in excess of $1 billion. Warren needs to get a lot of credit for getting that deal from different TV networks.

Has Warren done everything properly as Commissioner? No. I still haven’t forgiven him for the debacle that was 2020. To be honest, I might never forgive him for that. I still haven’t forgiven Gene Smith for costing the Ohio State football program a chance at a national title in 2012. But that doesn’t mean I can’t give them both credit when good things happen.

Hopefully, good things keep happening for the Big Ten under Kevin Warren’s watch.