Jim Delany is playing Big 10 Commissioner the same way he played basketball: as subtle as a busted screen, and as passive as a six-foot guard taking a charge. His aggressive and blunt style has managed to alienate a few people, not that he loses much sleep over it.
But unlike his days as a guard at North Carolina, when he had to badger Dean Smith for court time, Delany has emerged as a prime-time player in the hierarchy of intercollegiate athletics. In the circle of power, Delany is as close to the center as you can get.
”He`s certainly alongside (NCAA Executive Director) Dick Schultz when you talk about the most influential people around,” said University of Illinois President Stanley Ikenberry. ”I don`t know who the third person would be.”
Adds Schultz: ”He`s done a great job. He`s a bright young guy. He`s taken a strong leadership position.”
That`s high praise for Delany, especially because he has been in his position less than two years. Delany modestly says the plaudits aren`t the result of his style, but more from the lofty stature of the conference he serves.
Obviously, there`s some truth in that view, but there`s another reality, too. Delany is making the most of a major opportunity.
The chairman of this year`s NCAA basketball tournament is at the forefront of recent reforms within college sports. He has been integral in bringing conference commissioners together in an unprecedented forum, where they come up with proposals for NCAA legislation. The unity is being cited as a big reason why the reform movement seems to be picking up steam.
Delany helped pave the way for Penn State to join the Big 10, which turned out to be the first domino in conference realignment. He received high marks when he negotiated a $19 million television deal with CBS for basketball starting next year, and he`s trying to enhance the exposure of women`s programs. In April, the conference will move into its own facility near O`Hare International Airport.
Using a vocabulary mixed with academic lingo and legalese, Delany is seen alternatively as progressive, or pompous. But never retiring.
”He doesn`t fear things,” said Gene Corrigan, commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference. ”If he has thought it out, he has no fear of moving forward.”
”His style is very aggressive, and sometimes abrupt,” said Minnesota Athletic Director Rick Bay. ”He`s a no-nonsense guy. Maybe he has to be that way. The Big 10 hasn`t changed in a long time. What he`s trying to do is make some changes.”
That`s exactly what the Big 10 wanted in 1989 when Delany was brought in to replace the retiring Wayne Duke, whose regime was more oriented towards bringing fiscal security to the league. However, with the times changing from Duke`s days as boss, the presidents sought a commissioner who could place the conference at the head of the NCAA reform movement.
In Delany, the Big 10 found a man who was a guard on the 1968 and `69 Final Four teams at North Carolina. A law school graduate, he worked as an NCAA investigator before becoming commissioner of the Ohio Valley Conference at 31.
After spending 10 years there, Delany wanted another challenge. Thus far, he hasn`t shied away from his Big 10 orders.
”Sometimes a bureaucrat becomes a leader if you`re willing to get out in front of the parade and take some risks,” said Delany, 42. ”If you`re not willing to do that, I do think you`re relegated to the position of being a paper-shuffler. I`m willing to take risks.”
Delany saw his initial mission as being a bridge-builder. For years, the Big 10 and Pac 10 have remained on a seperate island stemming from their choice not to join the College Football Association, which is comprised of independents such as Notre Dame, and schools from major conferences like the ACC, Big 8 and Southeastern and Southwest Conference.
”If the Big 10 brought something up, the CFA voted against it, and visa- versa,” Corrigan said. ”We weren`t getting anywhere.”
Delany and the other leaders tried to change that trend by setting up a group called the Conference of Commissioners. Corrigan says Delany arranges the meetings, ”and all we have to do is show up.”
”The Big 10 only has 10 votes, and you need 168 votes to get something done (in Division I),” Delany said. ”If you don`t build some coalitions, you won`t be able to do anything. What we`re saying to the other conferences is,
`This is what we think the problems are. What do you think they are? Let`s see if we can come to a common understanding.` ”
Delany has some progressive ideas. He supports underclassmen being able to go into the pro draft, if that is their desire. He`s in favor of raising academic entrance requirements, and he`s open to making freshmen ineligible.
Sometimes, though, his views aren`t greeted with diplomatic acclaim. Delany has been quick to reprimand coaches who stray out of line with officials. He even issued a reprimand to Bo Schlembechler after the Michigan coach worked his last game, which included an outburst following the 1990 Rose Bowl.
Delany is pushing league administrators to give him the power to hand out tougher sanctions. During his days in the OVC, he routinely suspended offenders who failed to show the proper sportsmanship. He lamented he couldn`t do more than deal out a written reprimand after the recent Bobby Knight-Lou Henson fiasco.
Delany has made major changes in Big 10 staff, bringing in his own people while easing out others, some of whom were long-time conference employees.
In December, Delany talked about a plan that would land the Big 10 in bowl games before the season`s opening kickoff. The bowl officials were riled, and privately called the idea ludicrous.
”He`s coming in thinking he invented the game,” said one official of a major bowl. ”Who is he anyway?”
”I`ve had some people get pretty upset with me,” Delany admits.
The Big 10`s athletic directors were extremely upset during the Penn State affair. Delany barely was on the job for four months when the presidents informed him they wanted to add Penn State.
They took this action without consulting the athletic directors. When the ADs found out, it was Delany who received the brunt of their anger.
”Some of us felt Jim could have been more candid,” Bay said.
Perhaps because of the Penn State affair, Bay said the athletic directors, who had a tight relationship with Duke, haven`t developed that bond with Delany.
”I`d like to him get closer to us,” said Bay, who was complimentary.
”I hope he can.”
Delany hopes so too. He concedes as a rookie Big 10 commissioner he didn`t have the experience to handle the Penn State development as well as he should have. He admits the actual governance of the Big 10, in which various constituents are thrown into the fray, is more complicated than he imagined. He hopes it can be stream-lined down the road.
If Delany could do Penn State again, he would. But he can`t, and if some people are upset with him for that or other issues, then so be it.
”It goes with the wear and tear of the job,” Delany said. ”I want to be liked, but it`s more important to gain someone`s respect. I`ve had people mad at me, and I`ve made some people mad. The hope is, if you do it the right way, you don`t lose the relationship. On the other hand, if the person only has the expectation you`ll give him what he wants, I`m not sure what you lost.”
Delany has achieved that relationship within some constituents in the conference. Says Michigan State coach Jud Heathcoate of him, ”You can talk to him about anything. You may not sway him, but he`ll listen.”
Delany also has considerable input with the presidents. Ikenberry says the commissioner doesn`t hesitate to give his recommendations, popular or otherwise, to the conference leaders.
”He had a stressful first year, and came out in a strong leadership position,” Ikenberry said.
So much so there`s a possibility the Big 10 will lose its commissioner when, and if, the 61-year old Schultz decides to retire. Many college insiders believe Delany is Schultz`s heir-apparent.
Delany, though, defers comment about whether he wants to be the NCAA`s executive director. Besides, he already is making his impact felt on a national level from the Big 10.
”Am I making a difference? Let someone else decide,” Delany said. ”I feel that my capabilities are being fully utilized. I feel totally engaged. I feel productive. I`m excited about what we`re doing and where we`re going.”
