ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference announced today that James E. Delany will officially conclude his term as Big Ten Commissioner at the end of his current contract which expires on June 30, 2020.

The Big Ten Council of Presidents and Chancellors (COP/C) has initiated a search process under the direction of the COP/C Executive Committee and led by COP/C Chair Morton Schapiro, President, Northwestern University. They have retained the services of Korn Ferry to assist in the search.

“Jim has had an extraordinary impact on the Big Ten Conference, its member institutions, administrators, students and coaches since 1989,” said Schapiro. “He has been a forward-thinking, collaborative and decisive leader in every aspect of conference proceedings.  We thank him for his dedicated service to date and look forward to working with him through the conclusion of his contract.”

“It’s been an amazing opportunity to serve and lead these preeminent institutions, presidents, administrators, coaches and students,” said Delany. “It is incredibly fulfilling to support the hundreds of thousands of young men and women who have been afforded an opportunity to obtain best-in-class educations as a result of the invaluable, one-of-a-kind lessons learned through the unique combination of athletic and classroom competition. I would like to recognize and thank each of my colleagues for being such invaluable members of, and contributors to, the Big Ten Conference team, while acknowledging that there is still plenty of work to be done. I look forward to continuing that work through the balance of my term.”

Delany has served as Big Ten Commissioner since 1989, overseeing dozens of national champions and seeing the growth of the conference to include Penn State, Nebraska, Rutgers and Maryland among his numerous accomplishments. For a full-length story of his legacy in the Big Ten, read this feature by Bob Hammel of the Bloomington Herald-Times.