One of Editor & Publisher’s ‘10 That Do It Right 2021’

Partly cloudy early with increasing clouds overnight. Low 59F. Winds light and variable..

Partly cloudy early with increasing clouds overnight. Low 59F. Winds light and variable.

CHAMPAIGN — Any day now, the Big Ten will announce a massive media rights deal.

According to multiple reports, it will include football coverage on Fox, CBS, NBC and BTN, with the deal either at or approaching $1 billion.

Before he became a successful football coach, Bret Bielema was a college football fan. Growing up in Prophetstown, the games were on the family’s TV each Saturday in northwest Illinois.

“I was the remote,” the 52-year-old Illinois coach said after Thursday’s practice at Memorial Stadium. “My dad yelled Channel 4 or Channel 6 or Channel 8, which were ABC, CBS and NBC.

“I never ran out of batteries. The only other option he had was if my brother Barry was closer. I was happy when my little sister started walking because I turned her into the remote.”

Obviously, things have changed. For one, viewers no longer need to turn the dial. Modern technology took care of that long ago.

“It’s just come so far,” Bielema said.

The Bielemas are about to move into their new house in Champaign. The coach said his wife, Jen, “literally has not involved me in a lot of conversation by design, which is smart on her part. She did an incredible job building this house.”

One area where Bielema’s opinion was sought was when it came to setting up TVs. Like what TV packages they were thinking about or streaming services.

“I just want to push a button and go to the game,” Bielema said. “She, of course, wants to do things in modern ways. That was a very short conversation. I don’t even know where it’s headed.”

Just a guess the coach will have a “few” sets in the house, in whatever form works best.

“I really want to get home on a Saturday and be able to watch every game I want to watch,” Bielema said. “On Sundays, if I do get a chance to steal an NFL game late night when I get home, I love doing that.”

Topping the chartsThanks to the work done by Big Ten leadership, the conference is in a strong position when it comes to media coverage. Much more than it was when Bielema became the Wisconsin head coach prior to the 2006 season, one year before BTN launched.

“I go back to when I was in those early meetings and before the Big Ten Network was even around and the conversations we had with (then-commissioner) Jim Delany,” Bielema said. “At the time, I didn’t realize what a leader he was in the area he created in the Big Ten Network.”

Bielema remembers Delany and the late Penn State coach Joe Paterno getting into “knock-down, drag-outs. I was so happy I wasn’t part of those conversations.”

Delany is being praised for not locking the Big Ten into a longer deal, which created the current opportunity for a $1 billion-plus yearly haul. Current Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren has continued Delany’s shrewd media rights work.

“He has really done a really good job of fielding all this in, added the two teams (in UCLA and Southern California),” Bielema said, “and now we’re going to get a value that is unprecedented.”

The conference’s media coverage helps in recruiting. Back in the old days before the expansion of television coverage, a school would have a couple games shown each year. Now, every Big Ten game is aired nationally.

Bielema makes sure to share the coverage situation with prospects.

“When they are in a visit, I definitely show the Big Ten Network,” Bielema said. “I show the footprint of where it hits.”

BTN replays games each week, which is another positive.

“If I’m a mom in West Palm Beach, I know I’m going to be able to watch my son during the course of the week on the Big Ten Network,” Bielema said, “even if it isn’t live that day.”

Smile for the camerasDuring games, Bielema is shown on the screen. A lot.

Has being on camera ever caused him a problem? Well, actually ...

In 2003, while serving as co-defensive coordinator at Kansas State, Bielema was the signal caller.

“We had a call ‘Under Easy, Cover 4.’ The signal that I was using was probably not appropriate for television,” Bielema said. “I hadn’t really thought about it. I kept signaling that same call over and over again. It was brought to my attention when I got off the field, from about 100 people, that I was signaling (the call) in a very suggestive manner.”

Another situation popped up when his mom got after him for using salty language that was caught by sideline microphones.

When he was working in the NFL for the Giants and Patriots before he arrived at Illinois, Bielema watched as NFL Films got up close and personal with the coaches.

“The camera is always on you,” Bielema said. “For me, when I became a head coach, I weighed 220. Now, I’m a little north of that. I’m very well aware that the camera is on me all the time.”

Bob Asmussen can be reached at 217-393-8248 or by email at asmussen@news-gazette.com.

Bob Asmussen is a college football reporter and columnist for The News-Gazette. His email is asmussen@news-gazette.com, and you can follow him on Twitter (@BobAsmussen).

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