• Photo Showcase: 1983 Kickoff Classic, NU vs. PSU
• Video: Jim Delaney at Big 12 media days:
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CHICAGO — At the end of Monday's formal interview sessions at Big Ten media days, 73-year-old Nebraska Athletic Director Tom Osborne and 83-year-old Penn State football coach Joe Paterno were ushered in to pose with Commissioner Jim Delany.
Any significance to that?
“I don't know,'' Osborne said. “I guess they wanted some people who were really old in the picture.''
Publicity photos aside, Osborne was impressed with the way his new colleagues conducted their business.
“The A.D.s get along well,'' he said. “Jim Delany does a nice job of building consensus. I was really kind of surprised at the amount of agreement around the table.''
No final decisions were made Monday on divisions, a football title game or scheduling for the 12-team Big Ten. But work got done, and Osborne was a resource.
“They didn't have a lot of questions of me, and I didn't have a lot of questions of them,'' he said. “The discussion was fairly straightforward. There was enough collegiality around the room that they got a little more done than I thought they would.''
Delany said Osborne contributed in a “less is more'' manner.
“Tom was good,'' Delany said. “He doesn't say a lot. He's a great listener. But when he speaks, it speaks volumes because he's a very experienced guy and a well-respected guy.
“They had some experiences that were helpful as we thought about some of the challenges we have in setting up divisions.''
The ebb and flow of tension between the Big 12 North and South Divisions was a likely topic, though Osborne spoke to the media only generally about divisional structure.
He said Delany impressed him when they first met for immediately asking about the lay of the land at Nebraska.
“He started talking about culture,'' Osborne said. “I feel that's a mistake a lot of conferences have made in the past.
“Everybody does things a little differently. I don't care if you're merging a business or two people are getting married. It's really important that you've thought it through well. They are doing everything they can to make sure we're a good fit both ways.''
Delany said he has seen no roadblocks to a smooth integration of Nebraska into the Big Ten by next July.
“From our perspective, it's gone really well,'' he said. “We're trying to learn as much about them as we can, and they're trying to learn as much about what we do because we've got a few academic and recruiting rules that are different from the NCAA.''
Other items:
• Osborne hasn't detected much buyer's remorse from Nebraskans over the Huskers' move to the Big Ten. “It's been very positive. Frankly, I thought it might be 70-30 in favor of the switch. From what I've heard, it's been more 90-10 or 95-5.''
• If Nebraska is assigned an opponent to play regularly at the end of the season, Husker fans are asking for Iowa. But Osborne said such a partner remains unknown.
• Don't look for a double round-robin in basketball, which would be 22 conference games. Delany said he struggled to get the Big Ten to schedule the current 18, which is two more than most leagues.
Contact the writer:
444-1024, lee.barfknecht@owh.com
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• Video: Joe Paterno at Big Ten media days:
• Video: Big Ten coaches talk about conference realignment at media days:
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