Kevin Warren had low approval rating among Big Ten leaders, per report

Kevin Warren left his post as Big Ten commissioner to join the NFL and it looks like his former colleagues weren't all that upset to see him go

Kevin Warren made headlines in recent days after he elected to step down as Big Ten commissioner and become president of the Chicago Bears.

And judging by one notable report, it appears that many power brokers in the Big Ten weren't all that bummed to see Warren leave the conference.

ESPN college football insider Pete Thamel noted that the Big Ten "made no tangible push to keep" Warren after reports emerged that he was interested in leaving for the NFL.

Kevin Warren had a "low approval rating"

Why didn't they try to keep him? Because Warren's approval from among Big Ten athletic directors was actually pretty low at the time he left the conference.

That may sound counter-intuitive given Warren was the commissioner who supervised the notable expansion of the Big Ten, last offseason leading the vote to include USC and UCLA as members starting in 2024.

That major shift in conference realignment allowed the Big Ten to ink a new media rights deal that is projected to be the most lucrative in college sports history.

But "his pushes to keep expanding went against the wishes of the league's most powerful universities and stakeholders, and his public statements about expansion were viewed internally as clumsy and tone-deaf," according to Thamel.

Following the Big Ten's addition of USC and UCLA, multiple reports circulated that the league wanted to add further schools, including Notre Dame.

Big Ten expansion under Warren

Big Ten members were in favor of adding the two Los Angeles based schools — USC is a major football power and UCLA a traditional basketball draw — as both reside in the nation's second-largest media market, a major financial and geographic boost to the conference.

But those members were against any further expansion because adding more schools would cut into the revenue share for each existing member.

All of which may have helped Warren decide to return to his roots, to the NFL, where it appears many of his colleagues prefer he went.

(Thamel)

---

More college football from SI: Top 25 Rankings | Schedule | All Teams

Follow College Football HQ: Bookmark | Rankings | Facebook