B1G Media Days, my new role, my first game & so much gratitude

Heading to the Big Ten Network to broadcast games + in studio coverage

Happy summer and if you work in college football, all of us at Y-Option hope you had an incredible final weekend before teams report to camp, depth charts get set and game day nears.

I’m on my way to Indianapolis to work for the Big Ten Network, as B1G Media Days get underway Tuesday morning. I’ll be interviewing coaches, meeting players and learning about a league that has transformed into one of the two premiere leagues in college football. 

It’s been quite the journey to join this team at BTN and one that I’m extremely proud of. When the Pac-12 shifted in dramatic fashion last August it was clear that myself, and over 200 colleagues, would be looking for our next job. We would all work the phones, support one another and begin the journey that none of us could have predicted. 

As I sat at our inaugural company-wide seminar last week at Big Ten Network I was navigating my emotions, from obvious excitement to working through that final stage of grief – meaning. 

Years ago when my Mom died I began to dive into grief and would learn there are 6 stages: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance and according to David Kessler, the final one is meaning. Those stages were all part of navigating my Mom losing a battle with lung cancer in 2020, as well as navigating the loss of the Pac-12 that we all grew to love in August of 2023.

As presentations were happening with BTN executives, I began to think of what the Pac-12 meant to me. It generated so many memories, led me to lifelong friends, literally guided me via Stanford spring ball to my wife, gifted me the greatest impact on my professional life in Ted Robinson, who would teach me more than I could have expected regarding my personal life, led me to coaches who taught me about the game via their phenomenal football minds, allowed me to meet fans, families & the be a part of the future of college football on the West Coast.

On the drive along the coast this weekend I found myself staring at the Pacific Ocean, the place that has often led me to finding clarity since I moved out West 20 years ago. Once again, it delivered.

Without the Pac-12, I would not have the life that I’m living today. We wouldn’t have this community with Y-Option and I wouldn’t find myself on a plane to Indianapolis. 

So let me be clear:

• My love for the Pac-12 is boundless and endless.

• My gratitude for the support of Y-Option is boundless and endless.

• My enthusiasm for my new role at BTN is also overflowing. 

I’m excited to visit new campuses that will inspire hope in our future, meet new athletes who will share stories that will move the nation, learn from new coaches who will help us coach the viewers, and connect with new fans who share a love for this game. Overall, I am so thankful for this new team at BTN as I get to continue to live out a childhood dream.

As a child in Northeastern Pennsylvania, my first college game day experience was in 1999, and as irony would have it, Arizona (Pac-10) visited Penn State (B1G) in a stadium of more than 100,000 fans to kickoff the season. My childhood friend, Ryan Tierney, invited me as his father was a huge Penn State fan and had season tickets. We sat in Section WE, Row E. It was right on the 50, 5th row behind the visiting bench and was easily the closest I had ever been to a sideline.

I had zero clue what I was about to witness and how one roar of the crowd would change my life. 

As LaVar Arrington took the field that afternoon and the Nittany Lion faithful cheered at a decibel level I had never heard, I was hooked. My eyes scanned Beaver Stadium and I vividly recall whispering to myself, “Yogi, you’re going to play major college football.” That single experience never left my mind and was often a nudge when I was choosing to walk on at Pitt. BTW, we went 1-0 vs PSU :).

But to think I may be back in that stadium broadcasting a game this fall brings a smile to my face, and that future reality would easily blow my 16-year-old mind.

I’ve said thousands of times over the past 17 years, How Great Is Ball?! And I’ll say it again – amid all of the changes in college football and the chaos in college sports nothing will ever be able to take away the magic and brilliance of game day. And I will double down on that statement again today.

I’m honored to be in the booth with Big Ten Network and grateful to share this new platform at Y-Option.com, as the feedback has been incredible for both roles. And while I won’t be in the booth out west every weekend this fall, this platform was built to continue to discuss the stories and strategies of current and former Pac-12 teams, as well as many more in college football through the lens of the West Coast. 

So let’s keep it rolling as I’m stoked to get to a stadium near you and celebrate the game we all love.

And a big thank you to the Tierney family, none of us knew it at the time, but that simple invite changed my life. 

Much love and #HowGreatIsBall,

Yogi