Sources: ADs tell commish Big Ten must ‘step up’

Big Ten athletic directors met with commissioner Tony Petitti on a video call Thursday without Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel present, and sources told ESPN the call about Michigan’s alleged sign-stealing operation took on a distinctly different tenor than when they met a week ago.

Sources told ESPN that the athletic directors left the call with the notion than Petitti is taking the Big Ten’s purview over the allegations more seriously than previously.

While no potential punishments were discussed, Petitti acknowledged speaking with the NCAA about its investigation, although he refused to divulge any details of that conversation, sources said. One of the issues Petitti brought up with the athletic directors was that he couldn’t make a decision on Michigan this season based on a whim, that he would need a set of facts to go off of.

The conversation with the NCAA hints at his willingness to find out what fact set the NCAA could be working toward. It’s not known whether the NCAA would be willing to share information, but it’s telling that the organization gave the Big Ten an initial heads-up on what was alleged, an action taken in part to protect the integrity of games.

Petitti said he needs to still speak with the Big Ten presidents on the matter, have deeper discussions with officials at Michigan and potentially speak again with the NCAA. That left no decision imminent, but Big Ten officials stressed a different tone.

While parts of the meeting unfolded similarly to the coaches airing their grievances in a call Wednesday, Petitti did get across a message that he has heard the constituencies loud and clear about the lack of action from the league.

“The athletic directors had a clear message — we believe the conference needs to step up,” a source familiar with the call said.

The most powerful message, according to sources familiar with the call, came from Michigan State athletic director Alan Haller. He mentioned the alterations in preparation that Michigan State needed to go through prior to its game with Michigan when he received a call on Wednesday of that game week about Michigan having Michigan State’s signals.

Haller worried about players potentially getting hurt because Michigan players, in theory, knew where they’d be going on plays.

He also referenced last year, when he said the Big Ten forced Michigan State to suspend numerous players after the tunnel incident in Ann Arbor before the league finished investigating the incident. He pointed out that it was hypocritical that this year, with Michigan under investigation, the league is now waiting for an investigation to unfold.

Haller is not typically one of the more vocal athletic directors on calls, so both his voice and the passion he spoke with resonated with the athletic directors and Big Ten officials on the call, sources said.

The athletic directors made it clear that they were there to support Petitti, who has been in office since April, and help guide him through. While the coaches showed flashes of anger Wednesday, the athletic directors were more measured.

“The athletic directors provided more guidance for a path forward,” said another source familiar with the call. “The coaches spoke from a point of high emotion.”