CHICAGO - Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti didn’t exactly sign off on Dan Lanning’s blueprint for fixing college football’s overloaded calendar. But he made one thing clear Tuesday: the current setup is putting coaches in a brutal spot.
Petitti opened Big Ten Media Days by acknowledging the strain created when the postseason, transfer portal, recruiting and staff changes all collide at once. If the College Football Playoff grows to 24 teams, he said, the pressure only gets worse.
“It’s really difficult to recruit and build your roster in the middle of the postseason,” Petitti said. “There’s no comparison of anybody else being asked to do that.”
That point has been a constant for Lanning, who has pushed for the sport to move earlier, finish the season sooner and get the transfer portal and coaching movement out of the way after the games are done. He said after Oregon’s spring game in April, “Move it up. Move it up,” and added, “I don’t think the portal should exist at the same time that football’s being played.”
Lanning’s preferred fix would have college football start earlier, possibly in Week Zero, cut out an open week and stage each playoff round on consecutive Saturdays. In his view, the season should wrap around Jan. 1, leaving December Saturdays to college football instead of the NFL.
Petitti agreed with the diagnosis, especially for programs that keep playing deep into January. He pointed directly to Lanning and other Big Ten coaches in that situation.
“When Dan is up here, and Ryan and Kirk, schools that have gone deep, when you ask them, they’ll tell you that because they’re focused on multiple things,” Petitti said.
And it’s not just about keeping current rosters intact. Coaches and assistants can be chased for other jobs while their teams are still preparing for the biggest games of the year. At the same time, they’re trying to get ready for playoff opponents, stay in touch with players already on campus and recruit the ones who might arrive next season.
“It gets to be really difficult,” Petitti said. “It is not the ideal system.”
The Big Ten has already tried to push transfer activity into the spring, Petitti said, though the league wasn’t unanimous on the idea and couldn’t get the rest of the sport to go along.
“We did not carry the day with our colleagues on that discussion, so this is where it is,” Petitti said. “But it is difficult.”
Where Petitti drew the line was on how simple the solution might be. Lanning has called moving the calendar forward an “easy fix.” Petitti isn’t convinced it’s that clean.
“I haven’t heard a good idea to fix it, to be honest,” Petitti said. “Starting earlier? I’m not sure how much earlier we can start.”
He also pointed to the academic calendar, noting the differences between schools on quarter systems and those on semesters. That matters for Oregon, whose schedule doesn’t line up perfectly with many of its Big Ten peers.
So while Petitti and Lanning don’t agree on the cure, they’re aligned on the illness. The sport is asking too much of coaches and players while championships are still on the line. And with playoff expansion still in the conversation, that squeeze could get even tighter.
In Other News...
Dan Lanning And The Ducks Face Their First 2026 Big Test In Chicago
The Big Tens annual media days bring a familiar kind of preseason stagecraft, but for Oregon this week in Chicago it also marks the first real conference spotlight of 2026. Dan Lanning will meet the press at the Hilton Chicago alongside players Dante Moore, Jamari Johnson and Teitum Tuioti, with the Ducks represented across the event as the leagues coaches and players spend three days talking through the issues that tend to shape a season before it starts.
For Oregon, the setting matters because these sessions are where the bigger questions start to take form, from College Football Playoff expectations to conference scheduling and the broader direction of the sport. Lanning will get the main room, while Moore, Johnson and Tuioti handle their own podium turns, giving the Ducks a chance to frame their own message before the seasons pressure really arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Charlie Bird Had One Surprising Realization About The Oregon Duck
Charlie Birds time as BYUs mascot gave him plenty of chances to cross paths with other college football icons, but one of the most memorable came at an ESPN College Football Awards show. Bird said he ended up in a dance-off with the Oregon Duck, a performance that fit the mascots long-running reputation for being one of the sports most entertaining sideline acts.
The Duck has only added to that image lately, including a viral Autzen Stadium entrance in a Labubu costume that kept Oregon in the conversation well beyond game day. It also tracks with the broader way Dan Lanning talks about the program, which he has framed as innovative and built for the Big Ten spotlight, even if the people inside the costume still manage to surprise the folks sharing the stage with them. [Read more 🡒]
Oregons Biggest Camp Battle Will Decide How Safe Dante Moore Is
The biggest August question around Dante Moore is not about his arm or his poise, but about the five men charged with keeping the pocket intact in front of him. Oregon has to replace key pieces up front after NFL departures, and Dan Lanning with offensive line coach Alique Terry are still sorting through left tackle, left guard and right tackle options as camp begins to sharpen the picture for 2026.
Spring gave the Ducks a first look at a mix of tackles and interior candidates, with younger players also getting a chance to make their case. Fox Crader, Zac Stacausky, Ziyare Addison and Michael Bennett were among the names getting evaluated on the edge, while Douglas Utu, Trent Ferguson, Kawika Rogers and Demetri Manning are in the mix inside, and freshmen Tommy Tofi and Immanuel Iheanacho could still change the conversation if they keep climbing. [Read more 🡒]