With less than two minutes left in the Sugar Bowl on Thursday night, Ohio State, ahead by 7 points and having just recovered an onside kick by Alabama, tried a deep pass along the left sideline — Ohio State’s sideline. Standing near the bench, Jim Delany, the commissioner of the Big Ten Conference for 26 years, sprinted a few steps toward the field to catch a glimpse of the ball as it hurtled through the air. The pass fell incomplete, but his actions were a sign of the investment that not only Buckeyes fans, but fans of all Big Ten...