Big Ten deputy commissioner Brad Traviolia is taking over the league’s men’s hockey administrative position.
Jennifer Heppel, who had overseen hockey since the Big Ten announced in 2011 that it was adding the sport, left the conference in June to become the executive director of the Patriot League.
Traviolia is a former All-American and conference champion in wrestling at Northwestern. He joined the Big Ten office in 1997 after spending four years as an assistant coach for the Wildcats.
He has been deputy commissioner since 2006 and also has served as the chair of the NCAA Wrestling Committee, on the College Football Playoff Audit Committee and with the Collegiate Officiating Consortium.
He’ll serve as one of the two Big Ten representatives on the 12-member board of College Hockey Inc., the marketing body that promotes NCAA Division I men’s hockey. Each Division I men’s league has a commissioner and an athletic director or coach on the board.
Traviolia also will be the Big Ten’s contact for the Hockey Commissioners Association.
James Delany is the Big Ten’s commissioner but individual sports have separate administrators.
