Big Ten football viewers will get peeks into conference's new replay center

If only the new Big Ten replay center allowed food and drinks. It would be the best place in the world to watch football.

Alas, they’re prohibited, as is anyone who isn’t authorized to be in there during games, and that includes the commissioner and his staff. The Big Ten won’t allow even the appearance of impropriety.

But it will allow fans to peek inside the state-of-the-art, 2,000-square-foot space in the conference’s Rosemont headquarters during game broadcasts. The room includes two point-of-view cameras that broadcasters can use at their discretion.

“The concept there is to show folks where the decisions are being made to help illustrate and inform that perspective,” said A.J. Edds, the Big Ten’s vice president of football administration, who led the planning for the center, which was unveiled this week. “They’re fixed positions, but we have control of those angles, and they could change on a weekly basis.”

Viewers won’t hear what’s going on, but they’ll see a room that would put a sports bar to shame. It has two video walls that provide almost 500 square feet of customizable digital displays. It’s lined with 18 terminals (for 18 Big Ten teams) with touch-screen monitors that are each staffed by a collaborative replay official (CRO). They’re also equipped with — get this — Xbox controllers.

“We and Hawk-Eye Innovations determined that the Xbox was the best controller for what we needed it to do,” Edds said. “Fast-forward, rewind, frame by frame. The Xbox controller has that operation built into it.”

Hawk-Eye Innovations, a longtime video partner of professional leagues, is making its first entry into college football with the Big Ten. Its synchronized multi-angle replay technology (SMART) allows officials access to every camera angle from every broadcast.

Replay reviews will consist of four voices: the CRO, the referee, the replay official at the game and one of three supervisors at the replay center. That person will make the final call, ideally in less than a minute.

“The goal is to get things right,” commissioner Tony Petitti said. “This facility is going to put us on a great path to do that virtually all of the time.”

Remote patrol

Pat Boyle and Chuck Garfien will host “NBC Sports Chicago: Celebrating 20 Years,” which will premiere at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday. The show will relive NBCSCH’s most memorable moments as it nears its sunset Sept. 30. The Chicago Sports Network (CHSN) is scheduled to launch Oct. 1.