CFL names Jeffrey Orridge new commissioner

The Canadian Football League appointed a new commissioner Tuesday, naming former CBC executive Jeffrey Orridge the 13th commissioner in league history.

Orridge succeeds Mark Cohon, who successfully brought a franchise back to Ottawa and secured a lucrative long-term television deal in his nine seasons on the job. 

He's the first non-white commissioner in North American professional sports history. 

At CBC, Orridge worked as the executive director of sports and was the general manager of the company's lengthy Olympic involvement. 

He was born and raised in New York and is in the process of becoming a Canadian citizen.