As Big 12 athletics prepares for a new era, a new commissioner will lead the way
The Big 12 will have a new commissioner going into its new era.
Bob Bowlsby, who has served as the league’s commissioner since 2012, announced Tuesday that he will be stepping down later this year. He will help the conference through the search for his replacement and then transition into a new role, the league said.
“After more than 40 years of serving in leadership roles in intercollegiate athletics, including the last 10 with the Big 12, and given the major issues that college sports in general and the Big 12 specifically will address in the next several years, I have reached a natural transition point in my tenure as Commissioner, as well as in my career,” Bowlsby said in a statement.
“The Big 12 will soon bring in our four new members and negotiate a new grant of rights and media rights agreements. I truly believe the Big 12 and our member institutions are in a strong position now and as we look into the future. As such, this is an appropriate time for me to step away from the Commissioner’s role so that the next leader of the Conference can take the reins on these significant matters that will come to the forefront before the end of the term of my employment agreement in 2025 to set the stage for the Big 12’s future ongoing success.”
The league said it is interviewing and engaging a search firm to assist it in “an extensive national search process for the new Commissioner, which will begin in the next few weeks.”
Among early names being linked to the opening, according to Sports Illustrated, include Alabama AD Greg Byrne, Baylor AD Mack Rhoades, West Virginia AD Shane Lyons, former WVU AD Oliver Luck, Oregon AD Rob Mullens, Washington AD Jen Cohen, Colorado AD Rick George (who worked for the Texas Rangers before going to Colorado), Big 12 senior associate commissioner Ed Stewart and West Coast Conference commissioner Gloria Nevarez.
Bowlsby’s tenure as commissioner had been viewed favorably by most measures until realignment rocked the league last summer. Flagships Oklahoma and Texas announced plans to join the SEC in the summer of 2025, delivering a crippling blow to the Big 12.
But Bowlsby guided the league through that treacherous stretch and got it back on solid footing with the additions of BYU, Houston, Cincinnati and Central Florida. With those incoming schools, the league hopes to remain among the Power Five conferences.
Those four schools are expected to join no later than the 2024-25 school year, the Big 12 said in its release, although they could come as early as the 2023-24 school year. OU and Texas are expected to honor their grant of rights agreements through the 2024-25 season, a source said, even with Bowlsby’s announcement.
“Bob has consistently driven distributable revenue growth for the Conference’s member institutions, has stood strong during turbulent times in the world of collegiate sports, has led innovation within collegiate athletics, and has worked tirelessly to ensure the stability and future of the Big 12 Conference,” Texas Tech president and chair of the Big 12’s board Lawrence Schovanec said in a statement.
“Bob’s leadership contributed to the opportunities afforded to our students and their success beyond their athletic experiences. The Conference will continue to excel, and we are confident of an even brighter future.”
Among the league’s highlights over Bowlsby’s tenure are 25 NCAA team national championships, including Monday’s victory by Kansas in the men’s basketball title game. Last school year, the Big 12 had five NCAA team national championships, including a Baylor men’s basketball championship.
In football, the Big 12 has had teams reach the College Football Playoff and been home to two of the last five Heisman Trophy winners.
Bowlsby, 70, was Stanford’s athletic director for six years and Iowa’s AD for 15 years before joining the Big 12. He helped stabilize the conference after it lost Nebraska, Missouri, Colorado and Texas A&M to other leagues. Bowlsby solidified the league by adding TCU and West Virginia, and later reinstated the football championship game in 2017.
“I have been honored to serve the Big 12 Conference membership, and I am tremendously proud of the incredible professionals in the Conference office and in the extraordinary coaches and athletics departments of our member institutions with whom I have worked to serve the student-athletes who participate in our member’s sports programs,” Bowlsby said. “When my transition is complete, I will miss the daily interaction with these wonderful colleagues and with the student-athletes but will welcome the opportunity to spend more time with my wife, my children, and my 10 grandchildren.
“I have consistently sought to align my professional actions with the best principles of higher education and intercollegiate athletics. Now, I look forward to the next chapters of my personal and professional activities and, as I do so, I am very confident in a vibrant, highly competitive, and prosperous future for the Big 12 Conference.”
This story was originally published April 5, 2022 at 4:21 PM.
