Tag: Bob Bowlsby

Bob Bowlsby to step down as Big 12 commissioner later this year

The Big 12 will be looking for new leadership.

In a surprise update for the Big 12 conference on Tuesday, Bob Bowlsby announced he will be stepping down from his role as commissioner later this year. Bowlsby will continue his role for the time being while the conference searches for potential replacements.

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 has overseen Big 12 conference operations since 2012 and played a major role in the conference’s success across all sports, improving media deals and orchestrating the new additions of BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF.

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Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby thinks Lincoln Riley was too good for LSU

Bob Bowlsby sure doesn’t think very highly of LSU.

Does Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby still have some sore feelings about LSU and the SEC?

According to this tweet from Ross Dellenger, Bob Bowlsby thought Lincoln Riley was too good for LSU.

“Those were certainly surprises,” Bowlsby said on SiriusXM. “Coach Riley had been mentioned in conjunction with the LSU position, and I really thought that there wasn’t much credence to that because I just, I know what a fine guy Lincoln Riley is. He’s an outstanding coach, obviously, but he’s a high-quality person and he is mature beyond his years. And so, you know, it was a little bit surprising that he jump ship (for USC), but I wasn’t surprised that he wasn’t interested in the LSU position because culturally that’s just not what Lincoln Riley is. And I was frankly surprised by the Brian Kelly move.”

Well, Bob Bowlsby tell us how you really feel about LSU and the football program. It sure feels as though he still has some personal feelings to work through after the SEC brought the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns to the conference.

Regardless of how the Big 12 commissioner feels about the hire or Lincoln Riley as a person, he now gets to watch that fine young man raid the Oklahoma cupboard.

All these flavors and Bob chose salty.

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Report: Big 12 Presidents to vote on conference expansion Friday

Per a report from Pete Thamel of CBS Sports, the Big 12 Conference is set to vote on adding UCF, BYU, Cincinnati, and Houston.

When the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns announced their intentions to leave the Big 12 for the SEC, speculation has run rampant regarding the future of the conference. From disbandment to forming scheduling alliances, the Big 12 looked to be on its last legs.

Then word came out late last week, as the country was preparing for the first full week of college football, that the Big 12 had shown interest in adding UCF, Cincinnati, Houston, and BYU to the conference in the wake of realignment.

Well, according to a report from Pete Thamel of CBS Sports, expansion is quickly becoming a reality as the presidents of the Big 12 member schools scheduled a call to formally vote on expansion.

In the ever-changing landscape of college football, Big 12 expansion has moved as quickly as Texas and Oklahoma’s realignment to the SEC. One week we heard about it and the next week it was done.

Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby and the university leaderships are moving much more proactively this time around than they did a decade ago. The last round of realignment saw them lose four major programs in the conference. While they added West Virginia and TCU, it always felt like a half-measure and conference expansion was annually the talk of Big 12 media days.

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Adding UCF, Houston, Cincinnati, and BYU makes a lot of sense from a marketing and competition standpoint. Each of those teams can contend in the new-look Big 12. Even as Group of Five schools, they’ve had an impact on the national landscape for much of the last two decades.

It’s a strong move by a conference that would have struggled to survive without expansion. Though the vote won’t make the Big 12’s expansion plans official until Friday, it’s a move that will help move the conference forward into the next era of college football.

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Report: Big 12 seriously considering BYU for expansion

The Big 12’s only option is to expand its own conference over the next half decade. According to a report, BYU is being heavily considered.

If you wrote a script where the entire premise was to kill the Big 12, I don’t think it would have been anywhere close to what has unfolded over the past month. Commissioner Bob Bowlsby has lost his two biggest programs to the SEC only to be left out of The Alliance by the ACC/Big Ten/Pac-12.

Even worse for the remaining eight schools within the conference? It seems as if neither of the other four Power Five conferences are willing to accept them. The Pac-12 came out of Thursday saying there are no intentions of expansion at all. Being in agreement with the west coast conference, there is little chance the ACC or Big Ten will listen either.

The Big 12’s only option is to expand its own conference and pray the product is good enough for lucrative television contracts within the next half-decade. Texas and Oklahoma’s departure to the SEC could speed things up but for now, the current TV deal expires after the 2024 season.

One candidate to join the Big 12 according to The Athletic is BYU. Currently an independent school, the Cougars have as big of a following as any school in the country thanks to their religious views. Per the report, BYU drew in around the same viewers per game as the other eight Big 12 schools when appearing on ABC, ESPN, or FOX.

Currently being an independent will work in favor of BYU as well. Unlike Texas and Oklahoma, no buyout fee to a conference could potentially delay a move. The Cougars are currently in a deal with ESPN through the 2026 season after renewing in January 2020. Since the worldwide leader already has a contract with the Big 12, there should be no issue transitioning over.

This would bring the conference’s member total to nine, assuming Texas and Oklahoma leave after this season. One more school would be needed to be added before being considered a Power Five conference again. The American Athletic Conference seems to be the most likely candidate to be poached from.

Big 12 and PAC 12 meeting to discuss potential merger

Big 12 and Pac-12 commissioners meeting to discuss potential merger.

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Since the official announcement of the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns joining the Southeastern Conference in 2025, narratives have circulated on the remaining programs in the Big 12. Conference realignment has been a hot topic since the announcement of OU and Texas’ pending move to the SEC, and it gained traction on Tuesday.

The teams left in the Big 12 could potentially merge with the Pac-12 conference or form a scheduling alliance, according to The Athletic’s Max Olson. He confirmed that Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby and Pac-12 commissioner George Kilavkoff will have a formal meeting to discuss an agreement between the two parties in the aftermath of recent events.

The goal is to combine resources and innovation to reach an agreement on a future relationship between both conferences. A possible merger is on the table.

After a unanimous vote, both the Sooners and Longhorns were given invitations by the SEC for conference membership. The transition leaves the Big 12 in a daze pondering what to do next.

Rather than dissolve the conference, the remaining eight teams could join forces with the Pac-12 and create another super conference.

A merger would be beneficial as opposed to a scheduling alliance. A full merger would produce a lofty TV contract and although an alliance would help with the financial situation, without the Big 12’s top programs, the conference is rather underwhelming.

Nothing has been further disclosed on the situation but the announcement is certainly intriguing and has to be comforting for Big 12 fans. Both commissioners are talking and open to negotiating a strategic plan to that would be mutually beneficial.

Big 12 and Pac 12 considering alliance amid expansion

Commissioners from the Big 12 and Pac 12 are meeting today to discuss their options following the decision of Texas and Oklahoma to move to the SEC in 2025. Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby and Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff are reportedly …

Commissioners from the Big 12 and Pac 12 are meeting today to discuss their options following the decision of Texas and Oklahoma to move to the SEC in 2025.

Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby and Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff are reportedly considering a type of scheduling alliance that could include a future merger.

Bowlsby addressed the Texas state senate on Monday and discussed the possibility of a merger with another conference to keep the Big 12 alive when its two biggest revenue sources join the SEC.

Bowlsby also testified on Monday that the Big 12 will take close to a 50-percent hit in its television revenue without Texas and Oklahoma.

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Current dynamic between Big 12 and SEC commissioners

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey described the current dynamic with Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby via ‘The Paul Finebaum Show.’

The college football landscape has changed. The SEC is gaining two of the Big 12’s most esteemed programs in the Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns. With the Southeastern Conference’s expansion, it certainly raises the question on the current relationship between Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby and SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey. With the current climate, it is not out of the question to confer that both sides might feel differently in light of recent events.

Without their most prominent programs, the future of the Big 12 seems underwhelming. In contrast, with the addition of OU and Texas, the SEC is on the cusp of a powerhouse conference in college football. A super conference that will change college athletics moving forward.

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In a recent appearance on the ‘Paul Finebaum Show,’ Sankey discussed his current relationship with Bowlsby. He provided a reminiscent vantage point to previous mergers within college football and previous colleagues casting aside differences to work together in past expansions.

“I’ve had subsequent opportunities to watch colleagues work through those issues with expansion, again at the ACC to the Big East, or the Big Ten adding members from the Big East and ACC, and there are those moments we all have a responsibility to guide forward to work, obviously, to lead our conferences and I’m certain that we will, we will work to do so.”

A rather business approach but to be expected following such an upheaval. Both the Sooners and Longhorns have accepted official invites to join the Southeastern Conference but the official move will not happen for several more years. The two programs are scheduled to enter the SEC on July 1, 2025. This provides time for broadcasting contracts to be made and finalized, along with an adjustment period for all parties involved.

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SEC presidents unanimously voted to have Oklahoma and Texas join the conference and now the aftermath from the move will be sorted through.

Report: SEC Presidents unanimously vote yes for Oklahoma and Texas’ invitation

The SEC presidents voted yes for the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns to be invited to the conference.

In the least shocking vote in college football, the SEC has unanimously voted yes to officially extend an invitation to Oklahoma and Texas. Continue reading “Report: SEC Presidents unanimously vote yes for Oklahoma and Texas’ invitation”

Report: Big 12 Conference sends cease and desist letter to ESPN

In the latest ongoings of conference realignment, the Big 12 Commissioner and the conference sent a cease and desist letter to ESPN.

The news on the Big 12 Conference’s attempts to keep the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns is never-ending. According to a new report on Wednesday, the conference sent a cease and desist letter to ESPN.

The network has a huge part with both the SEC Network and Longhorns Network. Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports reported the conference sending the letter.

The Big 12 has sent a “cease and desist” letter to ESPN. The letter demands ESPN end “all actions that may harm the conference and its members and that it not communicate with the Big 12 Conference’s existing members or any NCAA conference regarding the Big 12 conference’s members, possible conference realignment or potential financial incentive or outcomes related to possible conference realignment.” – Pete Thamel, Yahoo Sports

This is coming off the heels of both schools sending a letter to the SEC for an invitation. All 14 schools are set to vote on Oklahoma and Texas’ invitation on Thursday. It appears as though ESPN has been in contact with at least one Big 12 school and is likely trying to recruit more members to leave. Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated obtained a copy of the report.

This could be the conference’s biggest effort to keep the other eight schools in-house. We will update this story as more information becomes available.

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Report: How soon could we see Oklahoma and Texas in the SEC?

One SEC source believes that Oklahoma and Texas will join in 2022.

With the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns sending out their joint statement, the question now becomes a matter of when they could join the SEC.

Well, the first obstacle has been cleared, the two rival schools have declared their intentions to the Big 12 Conference. That is just the first of many still standing in the way of both members of the Red River Rivalry. The next obstacle is an actual invitation from the SEC. While no word has been made on when the conference is set to meet. According to conference bylaws, a vote of 11 members saying yes is needed for the invitation.

According to Matt Hayes of Saturday Down South and Stadium, the expectation would be for Oklahoma and Texas to join in time for the 2022 college football season.

That seems more in line with the timing of the statement from both schools. In a recent interview with former Alabama player George Teague, he stated the same. His opinion is this move doesn’t wait three years if the teams are already making their declaration to leave.

“I don’t think they would even start talking about this move unless it was a year out.” –Teague to Sooners Wire

If the source to Hayes is indeed correct, Oklahoma and Texas would be set to join the SEC for 2022. Likely setting up return battles against their former conference rivals, Texas A&M.

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With so many moving parts to this story, it is still a wait-and-see approach. Right now it is your move commissioner Greg Sankey.

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