Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby will step away from his role with the league later in 2022, the conference announced in a release Tuesday. Bowlsby, who has led the league since 2012, will transition into a new interim role with the conference once a new commissioner is appointed.
The Big 12 wants to have a new commissioner in place in 90 days, Texas Tech president and board chair Lawrence Schovanec told The Athletic.
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"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 the release.
The Big 12 has undergone a turbulent past 12 months, responding to Texas and Oklahoma's intended departure for the SEC by bringing in UCF, BYU, Houston and Cincinnati as new members in the coming years. The news also comes the day after league member Kansas won the national championship in men's basketball.
(Photo: George Walker / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
GO DEEPER
Bob Bowlsby explains his Big 12 departure
GO DEEPER
Who will replace Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby and guide league's transition?
Why now?
Max Olson, senior college football: The past two years for the Big 12 and college athletics have been intense, to say the least. After working through the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and the surprise SEC defection of Oklahoma and Texas and subsequent expansion in 2021, Bowlsby felt ready to move on.
The Big 12 is on stable ground at the moment but will start negotiating its next TV contract in 2024. Making the change now gives its next commissioner time to adapt to the role and prepare for those talks, which are massively important for the long-term financial stability of the conference and its members.
What's Bowlsby's legacy with the conference?
Sam Khan Jr., senior Texas college football reporter: His legacy is complicated. He took over at a turbulent time and stabilized the league temporarily via the 2012 grant of rights. Bypassing expansion in 2016 was second-guessed, especially after Texas and Oklahoma fled. The league won no CFP games and lost ground to the SEC and Big Ten. He oversaw an intriguing four-team expansion that has potential but no tentpole programs.
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Still, league revenue grew steadily and there is optimism among current and incoming members about the future.
Potential Big 12 commissioner candidates
Nicole Auerbach, senior writer: It depends which way the Big 12 wants to go. Two of the last three open Power 5 jobs went to people who had not previously worked on college campuses, which meant there would need to be a learning curve. Would the Big 12 follow suit, prioritizing someone with a business or television background to negotiate the next media rights deal? Would the league look at Oliver Luck, who consulted with the league last year and has a collegiate and pro sports background as well as a strong reputation as a leader?
Would it go the athletic director route? Shane Lyons (WVU) and Kirby Hocutt (Texas Tech) as sitting ADs in the league, as well as Mack Rhoades (Baylor), though he just got an extension announced earlier this week. The Big 12 could look in-house at senior associate commissioner Ed Stewart or outside the league at prominent ADs such as Gene Smith or Jen Cohen or perhaps even Big East commissioner Val Ackerman.