Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby stepping away
IRVING, Texas (KCBD) - Big 12 Conference Commissioner Bob Bowlsby announced today that he will step away from the Commissioner’s chair later this year.
Bowlsby, appointed Commissioner in 2012, will remain Commissioner of the Big 12 until the appointment of a new Commissioner and will then, according to the release, at the request of the Conference, transition to a new interim Big 12 role, “subject to the mutual agreement of Bowlsby and the new Commissioner.”
“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,” said Bowlsby.
Bowlsby says the Big 12 will soon bring in four new members, BYU, Central Florida, Cincinnati, and Houston; and negotiate a new grant of rights and media rights agreements, making this “an appropriate time” to step down from his leadership position, “so that the next leader of the Conference can take the reins on these significant matters.”
“On behalf of the Big 12 Conference, I want to extend my sincere appreciation to Commissioner Bowlsby for his outstanding leadership over the last decade,” said Chair of the Big 12 Board and President of Texas Tech University, Lawrence Schovanec. “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. 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. I appreciate that during this transition, Bob will continue to be a trusted resource for the Conference in whatever appropriate role on which he and the new Commissioner mutually agree.”
According to the Big 12, the Conference is interviewing and engaging an executive search consulting firm to assist “in an extensive national search process for the new Commissioner, which will begin in the next few weeks.”
Prior to his role at the Big 12, Bowlsby spent six years as the Athletics Director at Stanford University, preceded by a 15-year stint as the AD at the University of Iowa and seven years in that role at the University of Northern Iowa.
Read more from the Big 12, here.
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