Big 12 Conference Commissioner Bob Bowlsby will step down from the role later this year after 10 years in the position.
Bowlsby, 70, had three years remaining on his contract but told ESPN he decided to step down within the last two weeks. However, he wanted to wait until after the Final Four to announce it.
His decision was announced on Tuesday, a day after Kansas gave the Big 12 its second consecutive men’s NCAA basketball title. Bowlsby will continue working with the Big 12 until a new commissioner is hired. Then, upon request, he will move to an interim role to assist the new hire in their transition into the position for an undisclosed amount of time “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,” Bowlsby said in a press release.
Before becoming the Big 12 commissioner in 2012, Bowlsby spent six years as the Athletics Director (AD) 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.
Bowlsby joined the Big 12 while the conference was reeling after four founding members of the conference, Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska, and Texas A&M, left to join other conferences. He steadied the ship by adding TCU and West Virginia to the conference for it to maintain its place as one of the “Power Five” conferences. Bowlsby also negotiated a media rights agreement with ESPN and Fox that cemented the conference’s future.
That contract ends after the 2024-25 season, and the new commissioner will need to begin negotiations for media rights. The Big 12 was rocked again when news broke in July 2021 that its two most prominent member institutions, Texas and Oklahoma, will be leaving to join the Southeastern Conference (SEC) after the 2024-25 season.
Bowlsby again steadied the conference by securing the additions of BYU, Central Florida, Cincinnati, and Houston to the conference no later than the 2024-25 academic year.
“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,” said Commissioner Bowlsby.
“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,” he added.
Overall, during Bowlsby’s tenure, the Big 12 won 25 NCAA team national championships across all sports, including Monday night’s men’s basketball title game victory by the University of Kansas. In 2020-21, the Big 12 won five NCAA team national championships, including the men’s basketball title by Baylor University.
Bowlsby was also a key player in creating the College Football Playoff that began in 2014-15, the first postseason playoff in the history of college football.
“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.”
The press release states that the conference will hire an executive search consulting firm to assist it in an extensive search process for a new Commissioner.