AT A CROSSROADS

BIG 12 COMMISSIONER SAYS LEAGUE’S REALITY DIFFERS FROM PUBLIC’S PERCEPTION

it’s time for the maligned Big 12 to move forward as a conference.

The Big 12’s obituary had already been written a couple of times when the beleaguered conference targeted Bob Bowlsby five years ago as its next commissioner.

After two rounds of realignment, founding members Nebraska, Colorado, Texas A&M and Missouri exited in 2011 and 2012. The departures took away programs with significant tradition and fan following and left questions about the Big 12’s viability. Stanford, where Bowlsby served as athletic director, was part of the Pac-12, which had tried to lure six Big 12 teams west in 2010.

“When I went into the interview, I thought pretty much like everybody else,” Bowlsby said. “The rats were leaving a sinking ship. I found the private reality was different from public perception.”

Then as now, the public perception still isn’t exactly rosy. Just like before, Bowlsby said he sees renewed commitment and stability among the member schools that others miss.

Once established, attitude

“THE BIG 12 HAS TO QUIT BEING THE BIG 12’S WORST ENEMY.” — ANONYMOUS COLLEGE OFFICIAL

WE WANT TO WIN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS, AND WE’RE GOING TO DO EVERYTHING TO ACHIEVE THAT.” — BIG 12 COMMISSIONER BOB BOWLSBY

change is hard. SEC Network host Paul Finebaum likened the conference to both a train wreck and the Titanic this spring.

It hasn’t been just the outside voices, either.

Two years ago, Oklahoma President David Boren labeled the conference “psychologically disadvantaged” by having just 10 members, the smallest of the “power five” conferences. In 2016, an exploration of expansion was criticized for the public nature of the process with nearly 20 video interviews and the lack of any invitation at the end. Afterward, Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard suggested that minus Oklahoma and Texas, the Big 12 would be pretty much the same as the Mountain West.

As officials inside and outside the conference note, the Big 12 does have a lot of positives. Sometimes the message gets drowned out.

Its own worst enemy?

“The Big 12 has to quit being the Big 12’s worst enemy,” said one respected college official during the annual spring gathering of conferences in Phoenix.

Bowlsby strongly disputed the assertion and noted the positive vibes emerging from the spring meetings, including Boren. The commissioner observed his anniversary in May and at 65 is likely to continue in the job for a while. He appears to be in line for another extension of his original five-year contract, already extended once to 2019.

“I’ve had some conversations with our board of directors about extending my agreement, and I’m amenable with that,” Bowlsby said. “The people I’ve been with are great to work with and be around.”

After interviews with a dozen college sports officials and observers on the record and on background, several threads on the Big 12’s past, present and future emerged.

• 1) Staying alive. The Big 12 isn’t breaking up soon. The conference’s television contracts with Fox and ESPN extend through 2024-25. The grant of TV rights agreed to by all 10 members, at the request of the networks, holds schools in place. “We have not done a good enough job in the Big 12 of saying that, ‘Yeah, we’re here to stay as a league with all of our component parts, and we’re going to focus on the future,’ said West Virginia president Gordon Gee, the new chairman of the Big 12 board of directors.

• 2) The law is the law. Eye on Oklahoma. Norman has been the center of Big 12 discontent among fans and even some regents recently. The Big 12’s initial decision — quickly reversed — not to restore a year of eligibility for quarterback Baker Mayfield became a flashpoint, Boren said. Boren sounded conciliatory at Big 12 spring meetings invoking a seismic reference, saying “on the Richter scale, fan sentiment is more favorable than not.”

Asked if Oklahoma’s decision to stay or leave at some point could represent a Big 12 tipping point, the 75-year-old Boren said: “I understand that theory. Someone else will probably be the leader of the institution when that time comes. Certainly, nothing is happening in the short run. Obviously, we’re committed to the conference. We’re legally committed. We keep our word. We’re not looking around to break our word.”

• 3) All about the money, money, money. Life in the Big 12 is no gulag. The conference announced per-school distributions of $34.8 million last month for this fiscal year, a 14.7 percent increase and rise from a $19.8 million average in 2013. While the figure trails the SEC and Big Ten, it is significantly more than the ACC and Pac-12. When third-tier rights deals are included, Texas, Oklahoma, West Virginia and Kansas are each making $40 million or more. Before the TV contract expires, Bowlsby said, the Big 12 annual distributions will be in the mid-40s for all schools.

• 4) An easy target. Under the microscope. Because of what it has endured this decade, the Big 12 will continue to be viewed with more skepticism than its peers. “The perception tends to be reality,” said Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt, a former Colorado quarterback during its time in the Big 12. “The perception is that the Big 12 is least stable, and it’s easy to take shots.”

• 5) College Football Playoff or bust. The CFP could be a key to the staying power of the Big 12 beyond 2024-25. In the three years of the playoff, the Big 12 has sent one team, Oklahoma in 2015. Recruiting of elite talent nationally and especially in Texas has suffered. The initial playoff miss in 2014 still lingers over the conference. Although it could hurt as well as help, the Big 12 hopes the return of a title game for this coming season will give its champion an enhanced resume with the selection committee.

“We’re ensuring the two best teams are playing championship weekend, hands down,” TCU athletic director Chris Del Conte said.

Bowlsby said he is fine with being judged by the CFP standard and noted the deep-dive research that went into the championship game revival.

“That’s OK with us,” Bowlsby said. “Our aspiration and that metric are one in the same. We want to win national championships, and we’re going to do everything to achieve that.”

A different place

What’s in the future? Now, the impact of realignment on the Big 12 is still present, although fading.

DeLoss Dodds, maybe the key power broker in the league during his time as Texas athletic director from 1981-2013, says the realignment seems like another lifetime.

“Five years is a long time,” Dodds said in a recent phone interview. “Life moves forward. You don’t think much about it. I think it worked out fine for Texas A&M, I think it worked out fine for the Big 12. I think the Big 12 is in a good place. .

“It’s different, and that’s not bad.”

Dodds listed the Big 12’s accomplishments and the money its members make.

“I’m defending it,” he said, “and shouldn’t need to do that because it doesn’t need defending.”