SPEAKING OF BOB BOWLSBY

“He’s a pretty good politician and a principled person. Some people might not think those two things go together. He can get things done, but he gets them done on the basis of a strong set of values. He’s got a good idea of what he’s trying to get accomplished because, quite honestly, it’s about the athlete for Bob and the opportunities that higher education and athletics bring to bear.”

Jim Delany, former commissioner, Big Ten

“I think back to Oklahoma and Texas … and it reminded me of a prize fighter that took a couple really bad blows, but quickly regained their footing, and then delivered the knockout punches. I know that really hurt him personally, but he basically saved the league by adding those four schools.”

Mack Rhoades, Baylor AD

“What I didn’t really know until I started to work for him was who he was as a person. He’s one of the rare finds in this world who was the best at what he did professionally, and was the best at what he did when it came to relationships. What you see is who he is. Whatever the term today is for a real, genuine, authentic person, that’s Bob.”

Tim Weiser, Big 12 deputy commissioner

“Bob went out and he said, you got to trust me and got to trust my ability to put this thing together. And we did. And it literally, in my opinion, saved the conference in so many ways. It was ironic because some people blamed him for Texas and Oklahoma leaving, but never really gave him as much credit for basically saving the conference on the back end.”

Gene Taylor, Kansas State AD

“He’s no BS. He’s always been straight to the point. When I talk to people who have been in rooms with him in influential meetings, they say, hey, he’s a straight shooter and is going to tell it how it is. I think people have always appreciated that approach in a business where maybe that’s not always top of mind.”

Kyle Bowlsby, executive recruiter, consultant and son