Bob Bowlsby announced on Tuesday that his time as commissioner of the Big 12 Conference is coming to an end. He did not give a specific date, but said that he would leave the role later this year. Naturally, that has plenty of people speculating about who may be next in line to take over.
The conference is certainly about to enter a whole new era of existence as its two most profitable members, Texas and Oklahoma, get set to depart for the SEC. BYU, Central Florida, Cincinnati and Houston will all join the conference to get it back to 12 total members.
Nicole Auerbach, Matt Fortuna and Max Olson of The Athletic shared their best guesses on Tuesday. They were based largely on information they got from Lawrence Schovanec, the chairman of the Big 12 Board of Directors and president of Texas Tech University.
“Obviously, we will be looking for someone who’s very savvy in the media landscape,” Schovanec said. “The marketplace is evolving, and there are shifting pieces in all of this. You know, what is the ultimate mix of our linear and direct-to-consumer marketing agreements? At the same time, I think we all understand we seek somebody who has the ability to navigate and lead us through what occurs on a university campus, who understands the essence of intercollegiate athletics. So, it’s a mix of both, traditional experience but also making sure that we’re well-positioned as we begin to develop a media strategy.”
To his credit, Bob Bowlsby oversaw negotiations on a split television contract. The Big 12 is making $2.6 million in its current TV deal, which is shared between FOX and ESPN. It is set to expire after the 2024-2025 school year.
Whoever is hired as the conference’s next commissioner will be stepping into a very different world. Not only are the two biggest TV draws gone since the last rights deal, but the media landscape has changed significantly.
Would the Big 12 be an option for Apple or Amazon? If the conference wants to stay in business with ESPN, would the network insist that more games be ESPN+ exclusives? And then there is the question hanging over everything: without Texas and Oklahoma, what are the TV rights for the conference actually worth on the open market?
The PAC-12 faced similar questions in its search for a new commissioner last year and eventually landed on George Kliavkoff, who came from MGM Resorts International. Auerbach, Fortuna, and Olsen all see the Big 12 going a more traditional route, listing sitting athletic directors and school presidents among their most likely candidates.
