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Big 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe listens to a reporter’s question during a news conference following the final day of spring meetings on June 4.
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Irving, Texas — Big 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe on Tuesday made public the joke that so many people around the country made privately during the weeks that followed this summer’s conference realignment talks.
“I’m in communication with (Big Ten) Commissioner Jim Delany now about a swap,” said Beebe, asked if the Big 12 would change its name at the conclusion of the season. “That was a joke.”
Speaking at what would have been a very different scene had the demise of the Big 12 become a reality, Beebe carried himself with pride and confidence when discussing where the Big 12 is headed.
“There’s a great deal of excitement about the future of the Big 12,” Beebe said. “There’s a renewed sense of commitment, a new sense of belonging and a greater appreciation for each other.”
There’s also a lot of work to do.
Included among the topics Beebe addressed at Big 12 media days Tuesday were: the fact that the league’s revenue structure actually remained the same; that Colorado’s departure strategy should be clearer sometime this fall; that he would spend the next eight to nine months exploring a potential name change and the impact and importance of the Big 12 brand; and the fact that, at this point, it does not appear that the conference will seek to host a football championship game once the membership dips to 10.
Beebe still made sure to point out that the league still had a long way to go before things could be considered back to normal.
The Big 12 commissioner spoke for about an hour, fielding questions of all varieties. Some offered subtle praise for the role Beebe played in keeping the conference together. Others challenged the commissioner to provide assurance that the fiasco the league endured this summer would not happen again. Beebe was happy to oblige on both counts.
“These decisions were made for the long term,” Beebe said. “And people who expressed the decisions said that. They said it to all of you, they said it to us, they said it to each other. So I’m not sure what else we need to do. I guess we could get all the athletics directors and board members up here and sing ‘Kumbaya,’ and maybe that would help some of you. I’m not sure that’s going to happen until we just observe it for a few years. We’ll have to see how it goes.”
One of the more well documented concerns that emerged from the conference realignment talks was the lack of some kind of a contract signed by the 10 remaining Big 12 schools stating their loyalty to the conference. Beebe said such a contract was not necessary. Several Big 12 football coaches in Dallas this week agreed.
“Where I’m from, verbally works for me,” Baylor coach Art Briles said. “If I tell you I’m going to do something, I’m going to do it. You may not have to shake my hand.”
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Comments
Krohnutz (anonymous) says…
Seriously, the Big 12 has perhaps the dumbest commish in the United States of America.
This guy makes Bug Selig look "aware" of his surroundings.
God I hope KU ends up moving to a real conference someday soon.
chuckberry32 (anonymous) says…
nobody can make bud selig look good.
NH_JHawk (anonymous) says…
Our league nearly evaporates in front of our face and now Beebe thinks it's ok to answer legitimate questions with arrogant replies like ....
"I guess we could get all the athletics directors and board members up here and sing ‘Kumbaya,’ and maybe that would help some of you."
Seriously, Mr. Beebe, park the arrogance and show some class. I dont think any one of us actually believes that the college landscape is as stable as you'd like for us to think it is.
kugrad93 (anonymous) says…
Is this the only photo of this guy that exists? I swear I've seen it a hundred times in the past two months. He was at the podium for an hour in a room full of journalists but the J-W and the AP can't get a better photo than one of him scratching his neck eight weeks ago?
chamberlain (anonymous) replies…
great point. His face makes my eyes frown.
Bear86 (anonymous) says…
Some one loan Beebe a quarter so he can down to the Bus Station and have some Rat knaw that disgusting wart/mole of his stupid face. F-Beebe & F-Texas !!
flyingfinn (anonymous) says…
No football championship game? So we leave ourselves open to tie breakers to determine a conference championship. Hate those...I can hear Texas and Oklahoma already pushing we played the tougher schedule BS
oldalum (anonymous) replies…
Having a championship game isn't really a Beebe option. It's an NCAA rule. No championship game for conferences with less than 12 teams. There was some talk early of trying to petition for NCAA for an exception, but I can't see that succeeding. I'm assuming we can still have one this year?
prairie_rattler (anonymous) replies…
Tiebreakers get a team to the championship game now, so it really doesn't make much difference in that regard... and... since each member plays every other during the regular season, at least the 'ties,' when they occur, will have had a chance to be settled on the field.
kjohnson (anonymous) says…
Whose fault is it?
After determining why the Big 10 and Big 12 don’t just exchange names and logos, given the facts that the Big 10 has 12 members and the Big 12 has 10, the next question is why doesn’t the Big 12 compete with the Big Ten and PAC 12 by creating their own TV network? Is it because Commissioner Beebe is inept or incapable, or is it because the Texas folks want to create their own network and have told Beebe to slack off?
As a Jayhawker and Big 12 fan, I have to admit that I like the Big 10 network. I’m a basketball history nut, and love the fact that the network often shows games from the past (although they only show games in which the Big 10 team always wins). For example, several nights ago I enjoyed watching the 1984 regional game KU played against Purdue, where All-American Glenn “Big Dog” Robinson and Cuonzo Martin scored a combined 73 points for the Boilermakers, upsetting the favored Jayhawks 83-78. It was great fun watching the Jacque Vaughn-led Hawks again, even though they lost to the Boilermakers.
The Big Ten makes a ton of money off the Big 10 network, and is part of the glue that holds that conference solidly together, aside from the fact that they share conference revenue equally.
So, even though Texas currently has (and since the inception of the Big 12) garnered the lion’s share of the conference revenue streams, creating a continuing irritation among Big 12 members, why don’t they pursue a conference TV network, which would be interesting and viewed by many fans, and generate additional revenue for conference members -- even though they may have to give Texas their extraordinary larger share than their subservient partners?
The writing is on the wall that the conference is going to have to set up their own network in order to be competitive, or once again, they are going to lose other key members of the conference to the Big 10 or Pac 12, conferences which obviously are closer to the cutting edge.
Milhawkee (anonymous) says…
That regional game was 1994 I hope :)