In this whole conference realignment saga, there’s been a lot of speculations and rumor and few things made official…. Until yesterday…
That’s when the Big 12 Presidents met in a teleconference and decided to remove conference commissioner Dan Beebe. The official announcement called it a mutual decision that Beebe resign the job he’s held since 2007. He will be replaced on an interim basis by Chuck Neinas, who for several years has operated a sports consulting firm that among other things, is a match-maker between coaches and schools needing coaches.
What wasn’t clear about last evenings Big 12 Presidents Conference call was how the Big 12 fared in the conversation. Oklahoma President David Boren held a press conference where he said that presidents had voted on a six-year deal to equally share all TV revenie from tier I and tier II television rights, and that any school who left the conference would return that revenue to the league…but sources who were privy to the meeting said that notion was discussed and pursued but not voted on.
The Houston Chronicle reported that Boren said A&M President Bowen Loftin did vote on several items but he still expects A&M to leave. But Boren did say:
“We will not give up on trying to convince A&M to stay until the league documents have been signed,” Boren said. “I think it’s highly likely they’ll go to the SEC. They are so far down the line that they are unlikely to change their minds.”