Dan Beebe Resigns As Big 12 Commissioner, Replaced By Chuck Neinas

Big 12 To Seek Replacements For Chuck Neinas

Chuck Neinas Knows Whose Hand To Shake First

Chuck Neinas Talks Big 12 Expansion, Keeping Texas A&M And More

Just one day after he was announced as Big 12 interim commissioner, Chuck Neinas gave a broad-reaching interview, outlining his plans for the conference and his thoughts on where it currently stands. Expansion is on the table, according to Neinas, and he will be looking for a 10th team, which the Big 12 members feel is the right number. Neinas also showed his optimistic side, telling reporters he planned to speak to Texas A&M in an effort to get the Aggies to stay.

We're not sure if Neinas is a betting man, but his look at the odds of keeping A&M seem a bit long, to say the least.

On convincing A&M to possibly stay in the Big 12: "Sometimes a 100-to-1 shot comes home."

We're going to guess the shot isn't coming home, unless home is Mike Slive's house. But never fear: Neinas has a plan, and already has his poaching pants on.

Neinas: "looking for best candidates" for Big 12 even if it might damage or eliminate another conference"

One would have to assume he's talking about TCU, a team that would be a fit for the Big 12 and whose exodus would cripple the Big East even further.

Neinas is finishing up consulting jobs with Conference USA and the Mountain West Conference, but has vowed to stop taking consultant work when he officially begins his tenure as head of the Big 12.

For more on conference realignment, head to our ... you'll never guess ... conference realignment StoryStream.

Oklahoma Announces Six-Year Big 12 Reform, Chuck Neinas As Interim Commish

At a Thursday night press conference, University of Oklahoma president David Boren ran through a series of reforms meant to keep the Big 12 conference intact. The most important: the conference has a six-year media rights agreement. Under such a deal, if a school leaves, the conference will retain that school's Tier 1 and Tier 2 media rights until the end of the six-year period.

(That means the Big 12 would continue to get the national or regional television money for the school's football and basketball games. This still would allow the Texas Longhorns to keep the Longhorn Network.)

Boren also announced the Big 12 is looking to expand, "reactivating" its expansion committee. He pointed out Oklahoma gets to remain in a "geographically contiguous" conference that will be better for students and the families of athletes. His bit on a healthy heartland conference being good for America ... that might sound corny and like the kind of thing school presidents say when it concerns the interests of their own schools, but I totally agree with him.

Oh, and that Chuck Neinas will be the new interim commissioner. Boren endeavored to compliment outgoing commissioner Dan Beebe ("decent human being") and noted Neinas recommended "over half of the sitting athletic directors" in the Big 12.

That six-year agreement is significant, because if Texas and Oklahoma actually are happy with the media money coming into the conference, the entire house of cards could actually stand. As Stewart Mandel pointed out, it's "more ironclad than an exit fee." Oklahoma might not actually be happy at all, and could still just be putting the best face on its current situation. That's fine.

For more, stop by Oklahoma Sooners blog Crimson And Cream Machine and Texas Longhorns blog Burnt Orange Nation.

Fake Dan Beebe Unleashes A Twitter Rant For The Ages

Dan Beebe Resigns As Big 12 Begins Reform Process, According To Report

Dan Beebe has resigned as Big 12 commissioner, according to a report on Thursday evening. Beebe had come under fire as the Big 12 struggled to survive this wave of conference expansion, and his resignation was reportedly a condition of Oklahoma's continued support of the conference.

The news comes from Chuck Carlton of the Dallas Morning News

Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe has tendered his resignation, a source familiar with the process said. Beebe had been commissioner since 2007.

While no official announcement has been made, Chuck Neinas will reportedly take over as Big 12 commissioner. Numerous Big 12 schools are holding press conferences on Thursday night, perhaps to champion the new reforms that they hope will keep the conference together in the long-term.

It was just over a  year ago that Beebe "saved" the Big 12 from the last wave of conference expansion, though looking back his moves may have left the league on shaky ground. In an effort to keep Texas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma in the Big 12, Beebe engineered an incentives package that would give the three schools more revenue than the rest of the conference's members, creating dissent in the membership.

Whether Beebe's resignation allows the Big 12 to survive in the long-term, however, remains to be seen.

For more on college football realignment, stick with this StoryStream.

Replacing Dan Beebe: Chuck Neinas, Big 12 Have Mutual Interest

As Wednesday night reports broke that Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe would soon step down, one name emerged above all the rest as his potential interim replacement. Chuck Neinas is that name. Neinas has now confirmed he's been approached about the job, according to the KC Star's Mike DeArmond, and that he's applied, according to CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd.

Neinas does not have an untarnished reputation, having worked as a coaching hire consultant amid a couple of questionable scenarios. But he has many reputations, as he's had lots and lots of jobs.

Beebe's command of the Big 12 has been precarious for a while now, with the Oklahoma Sooners reportedly demanding his exit earlier in the week. He's led the conference since 2007, during which time it has lost three teams and almost four more. Sounds like a pretty fun job to walk into.

For more on conference realignment, head to our ... you'll never guess ... conference realignment StoryStream.

Dan Beebe Expected To Depart As Big 12 Commissioner Thursday

Following reports on Wednesday that Dan Beebe could be departing as Big 12 Commissioner in the near future, the Kansas City Star is reporting that Beebe is working on his exit package and that his departure from the job could be announced on Thursday. Beebe has become unpopular with some of the presidents of Big 12 schools during the current conference realignment mess, likely leading to his making way for some new blood.

When Colorado and Nebraska departed the Big 12 last year but no one else followed, Beebe was widely praised for saving the conference. Between the creation of the Longhorn Network, Texas A&M's departure to the SEC and rumors of a Pac-12 annexation of Big 12 teams - which is no longer happening - public opinion of Beebe seems to have shifted significantly.

Reportedly, Oklahoma is only willing to stay in the Big 12 on the condition that a new commissioner is appointed, which gives the conference a very good reason to replace Beebe. Whenever his replacement is named, that person will likely begin the process of trying to expand the conference, at the very least with a replacement for Texas A&M.

Dan Beebe Could Be Out As Big 12 Commissioner Soon, According To Report

The Oklahoma Sooners appear ready to get their wish of having Big 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe forced out of the position. According to CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd, former Big Eight commissioner Chuck Neinas will take over as interim commissioner soon. While there is no definitive timetable on this move, CBS Sports believes it could come as early as Thursday.

On Tuesday, reports surfaced that Oklahoma would commit to a future in the Big 12 if Beebe was replaced in the near future. With the Pac-12 deciding not to expand on Tuesday night, Oklahoma had real alternative to go except to stay in the Big 12. However, having a disgruntled Oklahoma in the conference wouldn't be any fun for the other schools, so replacing Beebe makes sense. Beebe, as Oklahoma and other have argued, wasn't proactive in dealing with Colorado and Utah, which left the Big 12 for the Pac-12.

The next item on the Big 12's agenda should be expansion to either a 10-team or 12-team league. Neinas, should he be named the interim commissioner, will likely play a key role in which teams to invite into the league.

For more on college football realignment, stick with this StoryStream.

Big 12 Expansion: BYU, TCU, Air Force Reportedly Targets To Shore Up Conference

So you woke up this morning to discover the Big 12 is going to have to try to work together, as the Pac-12 is skipping this round of expansion, pretty much because of the Longhorn Network. Good morning! The big stuff is over for now, but the smaller stuff continues. This means we're right back to the Big 12 needing to replace the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Colorado Buffaloes and Texas A&M Aggies.

According to John E. Hoover, one of Oklahoma's recommendations for the new Big 12 was for the conference to pick up the BYU Cougars, TCU Horned Frogs and Air Force Falcons. Hoover adds that nothing has changed there, but there's no telling on whether the [/counts on fingers, gives up] however many other Big 12 schools agree with that list. Rivals' BYU's site reports the newly independent Cougs will likely accept an offer, FWIW.

As for non-expansion matters, OrangeBloods.com's Chip Brown reports the conference's schools notified commissioner Dan Beebe things are gonna be different now, and the New York Times' Pete Thamel makes a convincing case against the Missouri Tigers looking elsewhere.

For more, visit BYU blog Vanquish The Foe and TCU blog Frogs O' War.

Oklahoma Could Stay In Big 12 If Dan Beebe Leaves, According To Report

The Oklahoma Sooners haven't left the Big 12 yet. In fact, they're giving the conference one last chance to shape up before they pack their in-state rival and head west. The Sooners have a list of demands, according to The Oklahoman's Berry Tramel, including the obvious trimming and containment of the Longhorn Network. That part is no surprise.

And according to Tramel's source, the replacement of current commissioner Dan Beebe with "an interim commissioner" would be one of the "major, major reforms" required to keep the Sooners from leaving. Whoa.

Beebe has been perhaps the BCS' most unpopular conference commissioner, at least until CBS Sports scooped Big East commissioner John Marinatto on the exit of two Big East teams. Oklahoma has reason to give the Big 12 a shot at keeping established rivalries intact, but that's quite a line in the sand they're drawing if this report is accurate. 

Either way, Oklahoma means much, much more to the Big 12 than Beebe does (which is so obvious that it feels dumb to even type), so if it were as simple as one or the other, there would be no question on which would be out. But there's a lot more to it than just that.

For more on OU, visit Oklahoma Sooners blog Crimson And Cream Machine.

Texas A&M, Big 12 Make Conference Realignment Spat Even More Public

After a Wednesday filled with marvelous insights into what a dorked-up organization the Big 12 is, nothing should really surprise you. So here's this: Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe released a statement saying the promise the conference made to the SEC -- that the SEC wouldn't be sued for admitting Texas A&M -- covered the conference only and not any of its member schools. 

And then!

A&M president R. Bowen Loftin, with his bow tie whirling at hundreds of rotations per minute, told the Associated Press that none of this quite adds up:

We took this letter very seriously. We asked for such a statement. They gave it to us freely. It says here unanimous vote was taken and yet when we look at Beebe's letter last night it says: `No we didn't really mean that,' and I find that to be rather difficult to digest.    

The AP report also cites an email from Beebe to SEC commissioner Mike Slive, which was sent pretty much during the SEC's vote on whether to admit the Aggies. In it, Baylor's name is officially mentioned for the first time as the school doing the most to gum all this up.

Really looking forward to college football season so we can be done with this stuff, am I right?

For more, head to Texas A&M blog I Am The 12th Man and SEC blog Team Speed Kills.