Bob Bowlsby Stepping Down as Big 12 Commissioner

CINCINNATI — There is going to be a new Big 12 commissioner by the time Cincinnati enters the league over the next couple of years. Current commissioner Bob Bowlsby announced he is stepping down from the position by the end of 2022. Bowlsby started his tenure in 2012.

The Athletic reports that the conference wants to have a new commissioner named in the next 90 days. The four incoming members (UC, BYU, Houston, and UCF) will have input, but the eight current members staying in the conference have the largest say.

"After more than 40 years of serving in leadership roles in intercollegiate athletics, including the last 10 with the Big 12, and given the major issues that college sports in general and the Big 12 specifically will address in the next several years," Bowlsby said in a press release. "I have reached a natural transition point in my tenure as Commissioner, as well as in my career."

Now is as good a time as any for the league to transition. The dust is starting to settle from the uproar Oklahoma and Texas caused by leaving the league and the new commissioner will have plenty of time to get acclimated in 2023 before they have to negotiate a new TV deal in 2024.

There are no lead candidates for the job but the league could look inward and offer the gig to a Big 12 athletic director like Kirby Hocutt (Texas Tech) or Shane Lyons (WVU).

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