Bowlsby Cuts It Loose in Talking Texas and Oklahoma Ditching the Big 12

STILLWATER – A week ago I had Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby on my radio show and he was pretty open and honest about his feelings with regard to the two schools that caused all the uproar this summer as the University of Texas and the University of Oklahoma surprised Bowlsby, the Big 12 office, and many of the league’s members with their rapid departure from the Big 12 for the long term future and quick adoption into the Southeastern Conference for the future. I asked Bowlsby if he was going to be in Austin for the showdown between Oklahoma State and Texas.

“I will not be in Austin, but I wish Oklahoma State the best and I will be watching what happens,” Bowlsby answered. “I will be in Waco because future Big 12 member BYU will be there and that will be a good chance for me to spend time with their President, athletic director, and the leaders at Baylor.”

Big 12 Conference

Bwolsby at Football Media Days.

Bowlsby’s eyes are on the future and not the past as he rallied late in the summer to add not only BYU, but current No. 2-ranked Cincinnati, Central Florida, and Houston to the Big 12. This week at Big 12 Conference Basketball Media Days, Bowlsby talked to various reporters and some interesting stories have come out of it like the one in The Austin American Statesman from Texas beat writer Brian Davis and there is a column out from longtime college football and Big 12 observer Dennis Dodd.

Davis in asking Bowlsby if he was still mad at Texas and Oklahoma for leaving the conference and the secretive way they did it, used the term pissed off. Bowlsby didn’t back away from the phrase that could be considered a little less than professional in college athletic administrative conversations.

“Being, to use your term pissed off about it, I can’t allow myself that,” Bowlsby said. “I have to get over the sense of personal betrayal and do what’s necessary for our eight continuing members. And that’s what we did.”

Bowlsby found a better and more sharply probing phrase than pissed off with the term “personal betrayal”. According to reports from other Big 12 schools, Texas President Jay Hartzell and OU President Joe Harroz Jr. have only been present for one Big 12 virtual meeting since the announcement that they were leaving. They refused to answer roll call in that one meeting. They haven’t been back since. Bowlsby has repeatedly said he expects the Longhorns and the Sooners to stick around, if not at the meetings, in the conference until June 30, 2025.

Bowlsby is no longer being sketchy about his feelings.

“We’re going to have to find ways to get along,” Bowlsby told the Austin newspaper. “We have to work together, and we will. But I would say trust is at a relative low.”

Bowlsby like he told Pokes Report and Triple Play Sports Radio last week said he had no idea why Texas and Oklahoma left. They’ve never offered to share.

“To this day, they’ve given us no answers to that question,” he said. “Either one. I’ve asked repeatedly, and they never made us aware of any concerns in advance. When we’ve asked the question since then, we’ve gotten no response.”

Then Bowlsby got really good and honest and cut loose on Texas, who many have felt was the ringleader on the move.

“They’re thinking they’re going to recruit better and they’re going to get more money,” Bowlsby said in Kansas City. “Anybody that thinks Texas’ football problems have been a result of league affiliation are completely delusional.”

That says it all. Talking to some Texas media and even a few employees in the Longhorns athletic department last week, and the general feeling is Texas and Oklahoma will be gone before the next school year in 2022-23. That would violate the contracts and while there is talk that the new members coming into the Big 12 will do the same and relieve Texas and Oklahoma, I don’t expect Bob Bowlsby sees it that way.