Once in danger, league is back on track with veteran leader as steward
Rick Gosselin
[email protected]Published: 25 May 2012 11:33 PM
IRVING — There are still seven months left in 2012, but let me cast an early vote for my sports executive of the year — Chuck Neinas of the Big 12.
I’m going to cast my ballot now because in a month Neinas will be gone, turning the keys of the Big 12 over to Bob Bowlsby before heading back to his life in the Rocky Mountains. But what Neinas has accomplished should not be forgotten.
The Big 12 reached out to Neinas last September with the conference in tatters. Nebraska and Colorado were gone, Missouri and Texas A&M were headed out the door and Oklahoma and Texas were exploring exit options. Nonetheless, Neinas accepted the offer to become the interim commissioner of a conference on the verge of collapse.
But if you know Neinas, you knew not to take the term “interim” seriously. Neinas is no caretaker — not the man who shaped the Big Eight into football’s most powerful conference in the 1970s. Neinas is a man of action, which is why the Big 12 quietly changed his title from “interim” to “acting” commissioner a few months into his stewardship.
How’s this for action — that shrinking eight-team league grew to 10 under Neinas with the additions of TCU and West Virginia, and the Big 12 reclaimed its status as a superconference this month with a landmark agreement with the SEC to play a bowl game pitting their two champions.
“That announcement has had more legs than a caterpillar,” Neinas said. “[SEC commissioner] Mike Slive and I didn’t realize the impact it would have — far beyond us getting together with a bowl. It’s just reverberated around the country. It certainly confirmed the value and the attractiveness of the Big 12 Conference.”
Not too long ago everyone seemed to want out of the Big 12. Now there’s a clamor to get in. Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech have all been rumored to have an interest. The Big 12 could get back to 12 teams tomorrow and to 14 with a snap of its once-again powerful fingers.
But Neinas sees no reason to rush into anything. There are lessons to be learned from the near collapse of the conference. The initial merger of the Big Eight and Southwest Conference created too many factions, too many rifts that were allowed to fester. The old Big 12 could never get all of its schools pulling in the same direction. There were too many different agendas.
Neinas would like to see all 10 of the schools in the newly reconfigured Big 12 prove they can get along before any more kids are invited into the sandbox.
“People have to understand that bigger is not necessarily better,” Neinas said. “What we are trying to do, in view of what has transpired in the past, is to build unity. We have two new members. Let the membership be comfortable with each other before they ever consider going forward.
“We’ve taken care of the contentious issues. We have a very workable solution. Let’s build on that, then down the road maybe think of expansion. But to automatically run off and say, they’re going to go to 12 or 14 or whatever — that does not take into account where this conference was, where we’ve come from and where we need to go.”
Ten is a nice, round number. Neinas sees that as an ideal number for a conference because all the schools can play each other in every sport. Of the five leading football-playing conferences — ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC — only the Big 12 has that scheduling flexibility.
There will be 14 schools in the SEC in 2012 and 12 apiece in the ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12. Ohio State will not play Iowa in football this season, nor will Florida play Alabama or Southern Cal play Oregon State. Traditions have given way to divisions.
“I’ve talked to some of my colleagues in the ACC and SEC who tell me 14 is unwieldy,” Neinas said. “You talk about disrupting tradition — North Carolina and North Carolina State will now play basketball once a year. What happened to Tobacco Road?
“The situation has become cumbersome. If you’re at 14 you may as well go to 16 because then you can have two eight-team divisions. But then that’s not a conference. That becomes a scheduling convenience, not a conference.”
Except for West Virginia, fans of the other nine schools in the Big 12 can still tailgate to games. It makes sense for the Big 12 to extend its electronic footprint East to give West Virginia a travel partner — but don’t expect any expansion to happen under Neinas’ watch.
“Why don’t people believe us when we say we’re content at 10?” Neinas said. “There is comfort with 10. The membership is much more comfortable having a conference without divisions. They’ve experienced divisions. Just three weeks ago our athletic directors discussed it thoroughly and everyone said we’re just comfortable with 10.”
For what Neinas has accomplished in his nine months on the job, give him a 10. A perfect 10.
Big 12 spring meetings
When: Wednesday through Friday
Where: Kansas City, Mo.
Who: Big 12 athletic directors, faculty representatives and senior women’s administrators will be joined Thursday and Friday by the Big 12 board of directors.
Outlook: Unlike two years ago, where the conference seemed on the verge of disintegration, the Big 12 is operating from a position of strength. Contributing factors include pending 13-year TV agreements with Fox and ESPN and a landmark partnership with the SEC for a New Year’s Day bowl.
What to watch: The Big 12 will weigh in on the new BCS. A plan by Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds to play semifinals and finals outside the BCS at neutral sites is generating a lot of buzz. The plan would include selecting the top four teams regardless of conference affiliation. Expansion is an unavoidable topic. Florida State and Clemson have said they are willing to listen. Even Notre Dame, in all sports except football, could be in play depending on what happens in the Big East. But Big 12 athletic directors reaffirmed three weeks ago they are comfortable at 10 and nothing will happen until the new BCS parameters are known.
