The Fall and Rise of Dan Beebe

Late last week it seemed that the Big 12 conference was on the verge of collapse. One of its powerhouse schools, Nebraska, was rumored to announce their intentions to move to the Big 10 conference and just hours later Colorado officially announced their intention to move to the Pac-10. The Big 12 was down to ten school and it was rumored that five more schools would transfer to the Pac-10 to make the first mega-conference, the Pac-16.

Almost overnight it seemed the Big 12 had collapsed out of nowhere. There had been many rumors of Missouri or Nebraska transferring to the Big 10, but few had taken them seriously and even fewer thought that one school deciding to leave would lead to such a drastic conference realignment. However, this was a crisis that had been simmering for many years, far before the rumors of a Nebraska move began in February. The fracturing of the conference came down to one things, other conferences could offer the schools more money. The Pac-10 was offering schools around $20 million per season, which is nearly double the amount that most schools were receiving in the Big 12.

Despite the fact that Beebe failed to see the warning signs of the impending crisis and potential dissolution of the Big 12, he did act quickly once it seemed that the Big 12 might be nearing its end. Beebee was an effective crisis leader and because of his swift action he was able to save the Big 12 from a nearly certain end. Beebe quickly identified the stakeholders in the situation and realized the University of Texas would be key to saving the conference. Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, and Texas A&M would all likely follow Texas and if he could convince Texas to stay he would get all the other schools to stay too.

Beebe also made sure that accurate information was getting to the press and to the public. He held daily conference calls with the press, which were also streamed online for the general public to hear. In these calls he emphasized that the loss of two schools did not mean the end of the conference and that they were tirelessly working to ensure the other schools stayed. Lastly, Beebee recognized that money was important and worked to find ways to ensure that schools received more money, specifically Texas since saving them was essential to his plan. Beebe failed to see all of the warning signs leading to the crisis, but once the crisis occurred and it seemed likely the Big 12 was about to dissolve he was an effective leader and worked to save the conference.