IRVING, Texas — A few days after the Big 12 was preserved, commissioner Dan Beebe brought together the athletic directors of the 10 remaining schools.
There were lots of things to figure out. There also was some healing to do.
Egos had been bruised, relationships strained in the whirlwind of a week since Colorado went to the Pac-10, Nebraska to the Big Ten and this conference’s fate swung on Texas’ decision to stay put.
Each AD had been under enormous pressure while deciding what was best for his school. Now each was sitting with nine other guys who’d been under the same stress, a reminder that they were in this together.
“We all looked at each other,” Kansas AD Lew Perkins said, “and were glad we were there.”
Beebe cut right to it. Everyone had something to say, so they might as well say it.
One at a time, the ADs went around the table getting things off their chest.
“So many different things had been (reported),” Oklahoma AD Joe Castiglione said. “We needed to clear the air, to separate fact from fiction.”
It didn’t take long. Soon, there was a sense of gratitude for sticking by each other. Then came optimism as they discussed the league’s new direction.
Voila. It was exactly what Beebe wanted — another good call by the man being hailed as “The Savior Of The Big 12.”
But, who is Dan Beebe?
And how the heck did he pull this off?
Beebe sat down with The Associated Press last week to help answer those questions; it was his first in-depth interview since things calmed down. Subsequent interviews with five Big 12 athletic directors and league co-founder/executive Donnie Duncan painted a clear picture of Beebe.
He’s a communicator, someone who can relate to anyone.
He tells everyone what he thinks, regardless of whether it’s what they want to hear, and he expects them to do the same. It’s OK to disagree, as long as the opposing view is backed up with facts and sound reasoning.
“He can take a shot and he can give one,” Texas AD DeLoss Dodds said.
Beebe doesn’t think he has all the answers. But he believes he can find them by talking to enough knowledgeable people.
The quickest way a staffer can get in trouble with him is by withholding an opinion. Second-quickest is not to go along with a decision once it’s made.
Trust is huge. It’s a given at the start of every relationship; once lost, so is the relationship.
About two months before the crisis, Beebe set up an inner circle of advisers: television consultant Joel Lulla from New York, lawyer Kevin Sweeney from Kansas City, associate commissioner Tim Weiser and Duncan. Their first meeting was at an airport hotel.
“We played out every scenario, every aspect of what might happen,” Duncan said. “It wasn’t just involving the Pac-10. It was the national picture. If A moves to B, and B moves to C, then what happens? Who would pay for it? How does TV benefit? How do they not benefit? Then from a legal standpoint, what are our parameters?”
Once ready, Beebe spurred other conferences into action.
He started with a warning shot before the league’s June meetings, telling a radio station he wanted to know “where we’re going and who’s going to be on the plane when we take off.” He also sent an e-mail to school presidents with an attached five-page document marked “confidential,” and titled, “The Case For The Big 12.”
He left Kansas City on a Friday, still asking for commitments — “or else.”
Colorado bolted the following Wednesday, then Nebraska on Friday. His aggressive push was backfiring.
But Beebe knew dropping to 10 schools was a possibility and was ready for it. Getting there so quickly meant he couldn’t handle a single more defection, much less the five the Pac-10 was seeking.
Yet here’s another important point: Those months of prep work taught Beebe this wouldn’t be decided strictly by money.
School leaders repeatedly said other things mattered, such as this part of the country having its own league and maintaining rivalries. They also had to appease alumni — and avoid alienating other folks. Don’t underestimate that part, especially in Texas, where Baylor’s absence from the Pac-10 invitation list could’ve been trouble for the re-election campaign of Gov. Rick Perry, a former Texas A&M yell leader.
Money still was a huge factor.
The Big 12 has a $480 million deal with ABC-ESPN that runs through 2015-16, and a $78 million contract with Fox Sports Net through 2011-12. Beebe got both networks to keep everything intact, guaranteeing the remaining schools a bigger cut. It was a big concession by ABC because 10 schools meant no football championship game.
Nothing new was signed, but between Lulla’s projections and Beebe’s conversations, there was reason to believe the top schools eventually would get $20 million a year.
It was in the ballpark with other conferences. But it wasn’t guaranteed. That’s where those other factors came into play.
At least, that’s what he was counting on.
“I have perseverance, and a pretty positive outlook,” Beebe said. “I can be down 21-0 with four minutes left and I’m going to play ’til the final whistle. I was in that mode.”
When a trusted staffer suggested he start finding homes for the schools the Pac-10 didn’t want, Beebe countered: “You work on that. My focus is on keeping the 10.”
Finally, they got the break they needed. Texas was staying.
He doesn’t like being called “The Savior” because he knows how much others did, from his inner circle to the ADs, presidents and their inner circles.
Still, he’s proud of how things played out.
“I think my characteristics were needed in this time,” he said. “Different people’s characteristics may be needed in other times.”
