If the Big 12 ends up dissolving after the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners officially receive invitations to join the SEC, a move likely to win approval as soon as next week, commissioner Bob Bowlsby deserves some of the blame.
Hired from Stanford in 2012 to help lead the new version of the conference following the departures of four original members and the additions of TCU and West Virginia, Bowlsby faced the challenge of finalizing negotiations for Big 12 media rights and pulling together a conference split by the failures of his predecessor Dan Beebe.