Unrest in Big 12

[stomperrob]

Posted on Tue, Sep. 20, 2011 11:38 PM
Big 12 needs to say goodbye to Beebe
By SAM MELLINGER
The Kansas City Star

This should be it, then. No more. The Big 12 deserves a clean break, so stop the charade and move on.

And this isn’t about ending the conference, though that day may be fast approaching.

This is about ending the run of commissioner Dan Beebe.

Beebe is a smart and well-intentioned man stuck in an unmanageable position that’s neutered his power and influence enough that the most effective move he has is to walk away. He is not the villain, but he’s the poor sucker left holding the bag, the man whose name is at the top of the company directory.

So when “a high-ranking Big 12 official” leaks to The Oklahoman newspaper that Oklahoma will stay in the league only after “major, major reforms” including a new commissioner, Beebe now faces the impossibly awkward reality that if he’s truly committed to the league’s best future he must quit.

There is no alternative here, not when people who are supposed to respect you are so blatantly insolent, and not when entities you’re supposed to manage are so brazenly dismissive.

Oklahoma may be bluffing — the Pac-12 isn’t expanding and the Sooners aren’t enthralled with the SEC — but the Big 12 is in no position to call it.

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more: http://www.kansascity.com/2011/09/20/31 ... ye-to.html