Q&A: Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe

For the nearly two years that Dan Beebe has served as Big 12 commissioner, he’s been as button-down as the shirt he wore for an interview last week.

That diplomatic demeanor changed when Beebe was asked about the Mountain West’s playoff proposal, the one that led to BCS hearings in both houses of Congress.

"I was very disturbed about any of our conferences that are a part of the BCS coming out after we negotiated with television and then proposing drastic changes to the system . . .,” Beebe said.

"I went to my board last December with the ESPN contract and got approval to sign it. Afterward, the Mountain West makes these proposals and acts like we’re holding a gun to their head on the television contract.”

Beebe readily admits that the BCS isn’t perfect. He said that is part of its charm and contributes to a meaningful regular season.

The criticism has been harsh, even though the Mountain West eventually signed the BCS contract.

Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, compared the BCS to communism, a statement Beebe disputed.

"My memory of when I studied history and Karl Marx was that a major tenet of communism involved taking from each according to their ability and giving to each according to their need,” Beebe said. "It’s ironic we’re being labeled as communists when what was actually being asked of us was to be more communistic, taking from those of us who produce more in the marketplace and giving to those who don’t produce in the marketplace.”

In addition to the BCS, Beebe also talked about Big 12 issues ranging from the football tiebreaker to bowl alignments and a possible TV deal with negotiations scheduled for next spring:

Several preseason predictions are giving the Big 12 significant respect in football. Where do you think the conference ranks?

Going into this season, I think we’re one of the top two conferences. I think we and the SEC are right there together. But I’m saying that with a lot of caution, because when you predict where you are in advance of playing the games, a lot of times it ends up the opposite.

The Big 12’s three-way football tiebreaker remained unchanged for this season. Are you comfortable with the process should history repeat?

At this point, I am. The membership has looked at it. The coaches have looked at it. The athletics directors have looked at it. There may be some more consideration about variances and some of our institutions perhaps may propose that. . . . It’s not perfect, just like the system isn’t perfect. The BCS isn’t perfect. The NFL playoffs aren’t perfect. Our tiebreaker is as good as we can predict it will turn out. The athletics directors’ last vote was not to change it but to continue to look at possible recommendations. I think there will be some coming forward.

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