By Jojo Doria

It's been a rough year for the Big 12 Conference, too rough for commissioner Dan Beebe to keep his job.

The Big 12 said Thursday that its board of directors and Beebe reached a "mutual agreement" for Beebe to leave his position immediately.

The Big 12 will be down to nine teams when Texas A&M leaves next summer for the Southeastern Conference. The defection by the Aggies comes a year after Nebraska left for the Big Ten and Colorado joined the Pac-12.

The defections have been viewed as a failure of Beebe's leadership.

"We sincerely thank Dan who has always demonstrated a total commitment to what is in the best interest of the Big 12 Conference," Missouri chancellor and chairman of the Big 12 board of directors Brady Deaton said. "His energy, devotion and skill in negotiating on our behalf have been tremendous assets that have benefited our member institutions, our student-athletes, our athletic programs and all our fans."

Conference officials are now discussing plans to move forward on possible revenue sharing and expansion to keep the league together.

Former Big Eight Commissioner Chuck Neinas will serve as interim commissioner. He was a unanimous selection by Big 12 university presidents on a conference call Thursday.

Beebe was commissioner for four years after working in the league office since 2003. He was Ohio Valley Conference commissioner from 1989-2003.

The conference inked a $1 billion television deal with Fox in April -- but Texas A&M became dissatisfied with the league and issues related to the University of Texas' Longhorn Network and left for the SEC.

 

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Big 12 Conference; Commissioner Dan Beebe Part Ways