Big 12 Commissioner Weiberg Stepping Down

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Big 12 Commissioner Weiberg Stepping Down
(AP) DALLAS Big 12 commissioner Kevin Weiberg said Thursday he will resign next month to take a job with the Big Ten Network.

During nearly a decade on the job, Weiberg was credited with doubling the annual revenue distributed to member schools to a record $106 million last year. He started in December 1998.

"There is never a perfect time to depart a position like this," Weiberg said. "I am proud of the growth and progress of the Big 12 over the last nine years."

Texas Tech athletic director Gerald Myers said Weiberg brought unity to the Big 12, which amounted to a merger of the Midwest-based Big Eight and four Southwest Conference schools in Texas.

"It was a shock, unexpected," Myers said. "It's definitely better as a result of his leadership the last nine years. We'll definitely miss him and wish him the best."

No replacement has been named. Harvey Perlman, the chairman of the Big 12 Board of Directors, said he will consult with other board members to determine a transition plan.

"Kevin has served the Big 12 Conference exceedingly well," Perlman said. "He really is primarily responsible for taking a new, divergent grouping of schools and turning them into an effective athletic conference."

Weiberg recently helped close a television contract with ABC and ESPN through the 2015-16 academic year. Big 12 teams won 27 NCAA championships and 200 individual national titles during his tenure.

He also served as coordinator of football's Bowl Championship Series for the 2004-05 seasons.

One of Weiberg's darkest days as commissioner came in 2001, when a plane carrying members of the Oklahoma State men's basketball program crashed in Colorado, killing 10. Among the dead was Jared Weiberg, a student manager on the team and the commissioner's nephew.

Weiberg's new job is the vice president of university planning and development for the Big Ten Network, which plans to launch in August. The network, a joint venture of the Big Ten Conference and Fox Cable Networks, will cover Big Ten athletic and academic events.

Steve Hatchell was the Big 12's first commissioner, serving two years after the league began competition in 1996. Dave Martin served in an interim role until Weiberg was hired.

(© 2007 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. )