Dan Beebe
Commissioner

Dan Beebe enters his fourth year as the commissioner of the Big 12 Conference in 2010-11 after successfully guiding the league through one of the most tumultuous offseasons ever experienced by a collegiate athletic conference. His unwavering dedication has helped poise the Big 12 to continue as one of the leaders on a national level for years to come.

This past summer, Beebe worked with 10 members of the Big 12 Conference and numerous outside partners to stabilize the league as it continues the second decade of the 21st Century. During the process, he continued to stress the value of competition between Big 12 members and the extraordinary experience it provides for the league student-athletes.

In his three years as commissioner, Beebe has enjoyed eight national championships and five teams in the Bowl Championship Series in addition to numerous individual NCAA crowns. Off the field, he guided league institutions to a continuation of their revenue sharing model which returned a record $139-million back to its membership in 2009-10. He has also ensured future revenue security for each of the members going forward.

He represents the Big 12 on three national boards - the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee and the Executive Committee of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA). As a basketball committee member, he worked as part of the group that secured a record television arrangement for the NCAA and also contributed to the decision to expand the field to 68 teams starting in 2011. His tenure began in September 2009 and runs for four years, while the NACDA appointment will expire in June 2013. Beebe is also a board member of the Collegiate Women Sports Awards and Honda Award and is also Chair of the Collegiate Commissioners Association Football Bowl Subdivision group.

The Walla Walla, Washington-native was part of the BCS television negotiating team that reached a new agreement with ESPN resulting in a significant increase in revenue for the Big 12. He orchestrated the conference's new arrangements with its non-BCS Bowl partners that resulted in a 33 percent increase in revenues. He has also spearheaded a continued and expanded Big 12 relationship with Special Olympics in each of the league's states.

Beebe was named commissioner on September 5, 2007, after serving as senior associate commissioner and chief operating officer for the league since February 2003.

While in his previous role at the Big 12, Beebe handled issues related to governance, national policy and legal affairs, in addition to coordinating the day-to-day activities of the conference office. He also served as the conference liaison to the Big 12 Board of Directors. Beebe has been involved in site selection for future league championships, extending television contracts and enhancing football bowl opportunities. In addition, he was active in establishing the conference's sportsmanship policies and procedures.

Prior to joining the Big 12, Beebe was commissioner of the Ohio Valley Conference from 1989-2003. Upon his appointment, he became the youngest leader of a Division I football-playing conference.

During his tenure, Beebe made the OVC more attractive in areas of television appearances as exposure nearly tripled. He also enhanced championships and revenue generation, ensured sportsmanship and fair play, promoted gender equity, and gained national recognition for the league. He was a strong proponent of providing opportunities for female student-athletes, as the league added three women's championships during his time.

Under Beebe's direction, the OVC added five new members. He also placed an emphasis on ethics and sportsmanship within the league, producing a nationally recognized sportsmanship statement and participating in regional and national seminars on the topic.

Over the course of his career, Beebe has built a strong reputation nationally in college athletics and has been selected to some of the NCAA's most significant committees. In addition to his recent appointments, he was a member of the prestigious NCAA Management Council, serving as chair of the Council's I-AA Governance Committee. He also chaired the Council's Committee on Fines and Forfeitures and was part of its Subcommittee for Student-Athlete Issues. Beebe was picked to fill the required commissioner's position on the initial NCAA Athletics Certification Committee that formalized and implemented the program adopted by the NCAA membership. He also previously served on the NCAA Nominating, Professional Sports Liaison, Football Issues, I-AA Football and Federal Arbitration Act committees.

Prior to his conference work, Beebe was a Director of Enforcement at the NCAA. He started at the NCAA in 1982 as an enforcement representative and was involved with numerous high-profile cases. That tenure was interrupted by a one-year stint as an Assistant Director of Athletics at Wichita State University in 1986 before he returned to the NCAA office where he earned his Director of Enforcement promotion in 1988.

Beebe attended Walla Walla Community College from 1975 to 1977, and then transferred on to California State Polytechnic University (Cal Poly-Pomona) where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree, cum laude, in social sciences in June 1979. Beebe received his law degree from the University of California Hastings College of the Law in 1982 and is a member of the Washington State Bar Association.

Besides his life's work, Beebe's ability to relate to student-athletes and others directly involved in college sports results from his own experience as a recruited football player. As an offensive lineman, Beebe was a four-year starter and served as captain of the varsity football teams at Walla Walla Community College and Cal Poly-Pomona. He continued his participation in athletics well after his college days, playing rugby, basketball, tennis, golf and other sports.

He was selected as one of the Outstanding Young Men of America in 1989 in recognition of his outstanding professional achievement, superior leadership ability and exceptional service to the community. In 1995, he was named an Institute for International Sport Ethics Fellow. Beebe has also served on various community boards, including the YMCA and Nashville Sports Council.

Born on February 27, 1957, Beebe is married to the former Molly Scanlon and has four children: daughters Jessie and Elaine, and sons Matthew and Patrick.