Big 12 Interim Commissioner Chuck Neinas yesterday said that he “will leave his post by July 1,” according to David Ubben of ESPN.com. Neinas took the position to replace Dan Beebe in September '11. Neinas said, “I've agreed to remain on until the end of June, so I'm fully confident they'll have a new commissioner to be on board the first of July, and probably earlier." The Big 12's search committee to find his replacement "offered Neinas a spot to serve as an adviser for the group," and Neinas “accepted the offer.” He said, "They are in the process of retaining a search firm” (ESPN.com, 2/22). In Dallas, Rick Gosselin wrote Neinas “likes what he sees now in the Big 12.” Neinas said, “Everyone is working together. I’ve had great cooperation from presidents, chancellors, athletic directors. … Everyone is pulling the oar in the same direction. We’re in a progressive mood.” Neinas has “two goals in his final months on the job.” Neinas: “First is getting the message out how good we are and try to dispel the negativity that’s been associated with the conference. The second is continue to build more cohesiveness within the members.” He added, “We always used to talk about the Big Eight family. We’d like to use that philosophy to see if we can’t build a Big 12 family. I think we’re making some progress” (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 2/22).
