Stanford athletic director Bob Bowlsby has accepted the Big 12 Conference commissioner job, with the announcement to be made Friday in Dallas, a source told ESPN.com's Andy Katz.
Bowlsby replaces Dan Beebe, who was fired in September 2011 as the Big 12 seemed on the brink of falling apart, with Oklahoma, Texas and others flirting with the Pac-12.
Chuck Neinas has been serving as the interim commissioner.
Bowlsby has told his staff he will remain with the Cardinal until June, according to The Associated Press.
After six years at Stanford, Bowlsby will take over a BCS conference that seems to have found some stability after losing four schools the past two years. It will head into this fall with 10 members, including two additions in TCU and West Virginia.
Bowlsby was in Phoenix the past few days as the Big 12 and Pac-12 meetings overlapped. He is highly respected by his Pac-12 colleagues, and sources said he had a strong endorsement from conference commissioner Larry Scott.
Bowlsby was influential in the Pac-12 negotiating a new television agreement that will show all of its games next season on a number of networks, including ESPN, Fox Sports and a new Pac-12 network.
Bowlsby also is a former chairman of the NCAA men's basketball committee.
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