Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby to speak on 'The Business of Sports'

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Bob Bowlsby, Big 12 Conference commissioner, will be the featured speaker during visits to Oklahoma City (Feb. 20) and Tulsa (Feb. 21) for the Spears School of Business speaker series.

Bowlsby will speak during the Executive Management Briefings in Oklahoma City from 12-1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 20, at the Cox Business Convention Center.

Also, the first-year Big 12 commissioner will present “The Business of Sports” during the Tulsa Business Forums from 12-1:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 21, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel.

Each year, the forum series showcases prominent business, political and world leaders, authors and policymakers to the Oklahoma City and Tulsa business communities. Both the Tulsa Business Forums and the Executive Management Briefings are coordinated by the Center for Executive and Professional Development at Oklahoma State University. Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates was the featured speaker in November.

Bowlsby was introduced as Big 12 Conference commissioner on May 4, 2012. The hiring of Bowlsby as the Big 12’s fourth full-time commissioner was praised throughout college athletics as another step in continuing the strength and stability of the conference.

Before joining the Big 12, Bowlsby served as the athletic director at Stanford University for six years. The program, hosting 35 varsity sports and claiming an unprecedented 17 consecutive Learfield Sports Directors Cups, is considered one of the top overall athletics programs in the country.

Throughout his career, Bowlsby has emerged as a national leader in intercollegiate and amateur athletics. He was appointed to the United States Olympic Committee Board of Directors in 2007 and will complete that term at the 2014 Winter Olympiad in Sochi, Russia. In 2002, President George W. Bush chose Bowlsby to be a member of the Commission on Opportunities in Athletics.

Bowlsby has previously served as president of the NCAA Division I-A Athletics Directors’ Association, chair of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee and chair of the NCAA Management Council. In addition, he has also served on the NCAA Wrestling Committee, NCAA committees on Financial Aid and Amateurism, the Special Committee to Review Amateurism Issues and the Special Committee to Review Financial Conditions in Athletics.

The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) named Bowlsby in 2001-02 as Central Region Athletic Director of the Year and Sports Business Journal selected him from the four regional award winners as the National Athletics Director of the Year. The award highlights the efforts of the athletic directors for their commitment and positive contributions to campuses and their surrounding communities.

“The Business of Sports,” by Bowlsby is the second in the three-part speakers series in both Oklahoma City and Tulsa, presented by the Spears School of Business along with corporate sponsors.

The third and final speaker will be Tom Brokaw, the television journalist and author who is best known for being anchor of NBC Nightly News from 1982 to 2004 and author of the book “The Greatest Generation.” He will speak on April 2, from 10-11:30 a.m. at the Mabee Center in Tulsa and from 4-5:30 p.m. at the Civic Center in Oklahoma City.

For more information about the Executive Management Briefings in Oklahoma City or to learn about how you can participate as a sponsor, email Gaye Trivitt at gaye.trivitt@okstate.edu or visit http://cepd.okstate.edu

For more information about the Tulsa Business Forums or to learn about how you can participate as a sponsor, email Karen Ward at karen.ward@okstate.edu or visit http://cepd.okstate.edu