Some have questioned whether the Big 12 has been tough enough on Baylor.
If you've missed the ugliness, at least seven Title IX lawsuits have been filed against the school with claims of sexual violence and institutional failures. The conference is withholding 25 percent of revenue until completion of a third-party review of the school's mandated changes.
Perhaps that's enough for the moment. Perhaps it isn't. Understand, however, WVU president and new Big 12 chairman of the Board of Directors E. Gordon Gee isn't shying away from questions on the topic. In fact, this week he spoke where the fire is hottest: Baylor's flagship radio station, ESPN Central Texas.
Host David Smoak invited Gee partially because of his new role and partially because of a Feb. 9 Gazette-Mail column in which the WVU president showed support for Baylor as it moves through rehabilitative efforts. Many in leadership roles have avoided the subject because of its toxicity.
"I was hopeful I would put things in perspective," Gee told Smoak. "It's a very simple matter for me. I've been a university president for 37 years. I feel like a piñata. I've been through every permutation. And Baylor is a great university. I have great respect for Baylor as an institution. Academically it brings great heft to the Big 12. It's just a premier institution.
"Now, they've had a very serious set of challenges. The Big 12 holds itself to a very high standard. We should. And we hold Baylor to a very high standard."
Gee said, yes, the other Big 12 presidents feel the same about BU.
"I know the goal of the presidents is to work with Baylor and to develop a very healthy Baylor," he said. "We want [it] to be a place of significant character and relevance. ... All of the presidents, including me, have real concerns about what happened and of changing the culture. They are working very hard at that.
"At each of our Big 12 meetings - and even in between - we've received significant reports. The chancellor there [Dr. Linda A. Livingstone] is very devoted to making sure Baylor meets and exceeds all the expectations of the conference. I like their general counsel [Christopher Holmes]. I appreciate the role of their new athletic director [Mack Rhoades]. I don't know their new football coach [Matt Rhule], other than by reputation. It seems to me he's off to a good start. So it seems they are moving progressively. And we need to make certain we aren't an impediment, but helpful and a standard-bearer of good behavior in that regard."
Livingstone's first two official days on the job were at the Big 12 meetings in June.
"She's very impressive," Gee said of Livingstone. "She's smart, interesting and a warm person. I think she'll bring a lot of good deeds and goodwill to Baylor. The former chancellor, Ken Starr, has been a great friend and personal friend of mine for many, many years. I know it's been a tough time for Baylor and him, but I think there's no one more supportive of the present chancellor than Chancellor Starr. So I think Baylor is in good hands right now."
And of that audit?
"I happen to be on that committee," Gee said. "We are in the process of doing that audit right now. I have no idea how long that will take, but we have a good process in place and I think Baylor is comfortable with it. I think it shows the seriousness of the Big 12."
Gee called the issues involved with Baylor's situation "of immense importance to universities."
"If we didn't take them seriously, shame on us," he said. "If we do, we have an opportunity for people to rehabilitate and get better. We need to partner with them to make that happen."
The WVU president called the situation a "warning shot for all of us."
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Gee was asked during the interview whether he can help smooth perceived Big 12 internal disputes that might go back to the days of the Southwest Conference.
"I don't know if I can be of help, but I do believe the chemistry in the Big 12 is very good right now," he said. "We went through the issue of should we expand? If you look at the results I think it brought us together. We realized our 10 teams bring us a lot of agility. Our television contracts, our payouts were third among the five [power] conferences, ahead of the Pac-12 and ACC."
And of that expansion issue, Gee said "I don't think we'll revisit that decision."
"Out of that, though, came several things," he said. "No. 1 is we decided to have a [football] championship. I think that's a very smart and wise move. Secondly, we'll continue to re-seed our two five-team sub-leagues so we're not always in the same rotation, which is a smart idea.
"The third thing by going through the process - and I was very bullish on expansion - is we had the very brightest from the media and strategic management folks [involved]. We were very well-advised. And we discovered by being who we are - and committing to be who we are - made us a stronger league than assimilating or drawing other people in."
Gee hinted the Big 12 could actually profit by not having a league network.
"I think the landscape of athletics is going to change rather dramatically," he said. "We'll be able to be more agile. We love our relationships with ESPN and Fox. We think they are very important. But there are new platforms for the 'Z' Generation that's coming in.
"They don't listen to television. They don't read newspapers. So how are we going to translate into those homes and lives? Being slightly smaller with a great brand name, we can do some things the others can't do."
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And finally ...
Gee pledged WVU's support of the Big 12 in no uncertain terms.
"Our real opportunity [in the league] is to have people understand who we are and the value of our institution in places like Kansas and Texas and Oklahoma," he said. "It's an opportunity to tell our story. It's a great boon to West Virginia. They'd have to throttle me to think about anything different than what we're doing now."
Contact Mitch Vingle at 304-348-4827 or mitchvingle@wvgazettemail.com. Follow him on Twitter @MitchVingle.