As far as nearly everyone was concerned, the Big 12 was dead.

Colorado and Nebraska had already jumped ship the week before. Onlookers across the nation – media and fans alike – were certain that a Texas-led, mass exodus to the Pac-10 was a done deal. Texas A&M had enough votes to move to the SEC and was already packing its bags. As for the five remaining members, there was no hope. A spiral into athletic oblivion was imminent.

But commissioner Dan Beebe had other plans.

With the conference seemingly down to its last breath, Beebe approached the 10 remaining members on Sunday with the idea of a new television contract. Schools would earn an average of $17 million each and could launch their own networks if they chose to. It was an 11th-hour attempt to essentially resurrect the dying league, and it worked.

Following Beebe's proposal, nine schools announced their commitment to keep the Big 12 afloat, effectively ending more than two weeks of realignment talks and silencing what could have been the biggest shift the NCAA landscape has ever seen.

"I'm delighted for the recent decisions of commitment by nine of the remaining Big 12 Conference institutions to continue as members of this valuable, meaningful association of significant universities in this region of the country," Beebe said in a teleconference on Tuesday. "We've landed in a good place, not just for the Big 12, but for all collegiate athletics, in my opinion."

Texas Tech was the only member that didn't commit to the future of the conference on Monday, but the school's board of regents held a meeting yesterday and later announced that the Red Raiders will continue their league affiliation.

Nerves began to rise in Manhattan as rumors continued to circulate over the last two weeks. But things seem to have worked out favorably for K-State, which didn't have a long list of options should the conference have dissolved.  It was speculated by many that the Wildcats, as well as Kansas, Missouri, Iowa State and Baylor, would have been left to find homes if the Pac-10 lured any more schools away from the Big 12.

K-State President Kirk Schulz and Athletics Director John Currie issued a joint statement on Tuesday, expressing their gratitude for Beebe's efforts to keep the conference alive and relevant in the world of college athletics.

"Our sincere appreciation goes to all of our league partners, and certainly Big 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe and his staff, for their hard work during this process," the statement said. "Our league has a very bright future and we are looking forward to new levels of growth and opportunity."

Realignment speculation started to become reality last Thursday when Colorado officially accepted an invitation to join the Pac-10. Nebraska followed suit a day later, announcing its intentions to leave for the Big Ten. The Huskers will remain in the Big 12 through the 2010-11 season and the Buffaloes will stay through 2011-12. Many thought Nebraska's departure would trigger the move west by Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, but that theory was put to rest on Monday when the Longhorns declined an invite by Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott.

Several schools have been mentioned as potential candidates to fill the voids left by Colorado and Nebraska, but Beebe indicated that the league would stay put at 10 teams. That would make it possible for schools to play each conference opponent every year in football and would also provide the opportunity for a double round-robin basketball schedule.

"We're not looking to expand at all and certainly we wouldn't look to expand with any institutions that are in our geographic five-state area now," he said. "We're very comfortable with where we are. There's no interest in having an expansion review at this point and I don't think it's going to come in the future."