LAS COLINAS, Texas (AP) — The Big 12 Conference has made it official, announcing the hiring of Stanford athletic director Bob Bowlsby as its new commissioner. The North Texas-based league announced the hire on Thursday, a few hours after Bowlsby broke the news to his staff and coaches at Stanford. He will take over from interim Commissioner Chuck Neinas on June 15th. The 60-year-old Bowlsby spent the past six years at Stanford, helping it rebuild its football program into a national power. He was hired away from Iowa in 2006, following 15 years running the Hawkeyes’ athletic department. Bowlsby will now take over a BCS conference that seems to have found some stability after losing four schools over the past two years. The league will head into this fall with 10 members, including new additions TCU and West Virginia.