Big 12 looking at all opportunities
Brett Yormark is comfortable with the 16-team composition of the Big 12 but the league is still very much open for business.
“We will not stumble into this new era following the settlement, in fact we will be aggressive and very proactive,” Yormark said.
When it comes to continuing to build the brand in the Big 12, Yormark said that they are working with the television partners ESPN and FOX to look at innovative new TV windows to give fans more access to what the league has to offer.
That could mean options outside of Saturday’s in order to highlight the league.
“We’ve got to kick the tires and figure out are there other windows that make sense and provide great engagement for our fans and great exposure for our programs,” Yormark said.
The league extended the media rights agreement with ESPN and FOX through the 2030-31 season for an average of $31.7 million annually for the teams within the league. It is set to begin in 2025 but Yormark said that once they go back to market in 2030 they will have optionality to look at possibly packaging football and basketball as separate entities instead of as one as it’s been done.
“Do we bifurcate football from basketball? Only time will tell. But I’m bullish on the whole deal. I'm bullish on football, I’m bullish on basketball. I’m bullish on Olympic sports. And everything we do now sets the tone for that moment in January of 2030. And with the help of ESPN and FOX, they will grow our brands and they will grow our narrative and best position ourselves for that moment,” he said.
The Big 12 is also looking at exploring options when it comes to the area of both naming rights as well as the possibility for private equity. Yormark didn’t want to dive into the subject too much but did say that given where things are in the industry, having a capital resource as a partner makes sense.
“We are exploring what that might look like. A structure and model of what that might look like will be critically important so we’re not compromising the long-term future of the conference,” he said. “We have surrounded ourselves with subject matter experts as we vet out the possibilities and whatever we do is going to have to benefit the conference both short-term and long-term.”
The league isn’t there yet, but they are exploring the different options and structures that would best suit the conference and their schools.
The Big 12 has made some big moves of late but more could be on the horizon.
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