Yormark, Big 12 has big first year but looks to future
A lot can happen in a year.
The work done by Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark is testament to that in his first year on the job. Yormark, who didn’t have a background in college athletics, inherited the conference last season and has overseen success in a number of areas.
On the field, the Big 12 had TCU play for the national championship in football while 70-percent of the men’s basketball teams and 60-percent of the women’s qualified for the NCAA Tournament.
The league also was well represented in the NFL Draft with 30 players selected, along with 10 others from the four new teams, with six of those being first-round selections.
“We’ve accomplished a lot over the last 11-plus months,” he said.
Off the field, the accomplishments are perhaps even more noteworthy for the health of the league. Yormark helped to jump line and complete an extension with existing television partners ESPN and FOX through the 2031 season which will run through the end of the 2031 campaign.
The extension will keep the league on the two biggest college football linear providers while paying each member just short of $32 million per team.
“Creating tremendous stability and clarity for this conference,” he said.
The commissioner also accelerated the exit of Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC by a year while forfeiting $100 million which was to be distributed between the eight remaining Big 12 schools including West Virginia.
The two schools were originally set to remain in the league until July 2025, but now will exit following this season leaving the conference with 12-teams.
As part of the new league without those two teams the Big 12 plans to launch a new logo next year.
“We plan to use this season to celebrate the incredible strength we have going forward with our eight continuing members, our four newcoming members and also to celebrate the impact that Texas and Oklahoma have had on this conference since day one,” Yormark said.
Among other items tackled by Yormark include a complete organizational redesign, the formation of a business advisory board, the creation of the joint Big 12 Pro-Day event which is partnered with the NFL and the formation of Big 12 Mexico among a number of other things.
But Yormark believes that the future is bright and there is no better time to be a member of the Big 12 as the conference is only going to continue to grow and move forward in a positive direction.
“It’s not about where we’ve been for all of us. It’s about where we’re going,” he said.
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