Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark Makes Bold Proclamation, Reiterates Strong Stances

Brett Yormark only furthered his reputation as the most outspoken commissioner in the country during the open of the Big 12 Media Days event.

Pulling no punches, Yormark declared the Big 12 the deepest conference in the country.

“I believe we will be the deepest football conference in America. I fully expect the Big 12 to earn multiple College Football Playoff bids this year,” proclaimed Yormark.

He also confirmed that the conference scrapped the preseason media poll due to their belief that it hurt Arizona State last season. Yormark emphasized not wanting any of his teams to start off on the wrong foot perception wise strictly because of a preseason poll.

Arizona State won the Big 12 championship in their first year in the conference in 2024 despite being picked to finish last. West Virginia ended the 2023 season in fourth after being projected to be at the bottom.

All in all, the Big 12 media poll has been frequently wrong in recent years. And coming off such a backwards year based on expectations, the conference’s coaches and athletic directors have decided to just scrap the poll all together.

Yormak even doubled down on his support for a 5+11 model for the College Football Playoff, reiterating that his stance is about what’s fair and best for the sport a a whole.

“It might not be the best solution today for the Big 12…but long-term, knowing the progress we’re making, the investments we’re making, it’s the right format for us.”

"It might not be the best solution today for the Big 12…but long-term, knowing the progress we're making, the investments we're making, it's the right format for us." – Brett Yormark doubling down on the Big 12's support for the 5+11 College Football Playoff model pic.twitter.com/dLfDY9Dxmo

— The Next Round (@NextRoundLive) July 8, 2025

And of course, Yormark managed to squeeze in a comment about the strength of the Big 12 as a basketball conference on a day focused on football.

“We’ve been best basketball conference in last 10 years,” he tossed into his press conference.

Find more coverage of the Big 12 at WV Sports Now.

For a related story, Rich Rodriguez explains why he believes WVU will contend for Big 12 title in 2025.