Commissioner Brett Yormark Talks Future: ‘The Big 12 is Open For Business’

During the first media day for the Big 12 Conference on Wednesday, new commissioner Brett Yormark stepped up to the podium and talked about the future of the conference as well as his goals. Yormark will officially take over for Bob Bowlsby on Aug. 1.

“There’s no doubt that the Big 12 is open for business,” Yormark said. “We will leave no stone unturned to drive value to the conference. Just as I pledged to the board, we will be bold and humble, aggressive and thoughtful, and innovative and creative. All in an effort to position the conference in a way that not only grows the Big 12 brand and business, but makes us a bit more contemporary. Although there will be challenges ahead, Bob [Bowlsby] has left me an incredible foundation build with.”

Over the past couple of weeks, conference realignment talk has amped up after UCLA and USC announced their departure from the Pac 12 to join the Big Ten Conference. As the Pac 12 is now desperate, it will be a bidding war between the Pac 12 and the Big 12 to keep their conferences alive in this new era of realignment.

Yormark has little college sports experience but previously served as the CEO of the Brooklyn Nets franchise. Yormark played a huge role in moving the Nets from New Jersey to Brooklyn in 2012. The 55-year-old served that position for 14 years until he took his current role at Roc Nation in 2019.

During his time at Roc Nation, Yormark has worked with artists and athletes to reach sponsorship deals. If Yormark is hired, he will be taking over a conference that will change rapidly over the next couple of years.

Cincinnati, UCF, Houston and BYU were formally invited to the Big 12 Conference back in September 2021. The Big 12 needed to start thinking about creating a future plan without Oklahoma and Texas, who are set to join the SEC once the current Big 12 TV contract expires in 2025. All four programs will join the Big 12 Conference on July 1, 2023.