ARLINGTON, Texas – Brett Yormark, incoming commissioner of Big 12, a longtime professional sports and entertainment business executive, used his first moment in the public eye to make an appeal to the future of the conference.
“One thing is for sure: there is no doubt that the Big 12 is open for business,” Yormark said Wednesday during its opening remarks at Big 12 Media Days. “We will not leave stone unturned to guide the value for the conference.”
Yormark was appointed Big 12 commissioner on June 29, a day before USC and UCLA made the astonishing announcement that they would join the Big Ten, initiating a second massive wave of realignment in as many years. A few hours before taking the job, Yormark was on the phone with the main actors. Despite being a new college footballer, a source said Yormark has already taken center stage in the main discussions over the expansion and future of the conference, with its leaders falling in line behind him.
“One thing is crystal clear: there is no higher priority than to better position the Big 12 for its upcoming multimedia rights negotiations,” Yormark said. “Everything we do must create momentum for these negotiations, as well as build brand value and Big 12 business.”
Yormark, 55, has joined the Big 12 after more than a decade as CEO of the Brooklyn Nets and two years as entertainment executive at Jay-Z’s Roc Nation brand. Early in his career, Yormark said he put together a progression ladder with the ultimate goal of landing in college athletics – even if he expected to be an athletic director, not a commissioner. But with his takeover, the Big 12 became the third Power Five conference to pass on its future to an outsider (the Pac-12 teamed up with MGM executive George Kliavkoff, while the Big Ten signed Kevin Warren from the NFL).
“We felt like with really strong athletic directors at the conference who knew athletics so well, bringing in someone who had a really deep fun experience and a sponsorship experience would be a wonderful combination,” Baylor president Linda said. Livingstone, who is also the vice president of the Big 12 Board of Directors, told CBS Sports.
Already, Yormark has flexed his brand muscles to define his vision for the conference. The phrase “young and hip” was first on his mind as the conference struggled to increase its relevance and market share among the 18-24 demographic.
Yormark emphasized that it plans to keep linear broadcasts at the center of the Big 12 central broadcast package – think of major networks like CBS, FOX and ESPN. However, it wants to use other platforms as narrative tools to expand the league’s brand.
“There’s an opportunity to nationalize this brand, to be more aspiring, to appeal to the culture of young people, to become younger and more fashionable,” Yormark said. “Those are the things I’m going to work on.”
The Big 12 has taken an aggressive approach to realignment, as Yormark has confirmed that it has been in talks with stakeholders outside of the Big 12. However, it emphasizes that any move will be judged only on whether it adds value. in the long run for the Big 12. conference.
Early reports from CBS Sports ’Dennis Dodd noted that at least four Pac-12 schools – including Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah – have had preliminary discussions with the Big 12. There is no timeline for any decision, however, and Pac- 12 teams could go through the entire season without making any decisions, according to Jon Wilner of The Mercury News.
Yormark enters the Big 12 at a pivotal point in the history of college football. The Big Ten and SEC are willing to shell out the rest of the sport in average revenue per school. For three years, the Big 12 will have a sort of new television contract. Texas and Oklahoma will leave the conference for 2025, though Yormark has specified that all options are on the table if schools want to negotiate early departure. BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF will join the league in 2023.
Ultimately, though, Yormark is focusing on using its branding and marketing to make the Big 12 attractive as a holistic product. Yormark is stepping down from his old job at Roc Nation, and taking over full-time as Big 12 commissioner on August 1st.
“I think when future student-athletes think about where they want to go next, while making those decisions, I want our brand to be aspirational,” Yormark said. “I want them to say,‘ I want to go to the Big 12 for all the right reasons. And collectively, with the group at the conference office, our goal is to do so.
“I’m very excited. I think there’s a real opportunity.”
