MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Brett Yormark is still two weeks away from officially being on the job as the new commissioner of the Big 12 Conference. He is expected to assume the post around August 1. The new leader of the league has already been pressed into service regarding the dominant issue in the college sports landscape — new combinations in the ‘Power 5’ conferences.
About 24 hours after Yormark was announced as the new commissioner on June 29, USC and UCLA bolted from the Pac-12 to join the Big 10.
“I was excited by it in many respects because I saw there was opportunity. I figured I would be thrown into it a little sooner than I thought. I have been working very closely with [outgoing commissioner] Bob [Bowlsby] and others in defining our path forward,” Yormark said.
Understandably, Yormark did not tip his hand on if the Big 12 may target schools for expansion. He did say that the lines of communication are wide open.
“We are exploring all options and we are open for business. Optionality is good. We are vetting through all of them. I think it is fair to say that I have received a lot of phone calls. There’s a lot of interest. People understand the direction of the Big 12. And we are exploring those levels of interest. Nothing is imminent but we are working hard to position the Big 12 in the best possible position on a go forward basis.
“As we vet out the possibilities, everything will be additive and nothing will be dilutive. I feel very confident that our conference is in the best position it has ever been in before. Bob [Bowlsby] is leaving us in a great place.”
The Pac-12 and the Atlantic Coast Conference could be vulnerable to further poaching from the Big 10 or the SEC.
“I don’t really pay attention to anything else but us. I think there is incredible upside in the Big 12. It is one of the reasons I am here today. We have a chance to build our brand and our business and nationalize our conference in a way that hasn’t been done before. I am excited to go to work and start that process.”
📹 Commissioner Brett Yormark’s Introductory Press Conference #Big12https://t.co/3mQeI1k3dx pic.twitter.com/0UXsPCaguS
— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) July 13, 2022
BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF are scheduled to join the Big 12 for the 2023-2024 academic year. As of now, Oklahoma and Texas are expected to remain in the Big 12 through the 2024-2025 season before departing for the SEC.
“They have been very gracious to me. They were a part of the process of me getting hired. I appreciate the support that I received. I am sure there is going to be a moment in time where we are going to sit down and discuss the future. Obviously, I don’t start until August 1 and I look forward to doing that. That’s really all I can say at this point in time.”
Yormark has most recently served as the chief operating officer and co-CEO of Roc Nation, the entertainment company founded by musician Jay-Z. Yormark was the CEO of the Brooklyn Nets and the Barclays Center from 2005-2019. Prior to that, Yormark served as the vice president of corporate sponsorships of NASCAR. He expects to target younger audiences within the Big 12 footprint.
“My passion for the collegiate space was fueled by my many years at Barclays Center. In a very short period of time, we became a college basketball destination.
“I think there’s opportunities, as I learn a bit more about the brand and our fan base, to become a little bit more national, to position our brand a bit more younger, hipper, cooler. How do we connect to youth culture and diversify some of the things we are doing? I think we have a great opportunity to do that. I have been in the brand building business from my days at NASCAR where we took a sport from predominantly the south where the roots were and made it a national phenomenon. Obviously in Brooklyn, we took the team from the Nets, which was a bit of a depressed brand and franchise and made it into a global brand. My goal is to do something very similar here.”