Brett Yormark claims Big 12 is 'cemented at No. 3' among conferences, 'moving up'

Brett Yormark has made plenty of big moves since taking over as Big 12 commissioner. Not only has he added four more teams to the new members joining the league this year, but he also orchestrated a media rights deal ahead of schedule.

When talking about conference rankings, the SEC and Big Ten typically top the list. But Yormark thinks he put the Big 12 right behind them, he declared during a Friday press conference.

“We are cemented at No. 3 and moving up,” Yormark said while pointing toward the sky.

The Big 12’s new-look media deal is worth $2.28 billion with payouts of $31.7 million per school when it kicks in with the 2025 season. That would give the conference the third-highest payouts in the country behind the SEC’s contract that pays out $300 million per school beginning in 2024 and the Big Ten’s 7-year, $7 billion deal starting this year.

But beyond the media deals, the Big 12 will have 16 teams starting with the 2024 school year. Yormark inherited four additions in BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF, but landed his “dream scenario” by securing the “Four Corners” schools last month. Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah will all join the Big 12 next year.

For comparison, the Big Ten will have 18 schools starting next year and as of Friday, so will the ACC. Cal, Stanford and SMU are all coming aboard to make it an 18-team league in all sports except football. It’s all part of the shifting college athletics landscape, which noticeably sees the Pac-12 crumble.

But not everyone agrees with Brett Yormark’s assessment of the conference rankings. SMU’s board chairman declared the ACC the No. 3 league in the country while celebrating the Mustangs’ big move from the AAC after this year.

“Here we are today, a new member of one of the top three — remember what I said, one of the top three — collegiate athletic conferences in the United States,” he said.

The ACC’s situation is interesting. Its grant of rights runs through 2036, although some teams have explored possible avenues to break that agreement and leave the conference. When it comes to media revenue, each team currently receives about $30 million, but that could change as the league looks at changes to its distribution.

On3 was told that in order for votes to be reconsidered regarding the three additions, the ACC would likely need to finalize an unequal revenue sharing model — based on performance — that would potentially benefit those schools. The ACC announced a “success incentive initiative” in May.