Brett Yormark claims Big 12 will be 'the deepest football conference in America'

It didn’t take long for Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark to make heads spin around the college football world on Tuesday.

During his introduction at Big 12 Media Days in Frisco, TX, Yormark made some bold claims about the conference.

“Once again, I believe the Big 12 will be the deepest football conference in America,” Yormark said. “No league offers the competitive balance that we do. Last season the Big 12 led the nation in fourth quarter lead changes and go-ahead scores in the final minute of conference games, and this year our star power (especially at quarterback) will be on full display.”

The 2024 season was the first in Big 12 conference history to boast 16 teams, led by Arizona State, Iowa State, BYU and Colorado. Those four programs finished at the top of the conference with a 7-2 record, all claiming premier bowl games.

The Sun Devils claimed a spot in the College Football Playoff, where they fell to Texas in overtime in a thrilling Peach Bowl (College Football Playoff Quarterfinal). Iowa State downed Miami in the Pop-Tarts Bowl and BYU dominated Colorado in the Alamo Bowl. Five other programs finished with at least six wins and earned a spot in a bowl game (Baylor, TCU, Texas Tech, Kansas State and West Virginia), going a combined 2-3 in such games.

“The Big 12 returns nine starting quarterbacks, who threw for over 2,400 yards last season,” Yormark continued. “The rest of the power-four combined have just 11. We also boast one of the nation’s top coaching lineups, from Hall of Famers to rising stars. I full expect the Big 12 to earn multiple College Football Playoff bids this year and to show once again that we can compete with anyone.”

Some of these big-name returning quarterbacks include Arizona State‘s Sam Leavitt (2,885 pass yards in 2024), TCU‘s Josh Hoover (3,949 pass yards in 2024), Iowa State‘s Rocco Becht (3,505 pass yards) and Baylor‘s Sawyer Robertson (3,071 pass yards in 2024). BYU‘s Jake Retzlaff was set to be a major contributor in the conference, but he just announced his departure after breaking BYU’s honor code.

Phil Steele has four Big 12 teams ranked in the top-25 of his preseason rankings (Arizona State at No. 15, Baylor at No. 18, Utah at No. 19 and Texas Tech at No. 25). TCU just missed the cut at No. 26, followed by Iowa State at No. 28 and Kansas State at No. 30.