Magic Johnson commends Brett Yormark's accomplishments as Big 12 commissioner

Brett Yormark put together an impressive first year as Big 12 commissioner. Taking over for Bob Bowlsby as the league prepared to lose Oklahoma and Texas, Yormark has the league back in strong position as the tectonic plates shifted across college athletics.

His accomplishments earned him some high praise from NBA legend Magic Johnson.

Johnson took to social media Friday afternoon to commend Yormark for everything he did early on in his tenure as Big 12 commissioner. It also turns out their paths crossed this summer, which Johnson noted in his post.

“I’m so happy and excited about the job Brett Yormark is doing as commissioner of the Big 12!” Johnson wrote. “He has absolutely knocked it out the park. BTW I ran into him, his twin brother Michael, and their wives at the Lemon Tree Restaurant in Capri this summer.”

Yormark officially took over as Big 12 commissioner Aug. 1, 2022 — more than a year after Texas and Oklahoma announced their plans to leave for the SEC. Bowlsby had already brought in BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF to help replace them, and Yormark said that helped make the transition smooth.

Yormark hit the ground running after settling in. His admittedly proudest accomplishment came when he helped negotiate a new media rights deal ahead of schedule, re-upping the deal with FOX and ESPN. That agreement is worth $2.28 billion and was officially signed earlier this summer.

How Brett Yormark conquered expansion and landed his ‘dream scenario’ for the Big 12

The next step was expansion as the Big 12 prepared to move back to 12 teams in 2024. Rumors and reports swirled about what direction the conference would go after Yormark declared it “open for business” media days in 2022. Gonzaga emerged as a potential target and he met with athletic director Chris Standiford multiple times during the college basketball season. UConn also came up in conversations.

Colorado, however, became the first domino to fall late last month when it left the Pac-12 to return to the league it called home from 1996-2010. But as the Pac-12’s media rights talks fell apart, Yormark landed the rest of the Four Corners schools — Arizona, Arizona State and Utah — in what he called a “dream scenario” to bring the Big 12 to 16 teams in 2024.

With that, expansion talks are over, Yormark said earlier this week. While that could change in the future, he pointed out the league is content with there things stand right now.

“I did have conversations with UConn and Gonzaga,” Yormark said on the Marchand and Ourand Sports Business Podcast. “Unfortunately, you know, things didn’t work out only because the dream scenario unfolded for us. So, those conversations are no longer. I’m a big admirer of both, those programs are fantastic for all the right reasons.

“But right now, you know, I’m focused on the transition of those four (schools).”