Brett Yormark: 'I'd be a little disappointed' if Big 12 doesn't add 2 teams by 2025
ARLINGTON, Texas – In the year since Brett Yormark announced the Big 12 Conference was “open for business” during his first media day, the league commissioner has made quite a splash on the college sports scene.
The non-traditional hire, whose resume includes Roc Nation and Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment, has relentlessly pushed innovation and creativity in a collegiate space rarely known for unconventional thinking. The league announced Big 12 Mexico, which will extend the league’s reach and revenue streams beyond U.S. borders; established the unique basketball partnership with New York’s fabled Rucker Park; and negotiated early departures of Texas and Oklahoma, both of which head to the SEC next year.
Yormark also shrewdly secured the Big 12’s new media rights deal – a six-year, $2.2-billion extension with ESPN and Fox Sports – last October. Since then, significant headwinds in the media rights space have made the media rights ecosystem markedly more challenging (see Pac-12).
On Tuesday at AT&T Stadium, Yormark welcomed in 14 schools, including new additions BYU, Houston, Cincinnati and UCF. The league will include 12 teams next year once Texas and Oklahoma depart – but it may not remain at that number long. On3 sat down with Yormark for an exclusive one-on-one interview, during which he touched on his desire to expand, continued hope for a federal NIL bill and the proliferation of vastly disparate state NIL laws.
The interview has been slightly edited for clarity and context. This is the first of two Q&As from Yormark. Read the first part of the interview with Yormark here.
Q: If we talk two years from now and you have not added two schools to get back to 14, would you be disappointed?
YORMARK: “That’s a great question. First time I’ve been asked that way. I would say if in two years we have not solidified ourselves at 14, I would be a little disappointed. Just because I’m so bullish on our conference. I think there is really opportunity and possibility out there for us. I love the 12. I think we have great makeup right now, especially with the four new members and the continuing eight.
But two years from now, I’d like to see us kind of look at things a little differently and maybe look a little differently. And hopefully, that happens. And if that doesn’t happen, it is okay. But I’d say I guess I’d be slightly disappointed.”
Q: Is 14 the preferred number?
YORMARK: “You know what, I’m not chasing a number. But I like 14. I like it. You think about media days – we’re going seven [teams] one day, seven the next. It’s a nice, even number. It’s a nice number. I guess you can say I’ve gotten used to it a little bit, even though it’s our first time as a 14-team league. To the extent that we can stay there, it would be great. If we go back to 12 and stay at 12, I guess that’s okay, too. But 14 kind of feels right.”
Q: If you can get there with expansion, why is stretching the league’s footprint coast to coast, all four time zones, and becoming a so-called national conference – why is that important?
YORMARK: “It’s a great question. From a brand perspective, I want us to be perceived nationally and recognized. That wasn’t the case when I took the job. People in New York said, ‘Where are you going?’ The Big 12. ‘The Big what?’ And that’s Ok. Our brand awareness doesn’t resonate everywhere. And I want to change that. One way to change that is to create a new narrative and profile, which we are doing to leverage the influence of ESPN and Fox.
“Another approach to take is creating a footprint nationally. It gives you a vested interest in those markets. Certainly probably more challenging to do that but certainly a possibility. If the situation presents itself, where it’s additive and creates value, enables us to reach some of our goals and objectives, we’ll do that. But with the case of Rucker Park next week, we’re going to be in New York. We are taking new IP there. We are broadening our horizons, exposing our brand. So, there are different ways to get to where we want to go beyond just expansion – by just creating a presence in these markets that we are not in.
“Last year, about 30 days after I got hired, we did a media blitz in New York. That was the first time we had ever done that as a conference. It gave us a great narrative and great momentum heading into our first football season. There are different ways to accomplish our goals. It’s really incumbent on me to explore all of those different avenues and see where we end up.”
Q: On your expansion wish list, what attributes in a school do you most covet?
YORMARK: “We have these guiding principles if you will. It’s leadership. It’s geography. It’s cultural fit. It’s athletic performance. It’s brand upside. There are lots of things that go into it, which are critically important. That’s how we think about it when we have those conversations.”
Q: As you know, football drives almost everything in college athletics. You’re doubling down on basketball – a position of strength for the league. What is the strategy behind that thinking?
YORMARK: “I’d like to double down if I can, without compromising football, and making basketball the catalyst for a lot of things we are doing. In Mexico City, for example, we’ll be debuting Houston and Kansas, both men and women, playing basketball games. If you think about Rucker Park and creating a voice for ourselves, one of the most iconic playgrounds in the world. There are other major projects that we haven’t announced yet where basketball is truly a catalyst not only to drive more awareness but also to create value and drive revenue for the conference.
“It’s not just about the TV partnerships and what the TV partners value basketball as, but for us, it’s how can basketball be a catalyst for growing the conference and the many initiatives we have. I look at it more holistically. I also like the fact that we are the No. 1 basketball conference in America. And if I can further cement that without compromising football it’s certainly something I need to explore.
Q: With the SEC and Big Ten far out in front in rights revenue – and both have expanded with big brands – if we are moving to an era of the mega-conference, is it important to at least be within shouting distance, to at least be in that mix, so to speak, with those two elite conferences?
YORMARK: “Well, I think we’re elite now. It’s interesting. Everyone wants to compare us to the SEC and the Big Ten. They are great conferences. I just want us to be the best version of ourselves. We’re competing against ourselves. And we’re competing against our potential to be great. Whether it’s 12 schools, or 14, doesn’t matter. I just want us to be great. I just want us to realize our potential, and I think we are well on our way to doing that.”
Q: You mentioned you’re “grateful” for striking early with a media rights deal last fall, extending with ESPN and FOX. There are now fierce headwinds in the media rights space – including ESPN becoming more selective in rights decisions – and other leagues [Pac-12] are feeling those headwinds. Did you see them coming? Is that why you struck fast?
YORMARK: “I didn’t. But once I came out of media day last year, and our next media deals, if you will, were kind of on my radar, and we had interest from our TV partners, I’m a firm believer that you grab a good bird in the hand when you get it. And I felt that we had a good bird in the hand. It was a fair deal. It was the right deal. Everyone said we wouldn’t get an increase. We did. We got more promotion. We got more marketing. So, I felt it was a great deal and one we had to do. Looking back now, I think that deal looks better every day.”
Q: You were opportunistic on the media rights front when the moment came. If that same moment comes, say, this summer with a chance to add a school or two, do you strike quickly? If there’s an opportunity there this summer, do you do it?
YORMARK: “If the right situation presents itself, and it’s additive and fits within our guiding principles, it’s incumbent on me, given the directive from the Board, to explore it. And we’re not afraid to make quick decisions, as you can see. “
Q: The Big 12 is not going to catch the SEC and Big Ten in media rights revenue. Both are way out in front. But what’s the importance of the Big 12 being a leader on another front – innovation?
YORMARK: “One-hundred percent. We want to be a conference of innovation and access. I think we have started to position ourselves this year as a conference of innovation, creating new IP, being somewhat disruptive but in a positive way, and thinking a little bit more out of the box. Candidly, everything I do is all about getting on the [minds] of future student-athletes and doing things that will connect with that Gen-Z demographic. So, when you think about, how do we innovate and create around our championship moments like we did this year? We’ll do more of that next year, and in fact, we’ll double down. We have a lot of new announcements that we will have in the next couple of months. Being at the nexus of innovation, doing things differently, and creating value for our student-athletes and membership is exactly what we want to be doing.”
Q: What is your level of concern regarding sports gambling?
YORMARK: “It’s a huge issue. We are doubling down with U.S. Integrity. We speak about it often. We have always been with U.S. Integrity but we are going to go deeper with them. We are encouraging our schools to do more with them. It’s not just about student-athletes. It’s about the whole ecosystem. It’s how we educate officials and coaches and everyone.
“It is a very serious issue. And we are going to look to do a data deal. I think controlling our data and how it is disseminated and where it is disseminated is critically important for us. That’s how we are addressing the sports betting industry. But it’s here. We’ve got to respond to it.”
Q: What is your ballpark timetable on the data deal?
YORMARK: “I think we can probably announce something probably in the next month.”
Q: What is the No. 1 top-of-mind issue for you in the fast-evolving college athletics space? Plenty of choices.
YORMARK: “For me, listen, there are challenges. We spoke about NIL. That’s a huge issue right now because it connects to so many other things. It connects to the transfer portal. It kind of connects to the fact that agents aren’t certified. It is the centerpiece of a lot of things. That’s where I’m spending most of my time. But I’d like not to spend most of my time thinking about the challenges but rather the opportunities. It’s kind of how I live my life.
“My mindset coming in here was certainly addressing the challenges, identifying them and understanding them, working in a collegial way with my A5 colleagues and Charlie Baker. But at the same time looking at possibility and opportunity. I think the industry as a whole is probably getting too caught up in the challenges and not what the possibilities and opportunities are in front of us. Every industry has its challenges – we are no different.
Q: What surprised you most in your first year?
YORMARK: “How open our Board and ADs have been to change. I had heard a lot that things don’t move as fast in collegiate athletics. But I think, indicative of my opening comments, we have accomplished a lot this year. We have great alignment with our Board, our governance groups – across the board. If there’s one surprise, it’s what we’ve been able to accomplish in year one. More is to come. We’re just getting started. I’ll be a better commissioner in year two. I’ll know more. I’ll continue to learn. We staffed up at the conference office with subject matter experts that are going to be able to serve our member institutions that we previously. We’ve got this great alignment amongst our governance groups. We have four new schools coming in. We’ve got this great TV deal with ESPN and FOX. For me, it’s only going to get better. I don’t think there’s been a better time to be involved with this conference than right now. But the speed at which we’ve been able to make progress is a bit surprising to me.
“Just given what people said to me. People said, ‘It might not be as fast as where you’ve come. More bureaucracy.’ But I haven’t sensed that. I went through the interviewing process for the job and I identified with our Board. I think they all came to the decision that they needed to be different. They needed to pivot away from the traditional. They’ve given me incredible latitude to do what I do. I think my skill sets really marry the needs of the conference. I’m not sure if I could be an effective commissioner in another situation, because I think every situation requires different skill sets. But for this particular role, my skill sets are very much aligned. The Board is really allowing me and giving me the latitude to play to my skill set to move this conference forward.”