On July 13, 2022, newly christened Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark took the stage at Big 12 Media Days in Arlington, Texas, and immediately made headlines with his opening statement.
“There is no higher priority for the Big 12 right now than our media rights negotiations,” Yormark said during his opening remarks. “There is no doubt the Big 12 is open for business. We will leave no stone unturned to grow the conference.”
Some media outlets around the country seemed to scoff at the idea that this former NBA executive could come in with such supreme confidence — especially in a world where he was set to lose two of the biggest brands in college athletics.
To say there was doubt from the outsiders would be an understatement, but that didn’t matter to Yormark. He and the rest of his staff at the Big 12 just kept their head down and kept working.
The media rights negotiations were, indeed, the top priority for the Big 12, and the prompt action that the league took to jump the Pac-12 in line and grab a respectable offer from ESPN might just be the single most important business move in the league’s history.
That move ensured that the Big 12 was, and still is, in business — and the Pac-12 is now, well, the Pac-2.
That sentiment still rings true today, as the Big 12 adds the four schools that it plucked from the Pac-12 thanks to its quick action in television negotiations. As the league officially begins its 16-team era, the league is still open for business.
There’s not a league in the country that offers a more exciting confernce race, nor is there a conference that will offer the kind of excitement that the Big 12 will on a game-to-game basis.
No, there’s not a “blue-blood” in the league, but there’s also not a Vanderbilt or a Stanford. There are no weeks off in this league, and that’s what makes it one of the best in the business.
“We’ve solidified ourselves as one of the top three conferences in America,” Yormark said a few weeks ago at 2024 Big 12 Media Days. “I will not stop until we are the No. 1 conference in America.”
