ARLINGTON, Texas -- When Brett Yormark took the stage at Big 12 Media Days in July 2022 as the conference's incoming commissioner, he vowed for the league to become "young and hip" amid an ever-changing landscape in college athletics. Nearly a year into his tenure, and speaking from the very same stage Wednesday at AT&T Stadium, Yormark believes what could be a golden era for the Big 12 is still just getting started.
"There has never been a better time than right now to be involved in this conference," Yormark said. "I'm really excited about our future."
Approaching the one-year mark of Yormark serving as commissioner, much has changed for the Big 12. It hammered down a six-year, multi-billion dollar extension of its media rights deal with ESPN and Fox Sports and, more recently, added four new members in BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF as of July 1. That's perhaps only the tip of the iceberg concerning a conference that the innovative Yormark intends to further overhaul from a branding perspective.
At the forefront of Yormark's spiel to begin Big 12 Media Days was the ongoing effort to broaden the league's reach in preparing for life without Oklahoma and Texas, who leave for the SEC on July 1, 2024. Yormark revealed the league recently executed its first conference-wide strategic plan since 2011, confirming plans to unveil a new logo for the Big 12 next year as part of a larger brand refresh.
"It's been a busy 11 months [since I took over], but it's not necessarily about where we have been," Yormark said. "It's about where we are going. As we look forward, we will continue to innovate, create and positively disrupt, living at the intersections of culture, sports and business."
Yormark is as well-versed as any Power Five commissioner on that front with his past as an executive for both the NBA's Brooklyn Nets and Jay-Z's Roc Nation agency. So far, it's shown. Among previously announced initiatives to grow the Big 12's exposure are a conference-wide football pro day -- believed to be the first of its kind -- and plans to hold several athletic events in Mexico. Both are slated to begin in 2024. Also on deck is a Big 12 "homecoming tour" that visits the four new additions this football season.
That comes after the Big 12 already garnered nearly 100,000 new followers across the social media platforms in the past year, according to Yormark, making for a 309% increase year-over-year. For a conference looking to make a dent in the digital age, those numbers are music to Yormark's ears.
"We're connecting to culture in ways we have not done before," Yormark said. "I think we will double down on that effort this year. You are seeing it with our brand refresh and new commercial. Our goal is connect to Gen Z. We want to get on the consciousness of not just current student-athletes, but future student-athletes. Getting younger is one way to do that, so we are excited about that direction."
Big 12 still 'open for business,' but another round of expansion?
Yormark declaring the Big 12 as "open for business" at the 2022 media days event created plenty of speculation that the conference could soon go on offense in adding new schools. Looking back, he thinks big picture behind that phrase may have been clouded by the tension from realignment at the time.
"I think people took that as, 'my god, this guy is new and wants to go and disrupt [college athletics] in some respect," Yormark said. "But indicative of my opening comments today, 'open for business' means that we are going to explore every possibility to add revenue, diversify our conference and do things that had not been done before. We've done a lot of that."
CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd learned around that same time that up to six Pac-12 schools had preliminary talks with the Big 12 amid uncertainty caused by USC and UCLA deciding to leave the Pac-12 for the Big Ten on July 1, 2024. However, a year has now passed without any additional movement involving Power Five schools.
With UConn and Gonzaga -- schools with much more of a basketball presence than football in the national landscape -- among others linked to potential Big 12 expansion, it remains a waiting game to see what moves the conference make -- if any. Yormark, echoing comments from the league's spring meetings, said the Big 12 has a plan it hopes to execute "sooner than later," though it is no guarantee the Big 12 expands again in the immediate future.
"If we stay at 12 teams, we are perfectly fine with that," Yormark said. "If the opportunity presents itself where there is something that creates value and aligns well with our goals and objectives starting with the board, we are certainly going to pursue it."
