LAS VEGAS – Big 12 Conference commissioner Brett Yormark took the stage here Tuesday at Allegiant Stadium and delivered his vision for the future of his reimagined band of 16 schools, including the possibility of changing the league’s name, adding investment from private equity and even playing more football games on days other than Saturday.
He said the Big 12 is “more relevant than ever before” despite losing its top two marquee football programs this year to the Southeastern Conference – Texas and Oklahoma.
He also said the Big 12 is one of the top three conferences in America, along with the SEC and Big Ten.
“We will be the deepest conference in America, and every week will matter,” Yormark said at the start of the Big 12’s two-day football media days event.
Welcome to the new Big 12, which Yormark describes as a “mature startup” company entering his third football season on the job. It now has members in 10 states from Orlando to Phoenix, including four new schools joining in August – Colorado, Utah, Arizona State and Arizona.
But in some ways, it’s still like the old Big 12, still fighting for respect nationally and challenged by issues that led those teams to flee for the SEC.
Yormark has a plan for that, too.
Big 12 Conference commissioner Brett Yormark speaks to the media Tuesday during Big 12 Media Days at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
What are the issues faced by the Big 12?
They can be boiled down to two categories – a revenue gap and rising expenses. The Big Ten and SEC distributed about $60 million and $51 million per school on average in fiscal year 2023, compared to about $44 million per school in the Big 12. That money largely comes from television companies that pay to show the biggest brands and best rivalries in college football.
Yet the Big 12 just lost its biggest rivalry and…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/big-12-commissioner-deepest-conference-223520280.html
Author : USA TODAY Sports
Publish date : 2024-07-09 22:35:20
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