5 Big 12 Media Days takeaways, including Commissioner Brett Yormark's take on future CFB expansion, repercussions from conference media deal & more
This year's edition of the Big 12 Media Days has come and gone. But there are some talking points from the discussions that took place.
Here are the top five takeaways.
The Big 12 is prioritizing expansion
Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark's opening remarks touched on so many things, chief among them was conference expansion. He emphasized the urgency of the expansion, saying he'd prefer it's executed “sooner rather than later.”
The expansion could see the Big 12 establishing a presence in the four time zones. It will also see the conference giving greater attention to basketball which the commish said he's “bullish” about.
This is not to be to the detriment of football, however; it is understood. UConn becomes a more likely candidate for the conference's expansionist agenda in this light. The school's prestigious basketball program can be enticed from the Big East without much fuss while its football program is unaffiliated to any conference.
AT&T is the home of the Big 12 conference championship game until 2030
Another takeaway from Yormark's speech is his announcement about the future of the conference championship game. An agreement is in place for the game to be played at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, through 2030.
That is not all. The title game is now going to include a halftime show featuring a performance by a major artist. The conference is set to announce the artist performing at this year's edition on Aug. 12.
This is another step toward the direction Yormark is taking the conference. The commissioner has been focused on making the conference a strong entertainment brand that is commercially viable.
No love lost between the Big 12 and the two departing teams
The conference now looks stable even in the face of Oklahoma and Texas' exits next year. It was not so when the two schools just announced their intention to leave in 2021.
Now as the schools participated in their last Big 12 Media Days, conference officials and members did not hold back when talking about them. Tom Weiser, the deputy commissioner of the conference took a shot at Texas.
He said the Longhorns are leaving the conference because they'd rather get beaten by Alabama than Iowa State or Kansas State. Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy also had Oklahoma's exit to blame for the potential end of the Bedlam series after this year.
The Big 12 wants a united front on NIL
There have been talks for a while on the disparity between the NCAA NIL rules and the legislation of some states on NIL. This has left schools torn between two sets of rules to follow for their players' NIL dealings.
Yormark indicated that the Big 12 is working on keeping all its members on the side of the NCAA. This is while the NCAA continues to lobby Congress to come up with a national solution to the current quagmire. The NCAA is hoping to keep schools in line by threatening exclusions for schools that will not abide by its rules.
The media deal is the Big 12's springboard for expansion
A big factor in the Big 12's journey to the future is its media deal. This was Yormark's first big step when he took over in 2022. Yormark remarked at the media days that the deal has provided the conference with “stability and clarity in a time of change.”
One understands the importance of this statement when the current situation of the Pac-12 is considered. With the stability that the media deal offers, Yormak is confident about the ability of the conference to “positively disrupt” the college athletics landscape.