KANSAS CITY — Life is good in the Big 12 Conference these days, but commissioner Brett Yormark still isn’t sleeping well.
“My job is to make everyone feel good about the Big 12, but behind the scenes ... everything keeps me up at night,” Yormark told reporters on stage Tuesday at the conference’s basketball media days at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.
“I’m happy, but never satisfied. I want more. I want to continue to compete at the highest levels. I want more for Olympic sports. I want guardrails, you know, when you think about a sustainable model for collegiate athletics, I want great rules and enforcement.”
Perhaps Yormark just needs a new mattress. As noted by the commissioner, five of the conference’s football programs are currently ranked, with three teams in the top 10 and BYU recently having made a powerful national statement in toppling No. 2 Notre Dame in Provo.
The preseason AP Top 25 for men’s basketball features six Big 12 schools, and the league also boasts six ranked volleyball teams, five ranked soccer teams, and some of the nation’s best cross country squads on both the men’s and women’s sides.
According to Yormark, sponsorship revenue for the conference is up 65% this year — Monster Energy logos are splattered all over the media days site — with partnership revenue growing by nearly 3,000% since 2023.
“I like the trajectory of the conference, I love where we’re going, I love the investments our schools are making across the board,” Yormark said.
“I think there’s never been a better time to be part of the Big 12 than right now. We’ve got an incredible runway ahead of us; I love the cohesion amongst the 16 (member institutions). Obviously, over the last four years, we’ve added eight new members, and it takes time for everyone to gel and to be integrated, but I think we’re in a great place right now.”
Additionally, this year’s basketball media days will have more credentialed media members than ever before, helping to echo Yormark’s claim that “the momentum and relevance of Big 12 basketball has never been better.”
“The Big 12 remains the second-best basketball league, behind only the NBA,” Yormark said. “Last season, we tied a conference record with eight NCAA Tournament selections on both the men’s and women’s sides. On the men’s side, we placed three teams on the top two seed lines of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2003 ... Our goal is double-digit NCAA Tournament bids on both sides, but success is measured by how far those teams advance, and ultimately, winning championships.
“There are no nights off in the Big 12. That level of competition is what makes our league great, and fans are voting ‘yes’ for this conference. Regular-season viewership has grown significantly, with ratings last year for conference play, up 20% for the men and 35% for the women.”
Here are more highlights from Yormark’s remarks at Big 12 basketball media days.
“This is the closest we’ve ever been to passing meaningful legislation, and I look forward to working with lawmakers as the process advances to the House. Like any startup, the college sports commission has continued to evolve and improve. Together, these efforts are helping move college athletics in the right direction.
“I want to commend (NCAA president) Charlie Baker and the NCAA for their leadership as they navigate many of the complex issues facing our industry ... I appreciate their willingness to explore new ideas and solutions.”
“I was an advocate for expansion, and I think for a conference like ours, it will provide more access to the teams that deserve it. We’re excited about expansion and the benefit it will have for the Big 12, for sure.
“The ‘Respect the Game’ campaign was something that our sportsmanship committee really rallied around with our marketing department. We think it’s the right campaign to educate fans, within the Big 12 and beyond, that respect for the game is critical. You’ll see more and more content that supports ‘Respect the Game’ over the coming weeks, so we’re just getting started.”
“Nothing’s been done yet, nothing’s final, so I don’t want to get too much into the details there. But tentpole events for us, our championship game has been very valuable, our basketball tournaments, both men’s and women’s, has been very valuable.
“If there’s a point in time where change is made, we will look to (replace) those events with other events. We’re in the event business, it drives a lot of fan engagement and excitement. So we’ll see what happens in the future, but those are big moments for us. For some reason, if one goes away, we’ll replace it with something different.”
“As the season progresses, I fully expect we will have multiple teams competing for a place in this year’s college football playoff.
“... I was in Provo, and it was a great game and a great moment for this conference. Our schools are committed to playing the biggest and best, and I do believe that if we were to get something done with the (College Football Playoff) and expand to 24 (playoff teams), you’ll see the scheduling dynamic move in a different direction.
“I think that’ll be a positive when you think about scheduling and the best matchups week in and week out, specifically out of conference, so we’re committed to it.
“We want those big moments. We want to compete against the best, no different than what happened in Provo this past weekend.”
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