Brett Yormark plans to 'keep the narrative out there' with growing women's sports

Women’s sports have seen a lot more attention in recent years and now seem to have a growing fanbase. That’s something that Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark wants to build on.

As Yormark explained while speaking to ESPNU during Big 12 Media Days, his goal is to keep the media around women’s sports alive and work to continue growing them.

“We’ve just got to keep the narrative out there. Got to keep it out there, keep it top of mind. I’ve become a big fan of women’s sports now that I’m here. I didn’t experience it before, candidly, but I saw more women’s basketball games last year than I did see men’s.”

While all women’s sports have been on the rise, women’s basketball has garnered a lot of attention recently as stars like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese garnered national attention. In the case of the Big 12, nine current schools made the Women’s NCAA Tournament last season. Meanwhile, in softball the Big 12 has dominated thanks to former member Oklahoma, which has won the last four national championships in that sport. However, the Big 12 will now need a new team to step up to fill the gap as the Sooners leave.

As a conference, the Big 12 is going through some rapid changes. That includes seeing its membership change over. However, Yormark believes that the conference is now in better shape to support women’s sports than ever before, and when he says that he’s referring to more than just basketball.

“I mean, volleyball is fantastic. Softball, women’s soccer. I’ve gone to all of the events and you’re absolutely right, it’s on the rise. It’s why I’m so excited for the Big 12 in general because we did get better at football, we did get better at men’s and women’s basketball, but we got better at the most important Olympic sports, and many of them our women. Of our 25 sponsored sports, 15 are women. So, we’re doubling down.”

On top of that, Brett Yormark sees women’s sports as a point of growth. Because of that, the Big 12 is investing in women’s sports in a way that it never has before.

“I mentioned yesterday, Dayna Scherf is our new VP of Women’s Basketball. It’s the first time we’ve had anyone in that role. Why? The game has grown and it warrants it,” Yormark said. “So, I think we’ve got to keep the narrative on women’s sports, deservedly so because it’s a huge growth area for all of us.”