Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark walks back 'open for business' comments regarding future expansion

Expansion has been the topic of conversation since Brett Yormark took over the Big 12 Conference.

It’s been no different at his second Big 12 Media Days, which began on Wednesday. Last year, Yormark famously said the Big 12 was ‘Open for business’ moving forward, and he was asked to elaborate on that once again on Wednesday.

In response, Yormark slightly walked back his comment from last year, and provided some insight into the future of the conference.

“I feel like I’ve been talking about expansion for a year now,” laughed Yormark. “When I said we were ‘Open for business’ last year, I think people took that as, ‘My God, this guy’s new and he wants to go and disrupt,’ I guess in some respects. But indicative of my opening comments today, ‘Open for business’ meant that we were going to explore every and all opportunities to grow revenue, to diversify our conference and to do things that haven’t been done before. And we did a lot of that.

“Relative to expansion, I said that we have a plan, and we have a plan for expansion, and I’m not going to really address it today. You can as me, but I’m not really going to address it. We do have a plan, and hopefully we can execute that plan sooner than later. But as I’ve always said, I love the composition of this conference right now. The excitement the four new members have brought to this conference has been incredible. And if we stay at 12, we’re perfectly fine with that. If the opportunity presents itself where there’s something that creates value, and aligns well with our goals and adjectives, starting with the board, then we’re certainly going to pursue it.”

As for possibly expanding with a team outside the Power Five, Yormark answered a reporter’s question by explaining if they create value, the Big 12 will certainly have them on their radar.

“From my perceptive, we have great collaboration with the board, and our athletic directors. Obviously there’s a lot of different routes you can take with expansion. As I’ve said, we have a plan, but as it relates to any school that’s non-Power Five, if they create value, and they align well with our goals and objectives, it’s a conversation we’ll consider having,” said Yormark. “And the great thing about my board and my AD partnership is that we collaborate all the time. We can agree to disagree on certain things, and we have throughout the year. I’ve learned a lot from both governing groups.

“Again, if within the value equation, there’s alignment, you know Power Five or non-Power Five, we’ll look to pursue it.”

Time will tell if the Big 12 adds any new squads to their conference, but Brett Yormark and company have their ears to the ground just in case.