Brett Yormark welcomes new Big 12 members with midnight post

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark welcomed the new members of the conference with a midnight announcement.

Now that it’s July 1, it’s the first official day for UCF, Cincinnati, Houston and BYU as Big 12 members. The conference expanded to 14 teams for the 2023 season before Texas and Oklahoma depart for the SEC next year.

But Yormark made it official for a new era in the Big 12 Conference.

Officially official. pic.twitter.com/JYB1L4lSYU

— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) July 1, 2023

“It’s July 1, big day, big day for the Big 12 Conference (and) our fans,” Yormark said. “Welcome UCF, Cincinnati, Houston, BYU. We are so thrilled to have you in the conference. We waited a long time for this moment. Can’t wait to be on campus this fall. Welcome, welcome, welcome. Glad to have you in the Big 12.”

Back in May, reports surfaced of conversations surrounding Gonzaga and UConn joining the Big 12 in more possible expansion.

According to SI’s Ross Dellenger, Big 12 expansion talks with Gonzaga will “(took) center stage” in West Virginia during the meetings. Yormark allegedly wants the team number closer to 16.

“Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark and other league officials continue deep discussions with the Zags as well as with the school’s consulting firm Navigate, sources tell Sports Illustrated,” Dellinger said. “Navigate is a data-driven company that is assisting Gonzaga in a potential move from the West Coast Conference and into a Power 5 league.”

As Gonzaga would be a pure basketball play for the Big 12 out on the West coast, Yormark is looking to cover the conference from sea to shining see. Dellenger also reports talks with UConn have continued fresh off winning a national championship this past season.

“As SI reported in a story published May 15, the Big 12 is also targeting another basketball power out East: five-time national champion UConn,” he said. “A pairing of the two would give the league dominant hoops programs on either coast.”

If Gonzaga and UConn were to meet during a regular season nonconference matchup, it would be a highlighted game on the schedule. Getting the two as conference opponents on a yearly basis would be quite the move from Yormark. But the Big 12 would have so much more in basketball than those two elite programs.

For years, Kansas has been the standard of the Big 12. Head coach Bill Self just secured his second national championship during the 2022 NCAA Tournament. Nearly every single season, a conference championship is won in Lawrence.

Griffin McVeigh contributed to this report