Brett Yormark: Big 12 media rights deal 'the catalyst for everything we've done' in first year as commissioner

One year ago, Brett Yormark stepped up to the podium at Big 12 Media Days as the conference was preparing to go through some big changes. Texas and Oklahoma were gearing up to leave for the SEC, four teams waited in the wings to join the league and, perhaps most importantly, he was preparing to replace Bob Bowlsby as the commissioner.

But even after integrating those additions — BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF — Yormark said he did something more important during his first year at the helm.

“When I look back on that first 12 months, I think the catalyst for everything we’ve done since is really the TV deal,” Yormark said on SiriusXM College. “I think that gave us the clarity and stability, the momentum. The non-believers became believers. Not to say there were non-believers out there, but there always are.”

Yormark’s tenure formally started Aug. 1. It took him less than three months to orchestrate a new $2.28 billion media rights deal to continue the agreement with ESPN and FOX. The Big 12 officially signed the deal late last month, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported.

To do that in such a short time — not to mention with two high-profile departures looming — was impressive. But Yormark made sure to credit his predecessor for setting the table for him.

“We had some challenging moments on the heels of Texas and Oklahoma leaving. But Bob Bowlsby did a fantastic job,” Yormark said. “I often pay him huge accolades on gathering those four new members and getting it done quickly and effectively. He passed the baton to me, gave me a great story to tell in order to get ESPN and FOX to double down on us.

“I think that converted, again, the non-believers and it kind of helped galvanize our fan base and gave us the momentum to do some of the things we’re doing. I’m really excited about it.”

As for his second year as commissioner, Yormark was noticeably less candid when it comes to realignment. He considered the Big 12 “open for business” last year, but attempted to walk that back a bit this time around considering rumors are still swirling about expansion.

That said, there could still be big things coming for the conference in the second year of Yormark’s tenure. He promised as much during his interview while pointing out the improvements over the last 365 days.

“When I look back on it, I think year two’s going to be better because hopefully I’ll be better as a commissioner,” Yormark said. “I still have a lot to learn and certainly did my first year. But now that we’re fully staffed at the conference office, we went through an organizational redesign, we hired some great people. You’re seeing a lot of their work unfold here with the brand refresh, our new commercial, how we want to kind of appeal to that Gen. Z demographic.

“Year two should be better than year one. Very happy with what we’ve accomplished, but not satisfied. Looking forward to going after it.”