Brett Yormark: Expanded playoff gives college football a blank canvas

During his first year as Big 12 commissioner, Brett Yormark has taken steps to increase the fan experience. The league is going through a “brand refresh” with a new logo and commercial coming, brought in entertainment such as DJ Diesel to the Big 12 Tournament and added a “Homecoming” celebration to welcome the conference’s new members.

That’s all part of his background as the former head of Roc Nation — a job he held before replacing Bob Bowlsby. So when he sees a big change coming, such as the College Football Playoff expanding to 12 teams in 2024, he sees an opportunity.

“We haven’t spent a lot of time on ’26 and beyond because we’re so focused on the two years following this year and that two-year expansion period,” Yormark told FOX Sports’ Joel Klatt. “But I will tell you, it gives us a blank canvas.”

Yormark said there’s a window to capitalize on the new-look CFP, which is increasing from four teams after this season. That means more postseason games en route to a national championship and more conferences will be involved. Under the 12-team format, all Power Five conference and a Group of 5 conference get bids. To put it in perspective, the Pac-12 has only made two CFPs in its nine years of existence while the SEC has had at least one team every year.

Not only that, but there will be more games and more locations. The 2024 and 2025 CFP schedules say games will be played at campus sites before moving to neutral sites. As a result, fan turnout will look different. Yormark said those are all factors in marketing the game, and it’s important to consider a “reinvention” with all that in mind.

“I think we need to use a different filter and really look at it from a blank canvas perspective,” Yormark said. “Based on all the things we’ve learned, how do we make it better and more vibrant? How do we build the business and the brand and the experience, both for fans and student-athletes?

“It should be a whole new exercise, and I think our key constituents and those at our table are thinking about it in that respect. And I think it’s important to. It can’t be what we’ve been doing. We have a chance to reimagine, to reinvent and to make this thing as good as we want it to be. It’s incumbent upon us to do that.”