Brett Yormark says Big 12 is 'bigger' than Texas, Oklahoma

The Big 12 has been in a precarious spot in the sport for the past few seasons. The membership of the conference is in the process of changing over, as the Big 12 loses Texas and Oklahoma while adding four new schools. On top of that, the conference’s leadership changed, with Brett Yormark taking over as the conference commissioner.

Since taking over, Brett Yormark hasn’t been afraid to speak his mind. This time, Yormark wants everyone to know that the Big 12 is more than just two name-brand programs.

“We are the deepest conference in America and it played out,” Brett Yormark said. “There was a perception that this conference was defined by Texas and Oklahoma. We are bigger than two schools.”

TCU made it to the College Football Playoff this season, despite not winning the conference. Schools like Baylor and Oklahoma State have won New Year’s Six games more recently than either Texas or Oklahoma. Among the teams being added to the Big 12, Cincinnati was in the CFP last season while UCF and Houston have been to NY6 games in the last decade.

From a purely football standpoint, Brett Yormark is probably right. The Big 12 is not currently reliant on Texas and Oklahoma. At the same time, they are the two biggest brands within the conference.

Brett Yormark recently negotiated a new media deal with ESPN and Fox, worth $2.28 billion over six years. This contract was negotiated early, in part, to look more appealing to potential new schools than the PAC-12, which is also in the process of negotiating a new deal.

Clearly, even with four new schools coming into the conference, it doesn’t appear that Brett Yormark is done expanding.

“We’d love to get into that fourth (Pacific) time zone & we will at some point,” Brett Yormark said.

Brett Yormark took a shot at the Rose Bowl

Along with pointing out that the Big 12 is bigger than just two teams, Brett Yormark also took a shot at the Rose Bowl.

“I was put off candidly by the Rose Bowl,” Yormark said. “I don’t believe in anyone putting themselves ahead of the sport.”