Brett Yormark: SEC-Big Ten partnership is 'overstated,' power conference chemistry is strong

After the SEC and Big Ten announced a joint advisory group in February, some wondered what impact that would have on the other autonomous conferences. That question came up again when the College Football Playoff announced a new revenue sharing model that gave more money to those two leagues.

To Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark, speaking at the league meetings in Phoenix, the partnership is “overstated” and the chemistry between the Autonomous 4 conferences “is the best it’s ever been,” according to ESPN’s Heather Dinich.

The SEC and Big Ten formed their joint advisory group in February “address “significant challenges” in the college athletics landscape. It marked a landmark partnership between two of the highest-profile conferences, which are both adding notable brands and beginning major new media rights deals.

Then, as conferences weighed the next steps for the College Football Playoff, revenue sharing further showed the power the SEC and Big Ten have. They would each receive 29% of the base revenue, while the Big 12 and ACC get 17.1% and 14.7%, respectively, Yahoo! Sports’ Ross Dellenger reported. That leaves 9% left for the G5 conferences, 1% for Notre Dame and less than 1% for UConn, Oregon State and Washington State.

At the time, Dinich said there were questions about the Group of 5 conferences’ position in the negotiations. However, they made one thing clear. They didn’t want to be left out.

“It’s like the Godfather’s offer you can’t refuse,” a G5 athletic director told Dinich.

Speaking Wednesday, though, Yormark said it’s not ideal to see his league and the ACC take less money than the SEC and Big Ten. While he “certainly wasn’t happy,” he said “it was fine” and sees it as a bet on the future of the Big 12.

Media rights are another piece of the puzzle when looking at the college football landscape. The Big Ten and SEC are at the forefront.

This year will mark the second for the Big Ten’s landmark seven-year, $7 billion deal with FOX, CBS and NBC while the SEC begins a three-year, $3 billion agreement with Disney to air games exclusively on ESPN and ABC. Yormark also put the Big 12 in strong position by negotiating an early extension with ESPN and FOX worth $2.28 billion shortly after he took over as commissioner.

Conference realignment also impacted the conversation about power balances in college football. The Big Ten and Big 12 are both adding four teams from the Pac-12 while Oklahoma and Texas are heading to the SEC this season.