Brett Yormark confirms plans to attend Texas' last Big 12 football game, tells Texas Tech to 'take care of business'

On Nov. 24, Texas and Texas Tech will meet for the final time as Big 12 members. The Longhorns, of course, are heading to the SEC next year as the college athletes landscape sees its biggest shakeup in recent memory.

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark will be in Austin for that game — Texas’ last regular season matchup as a member of the conference which he leads. He also had a message for the Red Raiders and coach Joey McGuire.

“Candidly, we were able to get Texas and Oklahoma out of here early. That was a big deal for us and I think all of you,” Yormark said. “And Coach [McGuire], I’m not going to put any pressure on you, but I’m gonna be in Austin for Thanksgiving, okay? And you’d better take care of business like you did right here in Lubbock last year.”

Texas and Oklahoma are both leaving for the SEC in 2024, which was one year earlier than expected. The Big 12 accounted for those departures by adding four teams — BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF — to make it a 14-team conference this year.

Then, the realignment wheels spun again as the Big 12 added the “Four Corners” schools of Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah to take the league to 16 teams in 2024 after OU and UT depart.

Brett Yormark: Big 12 expansion talks ‘are no longer’ as Texas and Oklahoma leave, conference moves to 16 teams in 2024

It appears Big 12 expansion is over — at least, for now, Yormark said on the Marchand and Ourand Sports Media Podcast last week.

“I did have conversations with UConn and Gonzaga,” Yormark said. “Unfortunately, you know, things didn’t work out only because the dream scenario unfolded for us. So, those conversations are no longer. I’m a big admirer of both, those programs are fantastic for all the right reasons.

“But right now, you know, I’m focused on the transition of those four (schools) in right now. And also, how do I leverage the fact that (we have a) 16-team league in 10 states with 90 million people in four different time zones? So that’s my focus right now.”

Oklahoma and Texas were originally planning to leave the SEC in 2025, but came to an agreement for an early departure just in time for the College Football Playoff to expand. It also lined up with the initial plan for Big Ten expansion as the league prepared to bring in USC and UCLA in 2024.

However, the Big Ten was also involved in the most recent round of realignment. Oregon and Washington are also joining the conference in 2024 to take it to 18 teams. That left the Pac-12 with essentially four teams left behind, although the aftershocks might not be over just yet as the ACC weighs multiple “Pac-4” additions.