New Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark sounds off on discussions of cutting bait with Texas, Oklahoma

Brand new Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark hasn’t even started his new gig but he’s only a couple weeks away from making some major decisions. On his plate is a discussion with the leadership at Oklahoma and Texas about how the conference handles the split.

Oklahoma and Texas announced their intentions to leave the league for the SEC in July of 2021. The conference moved quickly to add Cincinnati, Houston, UCF and BYU to replace them. The four schools are set to join the conference in July 2023.

“First of all, the folks from Texas, both the president and AD, as well as at Oklahoma, they’ve been very gracious to me,” Yormark said at Big 12 media days, which served as his debut with the conference’s reporters. “They’re a part of the process of me getting hired so I appreciate the support I received. I’m sure there will be a moment in time where we’re going to sit down to discuss the future. I don’t start until August 1, and I look forward to doing that. That’s really all I can say at this point in time.”

Yormark may choose to pursue separating the Big 12 from OU and Texas more quickly with the four new schools coming in. However, the former Roc Nation exec noted that any deal that he and the Big 12 leadership work out with the two future SEC programs will be in the “best interest” of the conference.

“From my perspective, in any situation like this, I always look for a win-win scenario,” Yormark said. “That being said, it’s important that whatever happens is in the best interest of this conference.”

Yormark not yet ready to discuss Pac-12

In the days following USC and UCLA’s announcement of their departure for the Big Ten, rumors have swirled about the Big 12 picking off Pac-12 programs. There have also been talks of Pac-12 adding from the Big 12 crop – or even a merger into a super conference.

Brett Yormark emphasized that he’s not currently planning for any one possibility. He did say, however, that programs have been in touch about possible inclusion in the Big 12 in the future. He also said the conference is “open for business.”

“There’s not a definitive plan right now, we’re exploring all options,” Yormark said. “We’re a very unified group. It was one of the things that drew me to the job. As we vet out the possibilities, everything will be additive, nothing will be dilutive.”