Brett Yormark: Big 12 Conference schools must ‘adhere’ to NCAA NIL policy

ARLINGTON, Texas – As he enters his second year as Big 12 Conference commissioner, Brett Yormark sees an interesting dynamic when he takes inventory of his conference’s expansive footprint.

Fourteen schools total. Seven – Baylor, Houston, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas and Texas Tech, – compete in states in which new, school-friendly NIL laws have recently been passed. The laws allow schools to establish a closer relationship with NIL collectives, while also protecting schools from the NCAA policing some NIL activity. The other seven schools – BYU, Cincinnati, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, UCF and West Virginia – do not have such a luxury.

The NCAA recently issued a memo in which it said schools must follow the association’s NIL guidelines even when they conflict with new state NIL laws. Legal experts say state law will trump NCAA guidelines if a legal clash ensues.

Regardless, Yormark’s message to his membership is clear: “Adhere to NCAA policy.”

On3 sat down with the commissioner for an exclusive one-on-one interview at Big 12 media days. In the interview, he acknowledged this clash of state law and NCAA policy is not “ideal” and maintained hope that a federal NIL bill in the coming months will preempt state law.

The interview has been lightly edited for clarity and context. This is the second part of the Q&A with Yormark. Read the first part of the interview with Yormark here.

Q: You’ve been working with NCAA President Charlie Baker and other stakeholders on lobbying efforts with Congress. Is securing a federal NIL bill a necessity? Is it absolutely imperative?

YORMARK: “We’d like it. We think it would bring uniformity. We think it would preempt, hopefully, state law. There are different interpretations of NIL. When you think about 32 states and how they are viewing it, it is not just about federal preemption. There are other pieces. It needs to be more comprehensive. It needs to address protections for our student-athletes – transparency. We are working hard. And we’re very hopeful. And I think the next couple of months are pretty important.”

Q: Tom McMillen told me there are a of couple strategies to take: Pursue a narrowly tailored NIL bill, or pursue a broader bill. The broader one could also include limited antitrust protection and a formal designation that student-athletes are not employees. He believed it was important to get a ‘win’ now and perhaps the narrow bill is the way to go. Which camp do you fall into?

YORMARK: “I appreciate Tom’s point of view. He knows a lot more than I do. But I’m not sure we just want to check the box. I think we want something that is a little bit more comprehensive. That really puts the right guardrails in all the right places, so we can move forward in a positive way. How narrow it is, how broad it is, I don’t know. But it needs to accomplish the things we need to get done in order to kind of transform the current environment and get it back to where it needs to be.” 

Q: The NIL subcommittee has been tasked with drafting a potential NIL proposal just in case efforts with Congress fall short. How important is it to work on a Plan B in case there is no federal bill?

YORMARK: “I think that Plan B, in some respects, was somewhat addressed by the NCAA, when it put out that memo recently. Optionality in life is good. I call it really scenario management. All the key stakeholders, I’m sure, are going through scenario management. What if this happens? What if this doesn’t happen? What’s the alternative? What’s a different approach? I think the industry as a whole is looking at various scenarios, understanding that federal legislation is not a slam dunk.” 

Q: Is it important to at least model out – just model out – what a revenue-sharing model may look like in collegiate sports?

YORMARK: “I don’t think we’re there yet.”

Q: New state NIL laws are now colliding with NCAA rules. We don’t have uniformity there … 

YORMARK: “I think our members have got to adhere to NCAA policy. They’ve got to adhere to NCAA policy.”

Q: Legal experts tell me that state law would trump NCAA rules.

YORMARK: “I’m going to speak [in this interview] to the conference. And from my perspective, our members have got to adhere to NCAA policy. That would be my guidance – 100%.

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Q: I’ve reported on Texas Tech’s recent announcement related to its fundraising arm helping to raise money for the collective. Both remain separate entities but the relationship is becoming closer. They are threading a needle by still not providing priority points to collective donors, which is against NCAA rules. Many stakeholders I’ve talked to applaud their move. Were you involved in discussions with Texas Tech prior to that announcement?

YORMARK: “We weren’t. I don’t know all the details. But I do think our schools are obviously looking to do whatever they can to be competitive but within the framework that hopefully adheres to NCAA policy. If they ask for my recommendation and advice, that’s exactly what I would say: ‘Hey, do what you need to do to be competitive. Reimagine what that may look like. But understand that it has got to adhere to NCAA policy.'”

Q: What are your general thoughts about moving a collective more under the umbrella of the fundraising foundation? Stakeholders tell me it’s the future and will eliminate inefficiencies while addressing donor fatigue and confusion.

YORMARK: “I think there are pros and cons. You’re talking about under the direction of the school itself? I think there are pros and cons. I think it becomes a burden for the school. It becomes a burden. Just simply put. I think it helps with Title IX, from that perspective. Like I said, pros and cons. But I do think it could be a burden for the schools. The schools are going to have to really think about what that looks like moving forward.”

Q: Schools and collectives I’ve talked with reference “risk tolerance.” They want to stay on the cutting edge competitively and not fall behind but also don’t want to just steamroll NCAA policy if state laws aren’t in place to green light it. This does not seem like an ideal situation for the industry, with state laws colliding with NCAA policy.

YORMARK: “No, it’s not ideal. But, listen, eventually, schools will have to pick their path. And speaking from a conference perspective, adhere to NCAA policy. That’s my recommendation.”