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When it comes to UT and OU, Brett Yormark looking for a 'win-win' scenario

Joe Cookby:Joe Cook•07/13/22•

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Brett Yormark (Photo courtesy of the Big 12)

ARLINGTON, Texas — When former Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby and Big 12 executive committee vice-chair Linda Livingstone introduced Brett Yormark as the new commissioner of the Big 12 conference on Wednesday, questions for the newbie pertaining to the conference’s future were sure to follow.

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The future, at least in the very short term, includes the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners. But how long is the short term? That remains murky. Yormark was asked if it was his goal for UT and OU to stay in the Big 12 for the remainder of the conference’s grant of rights deal.

“From my perspective, and again I don’t start until August 1 and I have a lot to learn, but 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. I look forward at the right time to having those conversations.”

At every juncture prior to Yormark’s introduction, administrators representing the Big 12, Texas, and Oklahoma have held firm in public settings to the Longhorns and Sooners remaining part of the league until 2025. UT athletic director Chris Del Conte and president Jay Hartzell barely even touched the subject last month at Big 12 president/AD meetings.

Yormark mentioning the desire for a “win-win scenario” is the first deviation, even if a slight one, from anyone regarding the timeline of the two teams’ exit.

The two people Yormark will talk with most on the Texas side regarding the exit, Del Conte and Hartzell, drew praise from the new commissioner, as did OU athletic director Joe Castiglione and president Joseph Harroz Jr.

“The folks from Texas, both the president and the AD, as well as at Oklahoma, have been very gracious to me,” Yormark said. “They were a part of the process of me getting hired, so I appreciate the support that I received. I’m sure there’s going to be a moment in time where we’re going to sit down and discuss the future.”

Yormark’s introduction comes as the Big 12 welcomes Cincinnati, UCF, BYU, and Houston for the 2023-24 athletic year, and as Yormark assesses the ever-changing landscape of college athletics. He was named commissioner a few days prior to USC and UCLA joining the Big 10, which threw the college football world for a major loop.

When pressed specifically if the Big 12 was interested in adding Pac 12 members, Yormark brushed those questions off with quickness. However, he made sure to note that any additions the conference made would be “additive and not dilutive” ahead of coming media rights negotiations, which he called the highest priority.

“Everything we do must create momentum for these negotiations as well as building the value for the Big 12 brand and business,” Yormark said.

What is known is those negotiations won’t include Texas and Oklahoma. If that exit is expedited will come down to wide-ranging, multilateral discussions with Yormark carrying the banner for the Big 12.

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