From miking up coaches to expanding games across the border, the Big 12 Conference wants to go where no other has before — commercially and geographically.
The league has announced the launch of Big 12 Mexico, Big 12 Pro Day, a commercial sales division and is looking to boost its experience for television viewers by having coaches wear mics and increasing access to locker rooms this fall.
Sportswriters and fans have predicted the death of the conference for more than a decade, since talks of eliminating it gained steam in 2010.
The conference is losing two popular and successful schools next year when the University of Texas and Oklahoma defect to the Southeastern Conference.
Under Commissioner Brett Yormark, former CEO of the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets’ parent company and former chief operating officer of Roc Nation, the conference negotiated a new media rights deal with ESPN and Fox and is making other moves to assert its Power 5 status as one of the nation’s top conferences.
“When you think about building a brand, building business, growing revenue, connecting to the community, all those things I’ve done in previous roles, I’m still learning new skills because this industry is not identical to where I came from,” Yormark said in a recent interview. “But many of my skills were transferable here, and I’m putting them to good use.”
The last five years have seen monumental changes in the landscape of college sports, from the court rulings that opened up Name, Image and Likeness deals for college athletes, transfer portals that let players jump between schools and a reshuffling of schools among conferences amid a grab for television dollars.
In many ways, the Big 12 has been one of the biggest losers, watching marquee programs depart for more lucrative opportunities and cobbling together new alliances with programs from smaller conferences such as the University of Central Florida, the University of Cincinnati, the University of Houston and Brigham Young University.
Yormark, who became commissioner last summer, has been implementing his vision for a new beginning, he said.
Commercial outreach in Dallas and the U.S.
For the first time in its 27-year history, the Big 12 has launched a commercial sales division that Yormark said will help the conference create financial independence.
“It’s the first time we’ve controlled our own commercial division,” he said. “We needed to control it in house.
“We’re in the sales business. We have brands already connected to us that do our championships. We just need to see how we can further monetize those championships.”
Though the Big 12′s headquarters is in Irving, only 10 miles from downtown Dallas, Yormark said many people are unaware of the proximity.
“This market is one of the country’s greatest sports and entertainment markets, and yet, a lot of people don’t know we’re here,” he said. “My job as we think about brand and business is to double down on this market to create a narrative that we’re here and we’re open for business.”
Part of what has kept the Big 12′s presence from growing in Dallas is a lack of initiative on the conference’s part, Yormark said.
“There’s so many possibilities and opportunities, but, candidly, we haven’t done much outreach before. That’s going to change,” he said. “You’ll read about more events that we’re going to bring here because this is at the core of our geographic footprint in many cases.”
Moving forward, the commissioner said the Big 12 will look to work with some of the most prestigious companies in Dallas and Fort Worth.
“There are 24 Fortune 500 companies in the Dallas-Fort Worth area that we’re not talking to right now. But we need to be engaged with them,” Yormark said. “We need to see where the connective tissue is between us and other companies. We want to see if the consumers we reach make sense for them to participate.”
El Doce Grande
Part of Yormark’s grand vision for the Big 12 includes creating and capitalizing on a global audience for the conference.
The Big 12 announced June 8 that the conference plans to send the men’s and women’s basketball teams from the University of Kansas and the University of Houston to Mexico City’s Arena CDMX in December 2024.
There are also plans to have women’s soccer and baseball face off against Mexican regional club teams. No soccer or baseball teams from the Big 12 or Mexico have been announced yet.
“This initiative is also very important for us because we wanted a strategic international strategy that wasn’t just a one-off,” Yormark said. “[Mexico is] one of the most desirable markets in the world right now. Given our geographic footprint, it’s a perfect extension for us.”
Oklahoma and Oklahoma State already have campus extensions in Mexico, and five Big 12 schools — Baylor, Houston, TCU, Texas and Texas Tech — have campuses less than 400 miles from the border.
The conference also plans on hosting the first postseason college football game in Mexico, the Monterrey Bowl, in 2026.
“It raises our profile, it provides a great student-athlete experience, and I think there’s an opportunity for monetization,” Yormark said. “When you think about the future and how we can sell sponsorships, engage new fans and connect with them through social media and our digital platform, this is it.”
Going Pro
In February, the Big 12 announced it would host Big 12 Pro Day in 2024 in the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco. It will be the first conference-wide pro day and replace traditional on-campus pro days.
Though there’s an opportunity for monetization through creating a new intellectual property, Yormark said it is not the event’s primary goal.
“I don’t look at Pro Day as a commercial opportunity,” he said. “It’s a purpose-driven initiative that is enabling us to create a new IP. Revenue is not the impetus. It’s the outcome.”
The NFL Network will televise the event, which will have a job fair and networking opportunities for student-athletes. Though the public won’t be allowed to enter the facilities, VIP appearances, fan activities and screens broadcasting the event will be outside.
“I don’t typically get a lot of inbound interest on companies that want to be involved, but we’ve had a lot here,” Yormark said. “Now, we’re finalizing a title partner for Pro Day, which we should be able to announce in the next couple of weeks.”
Expansion and television
The Big 12 announced in September 2021 that BYU, UCF, Cincinnati and Houston would join the conference. There have also been reported rumors of UConn, Gonzaga, Colorado and Memphis joining as well, but Yormark declined to comment on other potential additions.
“We want to be in all four time zones, and expansion is a big part of it,” Yormark said. “I would say that we have a plan for expansion. I’ve never mentioned one school that we want.”
The Big 12′s six-year, $2.28 billion television deal with ESPN and Fox expires in 2031. Conference expansion hinges on whether or not more teams will put the Big 12 in a better position when negotiations continue between the networks and conference, he said.
“Everything we do from here on out is about value creation,” he said. “If there’s no value creation, and I can’t see us growing our TV deal in that next cycle, then why expand?”
The Big 12 is also looking to modernize the college football viewing experience by miking up coaches, having live in-game interviews and increasing access to locker rooms, Yormark said.
“We’d love to be the conference of access and innovation,” he said. “Fans want to get that inside look, a peek under the hood.”
“We have discussed it with our coaches and schools,” he continued. “We’re excited about it, and they all seem to be on board.”
Related:What to know before BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, UCF join Big 12 The future of the Big 12
Yormark said the eventual departure of Oklahoma and Texas in 2024 hasn’t had an impact on the route he wishes to take with the conference.
“I have no emotion toward Texas and Oklahoma leaving,” Yormark said. “They’ll always be a part of the history of the Big 12. But I came here with fresh ideas and a different type of background and I want us to innovate and disrupt in a positive way, with or without them,”
As the conference prepares for its future commercial plans within the U.S. and abroad, Yormark said the Big 12 is only just getting started with its new ideas.
“I don’t have a crystal ball. But if I did, I think we’re about three or four or five years down the road from being a top national conference,” Yormark said.