After a flat NFL Draft, is there a move left for the Big 12 Conference?

Last week, I expressed concern about WVU and its recent poor showing regarding the NFL Draft. Can Rich Rodriguez turn that around for the Mountaineers?
Yet let’s zoom out a bit. Let’s take a look at WVU’s conference, the Big 12, and the draft. Is it any better? If not, is there reason to believe it can get better?
The answer to the first question is not really. While WVU only had one player selected in the 2025 NFL Draft, the Big 12 averaged 1.9 players taken per school.
The final count had the SEC with 79, the Big Ten with 71, the ACC with 42… and the Big 12 with 31.
“For the second consecutive year, a total of 31 Big 12 players heard their names called in the 2025 NFL Draft,” boasted the Big 12 press release. “The 31 selections match the Conference’s highest total since 2005 when the league garnered 32 total picks.”
Uh, yeah, but there were only 12 teams in 2005, including Texas and Oklahoma. (And no WVU.) The Big 12 Conference expanded to 16 teams in 2024, with the additions of Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah. One would hope the number would increase with, what, 400 more possible football players added to the mix.
The worry for the Big 12 is it’s getting left more behind, despite the efforts of commissioner Brett Yormark. In 2024, the Big 12 was fifth in draft picks, behind the SEC, Pac-12, Big Ten and ACC. In 2023, the number was 30, behind the SEC, Big Ten and ACC. Nothing much changed this year with four more teams. A total of 150 of the 257 players taken in the draft this year completed their collegiate careers at SEC or Big Ten schools — 58 percent of all the players selected.
Locally, 14 Ohio State Buckeyes were selected. The Big 12 leaders were Colorado, Iowa State, Arizona and Oklahoma State with four apiece. Of course, WVU had but one. TCU, which played in the national championship a couple year ago, failed to capitalize on the success with just two drafted. (OK, maybe the 65-7 Georgia beatdown damped that, but…)
But let’s go back to the top. Is there any reason to believe things can get better for the Big 12? I don’t want my alma mater’s conference to get all Mountain West-ey.
Well, I’m starting to get skeptical.
I thought Yormark may have something up his sleeve with the idea of private equity at the college level. He wanted to be the first to try and level the proverbial playing field that way.
“I don’t want to wake up tomorrow and read that [some other conference] partnered with a private equity firm, and someone else was the first mover in that space. I like being a first mover,” Yormark once told D CEO.
Last June, news broke that the Big 12 was considering a private equity investment with a cash infusion of between $800 million and $1 billion from Luxembourg-based CVC Capital Partners in exchange for a 15-20 percent stake in the league.
In February, Big 12 presidents and athletic directors “met to review three final bids as the conference closed in on identifying a capital partner, a source told On3. RedBird Capital – whose sports portfolio includes Italian soccer club AC Milan, French soccer team Toulouse and 10% of Fenway Sports Group” was viewed as a leader.
Nothing happened with either, though. And it appears even though the idea was reviewed, it won’t happen.
But something has to happen if the Big 12 is to stay within shouting distance of the SEC and Big Ten. We see the disparity in talent. So do the television partners.
The thought from here is the Big 12 could have used an innovative private equity deal. Yet nothing.
Meanwhile, the separation from the SEC and Big Ten continues to widen.
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Mitch Vingle covered sports in West Virginia for 38 years. Follow Mitch on Twitter at @MitchVingle and be sure to check out the rest of Wheelhouse Creative’s website for your marketing and advertising needs. If interested, call us at 304-905-6005.