Big 12 commissioner’s next chore is an old one for the league: more football talent
When Washington’s Elijah Jackson batted away a pass from Texas’ Quinn Ewers to seal the Huskies’ spot in the CFP National Championship, it marked the end of an era in the Big 12.
The ‘Horns were down after the game — and out of the league in football. On to the SEC in the sport for both Texas and Oklahoma.
Personally, I hated seeing the two go from West Virginia University’s conference because I remember Miami and Virginia Tech starting a chain of events back in 2003 by leaving the Big East for the Atlantic Coast Conference. Miami was the jewel, just as Texas and Oklahoma have been the Big 12 jewels.
Of course, new Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark has done wonders to stem such another tide. When it was announced Texas and Oklahoma were leaving, he spearheaded a move to bring in UCF, Houston, BYU and Cincinnati. Then, in what seemed a battle of survival, Yormark jumped the line, secured a media deal with ESPN and Fox for $31.7 million per school through 2030-31 and, basically, pushed the Pac-12 to extinction. It wasn’t a critical move; it was THE critical move. Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah soon came knocking and were let in through the Big 12 door.
Up to now, Yormark has made all the right moves for his constituents. There are the new initiatives like Rucker Park hoops camps, Big 12 pro day, international games in Mexico, even that WWE partnership that included a league champion custom-made title belt.
Aside from the swift media deal, though, what I like most is Yormark’s desire to negotiate separate contracts for football and basketball.
“In our recent TV negotiations, which obviously were concluded about a year ago – we gave ourselves some optionality when you think about our back-end rights,” Yormark said at Big 12 Basketball Media Days. “Not only to renew in the traditional format, but also to potentially break apart basketball from football.”
Currently, all Power Five conferences have media rights deals that delegate broadcasting rights for both football and basketball games to specific media outlets, with football rights driving most of the bargain.
He desires to split that in half to play to the Big 12’s strength: basketball. The league has been the king of hoops in recent years and should continue to at least stay near the top. Currently, members Kansas and Houston are 2-3 in the A.P. Top 25. Incoming Arizona is No. 10 with BYU at No. 12 and Baylor No. 18.
Oh, and in case you missed it, Baylor’s new Foster Pavilion joins McLane Stadium along the Brazos riverfront at a cost of $185 million. It opens today, Jan. 2, and is stunning. Google to check it out.
In my opinion, Yormark’s next (and most important) task is to circle the proverbial wagons and come up with a game plan to bolster football. It’s a call that goes back to 2017 and beyond. Yes, the Big 12 has had playoff participants. But in 2015 it was Oklahoma. In 2017, ’18 and ‘19, it was Oklahoma. This year it was Texas.
The outliers were last year’s impressive TCU run to the national championship and then-Group of Five champ Cincinnati’s run in 2021.
But TCU fell back in a big way this season. Cincy, in its first run in the Big 12, finished last in the league.
The Big 12 will now need football big dogs. And to do that, Yormark and his league’s member schools need a plan to get better talent. It’s the one thing former Big 12 commish Bob Bowlsby had right. He threw the spotlight on the issue.
Yet in the 2024 ESPN recruiting list, the Big 12 finished fourth with 35 ESPN Top 300 players. And, you guessed it, 23 of them are headed to Texas or Oklahoma.
Yormark is faced with the same fight as Bowlsby. Recruiting and NFL draft picks sell. In 2022, the SEC had 65 players taken in the draft, while the Big 12 had 25. In 2023, the Big 12 had 30 to the SEC’s 62. TCU was the conference’s draft star with eight players taken while Texas and Oklahoma had five each.
I know, I know. The Big 12 had fewer teams than the SEC or Big Ten. But that argument hasn’t held up much through the years if you averaged it out. And I wonder how much better the league will do in the next draft after adding UCF (6-7), Houston (4-8), BYU (5-7) and Cincy (3-9).
Yormark, of course, has tools Bowlsby didn’t have. Incoming is Arizona, which, perhaps sweetly, beat Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl to finish 10-3. Incoming Colorado has that force of nature known as Coach Prime.
Yet the tool Yormark must help his schools use the most is the transfer portal. He must be innovative and guide his league in regard to Name, Image and Likeness.
It seems as if schools are on their own in regard to both tools. Somehow helping his league steal thunder – aka better players – from the SEC, Big Ten and ACC would strengthen the Big 12 more than anything.
There was no innovation, no effective game plan, no great direction to help gather talent from Bowlsby.
But we’ve seen innovation, effective game plans and direction from Yormark. He’s guided the Big 12 through the biggest storm. He’s given himself time before the next storms.
And somehow helping member schools with ideas to secure better football talent would be the best use of that earned time.
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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.
