Anthony Wilson
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — A year ago in the desert, Big 12 and Pac-12 commissioners ran from room to room at their annual spring meetings, weaving and swaying among curious reporters (and each other) at a swanky resort as rumored of expansion and the health of its leagues dominated the conversation in its halls.
The Hyatt Regency location in Gainey Ranch this week was the same, but times have changed. The Pac-12 is no more and the Big 12 is still breathing, the last surviving fighter after a violent battle that reached a fever pitch last summer when rival commissioners threatened to steal each other’s conferences. Fittingly, perhaps, the luxurious resort was undergoing major renovations this week as the Big 12 conducted its annual meetings without the Pac-12 sharing the same building. As backhoes moved dirt in a nearby yard and the sounds of pounding hammers and buzzing saws filled the hotel’s makeshift lobby, Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark was utterly excited about the future of his conference as he emerged from a marathon three days of meetings.
“I like the energy, I like the vibe, I love the direction,” Yormark said. “Everyone is excited. We’re like a mature start-up. We’ve been in the making for 28 years, and when you compare us to some of the other conferences that have been around for over 90 years, we’re just getting started.”
The Big 12’s new era begins July 1 with the addition of Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah on the same day, Oklahoma and Texas leave for the SEC. The impending Oklahoma and Texas games were important this week. The loudest voices in the room were absent, and in that void were new voices leading the charge. Several athletic directors and coaches described the meetings as one of the most productive and friendly spring meetings in conference history.
Still, there are challenges. The Big 12 survived the realignment war and is positioned to remain one of the four power conferences, but its 16 programs will start at the bottom rung of the ladder. This was determined by the leadership of the College Football Playoff when they determined earlier this year that the Big 12 will receive fewer revenue shares than the Big Ten, SEC and ACC starting in 2026. The conference must earn a 15% share of CFP revenue ($12 million per team annually ), well below the Big Ten and SEC (29%) and just below the ACC (17%).
“I certainly wasn’t happy with the distribution,” Yormark said. “I guess you could say in some ways I was pleased. It was good, but I’m certainly not happy with it. I don’t think our [athletics directors] or the coaches are also (happy), but we will continue to invest for the right reasons. Let’s continue to build football. It’s at the heart of what we do and I’m excited about our future.”
Yormark requested a review clause in the CFP contract in 2028, which would allow for a reevaluation of the contract’s economics.
“Listen, I believe if you create value, you need to be rewarded,” Yormark said. “When we look at the first 10 years of the PCP, we probably didn’t perform as well as we would have liked. That’s okay. History may not repeat itself, and that’s why we do this analysis – and I made a point to achieve this – because I’m betting on the Big 12 and betting on our future. Hopefully between now and ’28 we can perform at a level that we’ll really be proud of and then we can exercise that analysis based on our performance.”
The Big 12 appeared in six of the 10 CFP fields and went 1-6 in those games, the worst record among power conferences. TCU holds the only win, a thriller against Michigan in the 2022 semifinals, but the Horned Frogs also suffered a record-setting 65-7 loss to Georgia in the national championship game. Oklahoma and Texas exit the Big 12 with a combined 0-5 record in the CFP.
In this new era, Colorado is the only Big 12 program with a national title in the modern era (1990). The coaches don’t believe the conference will suffer without Oklahoma and Texas, which have combined to win four of the last seven conference titles.
“There’s a lot of parity in the Big 12,” said Kansas State coach Chris Klieman, who won the Big 12 title in 2022. “And I think everyone is excited about that. I’ve been to the Big 12 Championship Game the last few years. We have very good football teams here.
Outside the field, the college athletics model faces significant challenges. The NCAA and the power conferences are in active discussions to resolve a massive antitrust lawsuit regarding revenue sharing with players. Athletic directors are preparing for a new pay-for-play model that many administrators believe could be instituted as early as the fall of 2025.
Meanwhile, players already have tremendous power to move from school to school, with unlimited transfers now possible after legal challenges from the states of Virginia and Tennessee forced the NCAA to relax rules in the spring. The recruiting calendar also continues to change (we’re not far away from three days of college football signings). And the CFP could expand to 14 teams after a one-year trial period with 12 teams. Yormark prefers a 14-team model with greater access, but prefers the CFP brain trust wait until early 2025 to decide. The current proposal put forward by leaders would provide three automatic bids to the Big Ten and SEC and two bids to the ACC and Big 12, with one spot reserved for the highest-ranked Group of Six team.
“I’m going to continue to bet on the Big 12 that we’re going to fill some of those spots,” Yormark said.
Oh, and the power conferences also want to expand the NCAA Tournament from 68 teams to as many as 80 teams. The Big 12 coaches, Yormark said, are on board with the expansion.
The ever-changing landscape spurred the Big Ten and SEC into action in February, when the conferences came together to form an advisory group to study the future of college sports and present solutions to the NCAA. We could see the partnership between the Big Ten and the SEC as yet another power play in the wake of the massive conference realignment. Some believe the Big Ten and SEC can break away from the NCAA, create their own playoff and collect bigger paydays as other conferences languish.
Yormark is not so cynical.
“I think that’s an exaggeration,” Yormark said. “I mean, we’re very collegial with the conference commissioners. We spend a lot of time together around the CFP. We spend a lot of time talking strategically about the direction of college athletics and what’s in the best interest of everyone. I mean, does it happen? The SEC and the Big Ten break away from that every now and then and strategize together, I’m sure they do. But I will tell you that the chemistry and culture between the four commissioners is extremely positive in my job, I daresay. saying it’s the best there’s ever been, I really believe that.”
