ARLINGTON, Texas – Oklahoma’s delegates won’t arrive at 2022 Big 12 Media Days until Thursday, but new conference commissioner Brett Yormark is already answering questions about the Sooners.
Yormark, in his first public appearance since being named the new Big 12 Commissioner on June 27, was asked if he hopes to retain OU and Texas, which are scheduled to depart for the Southeastern Conference no later than 2025.
Yormark said he’s looking for a “win-win” situation for both schools moving forward, and talks will remain active if it's in the best interest to keep both throughout the remainder of the conference’s TV contract. However, he later told a group of reporters off-stage he’s “not against” negotiating an earlier departure for the two schools.
“First of all, the folks from Texas, both the president and athletic director, as well as at Oklahoma, they've been very gracious to me,” Yormark said. “I'm sure there's going to be a moment in time where we're going to sit down and discuss the future. Obviously, I don't start until August 1, and I look forward to doing that. And that's really all I can say at this point in time.”
While he hasn’t yet moved into the commissioner’s office in Irving, Texas, Yormark said he reached out and spoke to each football coach by phone, including new OU coach Brent Venables. He also plans to travel to Norman as part of a “listening tour” of all 14 campuses, including Cincinnati, Central Florida, BYU and Houston which are slated to join the Big 12 in 2023.
Yormark showed a willingness to work with the Sooners as long as they’re still in the conference, which is pivotal given OU’s revenue contributions. Bowlsby, the outgoing commissioner who said he felt betrayed by Oklahoma and Texas’ decisions to leave for the SEC, even acknowledged the conference record $42.6 million in television revenue accrued last school year was aided by OU softball’s national championship run.
Yormark, 55, previously served as chief operating officer of Jay-Z’s Roc Nation and co-CEO of Roc Nation Unified with his twin brother Michael, who he was also in a band with. Yormark’s unique approach and candidness shined as he, Bowlsby and Baylor President Linda Livingston kicked off media days.
The former CEO of the Brooklyn Nets and vice president of corporate sponsorships for NASCAR, whose five-year contract as commissioner begins on August 1, covered a number of issues in his address pertaining to college athletics including name, image and likeness (NIL), the transfer portal and College Football Playoff expansion.
An advocate for NIL, Yormark was involved with helping athletes earn profits at Roc Nation, which has signed some of the top players in the country, including former Oklahoma wide receiver Mario Williams, who has since transferred to USC. While Yormark supports NIL, he did acknowledge there needs to be some “guardrails.”
“There probably needs to be uniformity,” Yormark said. “And maybe the conference needs to take a bigger role in what NIL looks like going forward. But, I think given my background having spent so much time in the commercial space, I’m very well suited for NIL in whatever form it takes.”
Yormark also said he’s planning to meet with College Football Playoff executive director Bill Hancock, an OU alum, to discuss other topics surrounding the sport. The issues Yormark broached Wednesday are a small part of the ever-changing college football landscape and he even received a warning from Livingston when he accepted the commissioner job.
“Welcome to college athletics,” Livingston said. “And you thought working with Jay-Z was really exciting.”
An Indiana graduate voted a member of “Forty Under 40” three times by the Sports Business Journal, Yormark has been preparing to work in college athletics for a while. He said his interest peaked during his time watching collegiate events at Barclays Center in Brooklyn and he first saw himself becoming an athletic director before this opportunity arose.
"Conference composition is at the forefront of college athletics,” Yormark said. “I've been very involved with the stakeholders, both inside and outside the Big 12, regarding our path forward and opportunities to grow both the Big 12 brand and business.”
