Brett Yormark at Big 12 Media Days: 5 intriguing revelations from the commissioner at Las Vegas event

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark speaks at Big 12 Media Days (Image Credits: IMAGN)

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark opened up 2024 Big 12 Media Days on Tuesday from Las Vegas. This two-day event allows the commissioner, along with student-athletes and coaches, to speak to the media ahead of the upcoming college football season.

The Big 12 will undergo several changes this season, with teams joining and leaving the conference. Here are five revelations from the commissioner during the opening day of Big 12 Media Days 2024.

5 intriguing revelations from Brett Yormark at Big 12 Media Days

#1. The Big 12 will be the "deepest conference in America"

Brett Yormark opened up Big 12 Media Days with a bold statement, calling the Big 12 the "deepest conference in America."

"We will be the deepest conference in America. And every week will matter. We have star power in parity."

The conference will be losing both Oklahoma and Texas this year, two of the more historically successful football programs in the conference. However, the Big 12 did manage to bring in Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State and Utah from the Pac-12 to increase their total number of teams in the conference to 16.

#2. The Big 12 is "more relevant now than ever before"

As part of his statement to open Big 12 Media Days, Yormark said:

"We are truly a national conference in 10 states, four time zones. All eyes are now on the Big 12 for all the right reasons. I think it's safe to say we are more relevant now than ever before."

With the addition of four new teams to the conference in 2024, the Big 12 has now expanded to the west coast, with teams in 10 different states. This will give fans more exciting matchups that they normally haven't been able to see due to conference restrictions.

However, this could make traveling difficult for teams, having to constantly switch between time zones and flying farther distances than in previous years.

#3. November will be branded as 'The Race to a championship'

Yormark later backed up his Big 12 Media Days opening statement that the Big 12 will be the deepest conference in America. He spoke about the conference championship and the month leading up to it.

"November, we'll brand the month as 'The race to a championship' because I think it's gonna take until towards the end of the season to determine who will show up at AT&T Stadium for that championship game."

Yormark expects a tight race in the conference and is confident in the depth of the Big 12 after the addition of the four former Pac-12 teams.

"I think it's only natural and appropriate for us to think that way right now," Yormark said. "We were a very deep conference last year, and we got deeper now, with the Four Corners schools."

#4. The Big 12 is "open for business" in terms of naming rights and private equity investments

The commissioner didn't dive deep into what certain naming rights would look like in the future. However, he addressed possible partnerships with his conference during the Big 12 Media Days.

"We're exploring all options. Given where we are, the industry, having a capital resource as a partner makes a ton of sense. That's really how you conduct a business. I really believe that."

He addressed the state of private equity investments in professional sports and what that means at the collegiate level.

"And if you see where private equity is making a path into professional sports, at some point in time it's going to come here into collegiate athletics. So we are exploring what that might look like."

If the Big 12 agrees to sell its naming rights to a corporate sponsor, it would bring extra money to the conference. According to Yahoo! Sports, Yormark presented a naming rights proposal to conference administrators in May. The deal would include the conference losing the "Big" from Big 12 and replacing it with the name of a corporate sponsor.

#5. Potential affiliation with the Las Vegas Bowl

The topic of relocation was fitting during Big 12 Media Days, having to be moved to Las Vegas due to a scheduling conflict at the original location, AT&T Stadium.

With the addition of Pac-12 teams in 2024, Yormark discussed wanting to partner with the Las Vegas Bowl in the future.

"I'm confident at the right time we will have a formal affiliation with the Las Vegas Bowl. We need to be here in Vegas for the right reasons," Yormark said. "Entertainment and sports capital of the world. Critically important market for us in the future."

The Las Vegas Bowl has taken place at Allegiant Stadium, the host of this year's Big 12 Media Days since it was opened in 2020. The game has typically been tied to the Pac-12, but with only two teams remaining in the conference, the Big 12 could throw out their name as a possible replacement.

Which statement from commissioner Brett Yormark at Big 12 Media Days did you find most intriguing? Let us know in the comments.