"Big 12 commish Brett Yormark is thinking outside of the box" - Sports podcaster shares his opinion over pros & cons in name changing decision

The Big 12 is exploring the possibility of selling its naming rights, a first-of-its-kind in college athletics. The move, which is already going through talks with potential sponsors, has been criticized by several quarters within the landscape.

However, college football analyst, Jake Crain, believes the move is needed for the Big 12. Speaking on a recent installment of the “Crain & Company” podcast, the analyst noted that Brett Yormark has to go beyond the norms to ensure his conference stays competitive.

“It’s like when people are trying to supplement their income to pay rent by wrapping their car in some company logo for an extra 200 bucks a month,” Jake Crain said. “It may look but it's cash and they have to have it. Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark is thinking outside of the box because he has to.” (0:20)

The Big 12 has to close the gap with the “Power Two”

The Big 12 has over the years fallen behind the SEC and the Big Ten in terms of revenue. The two dominant conferences are way ahead of others in the landscape, which is creating a competitive imbalance.

Jake Crain believes the idea of a corporate sponsor makes sense for the conference as it needs to close down the wide gap between itself and the two dominant conferences in the landscape.

“To me, it makes all the sense in the world because desperate times call for desperate measures,” Jake Crain said. “They are trying to make for the ocean-wide money gap between them and the SEC and the Big Ten.” (0::10)

Awkward name doesn't really matter

Having a corporate sponsorship of the conference naming right obviously creates the possibility of an unfavorable name. The Big 12 is reportedly in discussion with Allstate and Crain believes the awkward name does not matter.

“There've been some rumblings that Allstate may be a willing buyer of those naming rights for a big chunk of change. And to be quite honest, regardless of whether it's the Allstate Conference or the Allstate 12, the name is going to be trash because there's no way around it.”

The deal being discussed with the insurance company is said to be worth around $30-50 million annually and this will be an added fund for the conference. It is unknown when the deal will take off and if it will be sealed in time for the 2024 college football season.