ARLINGTON, Texas — Some respect, please, for new Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark. He skipped the fake platitudes and went quickly to the real point at his introductory press conference here Wednesday.
“The Big 12 is open for business,” Yormark said, kicking off the conference’s football media days gathering at AT&T Stadium. “We will leave no stone unturned to drive value for the conference. … One thing is crystal clear: There is no higher priority than to best position the Big 12 for its upcoming multimedia rights negotiations. Everything we do must create momentum for those negotiations.”
This the reality of college athletics in 2022. You could send a million balloons into the sky with the hot air administrators spew about the “student-athlete experience” and “education” and “building character,” but the real priority for those in charge is turning the current piles of cash into larger piles of cash. Enter Yormark.
He seems to be the man for that job in this environment. The college sports world is changing to a more professionalized, cutthroat endeavor. So hiring a New Yorker with an NBA, NASCAR and entertainment background could provide benefits that flatten his geographic and collegiate learning curve. Finding good brisket and learning the school fight songs is far less urgent than navigating conference realignment and media rights.
