In the game of chess that is conference realignment, new Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark played his first big move on Wednesday.
Just under a month into his tenure as commissioner, Yorkmark elected to bring the conference to the media rights negotiating table almost two years early — a move that comes largely in response to the Pac-12′s pushing up its negotiating window in July.
“It is an exciting time for college athletics and given the changing landscape we welcome the opportunity to engage with our partners to determine if an early extension is in the best interest of all parties,” Yormark said in a statement. “The Big 12 has enjoyed a fantastic relationship with its multi-media rights holders, and I look forward to having these conversations.”
The Big 12 was contractually set to start its negotiations in the spring of 2024. But it was long thought that the Big 12 would be put at a disadvantage if it waited that long to strike a media rights deal.
With the Big Ten cashing in on a $7 billion deal in August, and the Pac-12 currently negotiating, the Big 12 did not want to cut out of the money by going last.
Also, negotiating this early will give the Big 12 a tangible figure of its value compared to that of the Pac-12. It would make for a powerful tool in luring potential Pac-12 members to come to the Big 12.
Yormark started his tenure by stating plainly that “all options were on the table” when it came to expansion. This included going after potential Pac-12 expansion targets like Utah, Arizona, Arizona State and Colorado.
Since then, Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff has accused the Big 12 of trying to raid his conference. He also publicly doubted if the Big 12 could truly pull off such a move with it set to lose its biggest brands in 2025, with Texas and Oklahoma bolting for the SEC.
One of the Pac-12′s main selling points was that its media rights talks came sooner than the Big 12, tethering the conference together for the immediate future.
But Yormark’s latest move appears to try to mitigate that argument. If the Big 12 can strike a short-term deal, the power of the Pac-12 media rights contract could theoretically be decreased.
