Overview
- The Big 12 announced on Friday that Brett Yormark will resign as commissioner effective Jan. 31, 2027 and will remain in the role through that date.
- The conference said Yormark will leave to take a job outside college athletics and that the Big 12 Board of Directors has launched a national search for his successor.
- Yormark, hired in 2022 from outside college sports, secured a reported $2.28 billion multiyear TV rights extension with ESPN and Fox and guided the league’s expansion to 16 members by adding eight schools.
- His tenure boosted commercial revenue through new sponsorships and private-equity initiatives but drew criticism for high-profile deals and experimental event moves such as the LED court and the Monster Energy partnership.
- The next commissioner will inherit a more stable and commercially larger Big 12 but will face the challenge of closing the revenue and market gap with the SEC and Big Ten and managing member schools’ competitive priorities.