Brett Yormark to Exit Big 12 for Professional Sports Role
The commissioner will remain in office through January 2027 to manage the transition for the 16-member conference.
By James Mitchell ·
The Big 12 conference distributed $610.9 million to its member institutions in the 2024-25 academic year, a record figure secured during the tenure of outgoing commissioner Brett Yormark. Yormark announced his resignation on October 30, 2026, to accept an executive position outside of college athletics. He will continue to serve in his current role until January 2027 to ensure an orderly handover of duties.
Yormark assumed leadership of the Big 12 in August 2022. At that time, the conference faced severe instability after Texas and Oklahoma departed for the Southeastern Conference. Yormark stabilized the league by recruiting Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah from the Pac-12. This expansion established the current 16-member footprint, which stretches geographically from Florida to Utah. He also negotiated a six-year media rights extension with ESPN and Fox Sports worth $2.28 billion, a contract that remains in effect through 2031.
The departure raises questions about the conference's strategy for future revenue streams. Yormark oversaw the creation of a $12.5 million private capital framework with RedBird Capital Partners and secured commercial deals with entities such as PayPal. His approach emphasized treating the conference as an entertainment brand, a method that included pushing for international games and separate monetization of basketball. The new leadership must now execute these initiatives without the former commissioner's direct involvement in sales negotiations.
Administrative challenges also require attention during the transition. The conference recently maintained its governance standards amid legal disputes regarding player eligibility and roster spending. Maintaining cohesion among the 16 diverse athletic directors and university presidents remains a priority. Regional tensions and revenue-sharing disagreements could resurface as the board prepares for the next phase of leadership.
The search for a successor will focus on two primary profiles. The board may select a corporate executive with a background in media rights and global expansion, continuing the commercial model established by Yormark. Alternatively, the conference could appoint a traditional college athletics administrator to provide internal continuity. Potential candidates identified in industry discussions include Mark Tatum, the NBA deputy commissioner, and Amy Brooks, who leads new business ventures for the NBA. Other names on the shortlist include Garth Lagerwey of Atlanta United, Arizona athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois, and Tennessee athletic director Danny White.
The current media contract runs through the end of the decade, but preparation for the 2030 negotiation cycle has already begun. The Big 12 currently trails the Big Ten and SEC in total revenue payouts. A new commissioner will face pressure from university chancellors to demonstrate that the conference can sustain high distributions using the existing commercial infrastructure.
Yormark's exit concludes a period of aggressive structural change in college sports. He joined a conference on the verge of dissolution and departed with a stable membership and long-term television security. The Big 12 board of directors will now begin the formal process of identifying his replacement.
