Batting lead-off at the podium for Big 12 Football Media Days inside Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Commissioner Brett Yormark sounded both confident and optimistic about the future of the conference.
Yorkmark Expresses Confidence in the Future of the Conference at Big 12 Media Days
“We are more relevant now than ever before,” Yormark said on Tuesday, the first of a two-day event that will feature press conferences from all 16 head football coaches and select players.
Yormark continued by saying, “All eyes are on the Big 12. We solidified ourselves as one of the top three conferences,” before he later referred to the league as “the deepest conference in America.”
According to Caesars Sportsbook, no Big 12 school has shorter odds than 35-1 (Utah) to win the College Football National Championship. However, eight Big 12 schools — exactly half the conference — are at 150-1 to win it all.
For the second time in as many years, the Big 12 welcomes a fresh set of teams to the fold. Coinciding with the official departures of Texas and Oklahoma earlier this month, the league expanded upon its footprint by adding Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah.
The league was as big as it ever was last season, with 14 teams across eight states, but now enters a new era in 2024 with 16 teams across 10 states (and all four US time zones).
The latest expansion not only increases the Big 12’s physical footprint but also brings in well-known programs with strong football traditions and passionate fan bases.
Yormark noted just that in his opening remarks by citing the league had six teams average 100% capacity while every team within the conference averaged 88% capacity for each home game.
If the last handful of years in college football has taught us anything, it is that change is inevitable.
Yormark called the rapidly changing landscape of the sport a “necessary reset” but again expressed excitement for where the Big 12 is today and where it might be going tomorrow and beyond.
“I will not stop until we are the No. 1 conference in America,” he said on Tuesday.
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