The Big 12 will undergo a massive change with news of Commissioner Brett Yormark's forthcoming exit. The conference announced Friday that Yormark will step down as of Jan. 31, 2027. According to ESPN's Pete Thamel, Yormark is prepared to accept another job outside of college sports.
"Serving as the commissioner of the Big 12 Conference has been an extraordinary honor,” Yormark said in a statement. Girod, athletic directors, coaches, student-athletes, fans, fellow commissioners, and trusted colleagues at the league office. I am looking forward to passing the baton to the next commissioner and continuing to cheer this league on as a lifelong fan of the Big 12." Yormark became the Big 12's fifth commissioner during a chaotic time for college sports in 2022.
He replaced Bob Bowlsby shortly after Texas and Oklahoma voted to join the SEC, but the Big 12 has added eight new members during his tenure. In his first year, Yormark helped negotiate a new media rights agreement with ESPN and Fox. Girod credited that deal with maintaining the Big 12 as a power conference.
"I think in all fairness, had he not joined us and convinced us to go early on redoing our television deal, we all believe we could have ended up like the Pac-12 did," Girod told Thamel. "...We certainly recognized that and believed it at the time. As it played out, it demonstrated it was the right move.
His leadership and experience and network in the media world has continued to be extremely beneficial for us." Girod told Thamel that Yormark approached the Big 12 board about 10 plays ago with plans to craft an "elegant exit." The Big 12 will begin an immediate search for his successor. "The next commissioner of this league will inherit a conference that is ‘16 Strong.’ There has never been a better time to be a member of the Big 12 than right now."
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