Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark announces he will step down in January

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark announces he will step down in January originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormack will be stepping down from his role in January 2027. ESPN's Pete Thamel announced the news Friday. He is leaving to pursue a career outside of college sports.

“When I accepted this job, my goal was to put this conference on an upward trajectory and truly believe that the future of the conference could not be in better shape,” Yormack said. “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.”

Yormack took the reins as Big 12 commissioner in 2022, shortly after Texas and Oklahoma packed their bags for the SEC. He succeeded Bob Bowlsby and helped the conference land a new TV deal with Fox and ESPN.

"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," Kansas Chancellor and Big 12 Board Chair Doug Girod said about Yormack, per ESPN.

"We certainly recognized that and believed it at the time. As it played out, it demonstrated it was the right move. His leadership, experience and networking in the media world have continued to be extremely beneficial for us."

Yormack led the way through a major conference realignment, welcoming eight new schools. He took advantage of the PAC-12 divorce by adding Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah.

“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,” Yormack told On3’s Brett McMurphy.

The Big 12 extended Yormack’s contract through the 2030 college football season, according to ESPN.

“When I accepted this job, my goal was to put this conference on an upward trajectory and truly believe that the future of the conference could not be in better shape,” said Yormark. “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.”

In his four years as commissioner, Yormack did things the untraditional way by landing deals with companies like Monster Energy Drinks and other sponsorship and marketing agreements.

Girod said Yormack was everything the Big 12 was looking for because he was not a traditional athletic director but was innovative and aggressive in bettering the conference.

With the expansion of the College Football Playoff and the Protect College Sports Act (PCSA), the college football landscape is changing rapidly. Whoever assumes the Big 12 commissioner role will need to be able to keep up, and Board Chair Girod assured that he would assist in finding a replacement.

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