Brett Yormark and the Big 12 are moving fast this season. After Texas and Oklahoma decided to leave the conference for the SEC earlier than expected, the college football conference is already looking to make moves. Their next goal after the departure of the Sooners and the Longhorns is to expand even further. The reason? Well, they're looking for a bigger slice of the TV pie, per Dennis Dodd's reporting.
“The reason for any Big 12 expansion: moving West. Yormark seeks game inventory in the Pacific Time Zone, which would allow the once Midwest-based league to stretch from coast to coast. More importantly, it would give the Big 12 a presence in all four primary television “windows” — noon, 3:30, primetime and late night (based on the Eastern Time Zone).”
Both Texas and Oklahoma were already planning to leave the Big 12 in 2024, when their deals with the conference expired. However, after Yormark and co. brought in four new teams to replace the departing squads (BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF), the Sooners and the Longhorns decided to accelerate the process. As a result, both programs paid a total of $100 million in early exit fees to leave the Big 12 and join the SEC.
The Big 12's expansion plans will hinge primarily on the Pac-12's next moves. The Pacific-based conference is in the middle of negotiations with USC and UCLA, who have declared their intent to leave the conference. If both sides fail to agree on a new deal, Brett Yormark and the Big 12 are ready to swoop in and take any team in the Pac-12 concerned about their future.
Follow Us
Subscribe