Big 12 to distribute record revenue in Brett Yormark’s first year as commissioner

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark opened a Big 12 annual business meeting news conference with reporters by announcing the league would distribute $400 million to its members for 2022-23.

About 10 minutes later he corrected himself. The actual number is a record $440 million.

Just a slip by Yormark, but the figure is indicative of league’s strong financial position.

The $44 million per school places the Big 12 third among the Power Five conferences, behind the Big Ten and SEC, ahead of the ACC and Pac-12, according to USA Today.

The revenue is largely a collection of media rights with partners ESPN and Fox, payouts from the College Football Playoff and other bowl games and the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

The Big 12 will grow to 14 members, starting July 1, with the addition of Houston, Cincinnati, BYU and Central Florida. One year later, Texas and Oklahoma will leave to join the SEC.

The current Big 12 media deals last until 2025, when a new six-year agreement with ESPN and Fox, worth $2.3 billion, kicks in.

Expansion was another topic at the annual meetings, held at The Greenbrier in West Virginia for the first time. Speculation in recent weeks has pegged several schools as future Big 12 members, and Pac-12 schools Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State and Utah have been often mentioned.

The Big 12 also has had conversations with basketball power Gonzaga. Yormark didn’t comment on expansion, except to say the league will “consider all options. We do see the upside in basketball moving forward. We think it’s undervalued and there’s a chance for us to double down as the No. 1 basketball conference in America. But football is the driver, and we all know that.”

Yormark said the league will announce next week its plans involving Mexico. The league plans on playing regular-season football and men’s basketball games in Mexico.

“It will outline our strategic plan,” Yormark said. “Why we’re doing it, the rationale behind it, how we’re going to enter the market, who we’re partnering with. It could potentially include which teams we’ll launch with.”

Yormark, who was in Kansas City last week, said the league talked about extending existing championship sites. The men’s and women’s basketball tournaments are set in Kansas City through 2027. Also, football and baseball are set in Arlington, Texas, and softball in Oklahoma City.