Brett Yormark stepping down as Big 12 commissioner, will remain with league through January 2027

The former Roc Nation CEO will remain through January 2027 after stabilizing the conference with a new media rights deal and eight expansion additions

Oct 30, 2026 at 11:11 am ET • 3 min read

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark will step down from the conference office and take a job outside of college athletics, the league announced on Friday. Yormark is expected to be with the conference through Jan. 31, 2027. 

"Serving as the commissioner of the Big 12 Conference has been an extraordinary honor," Yormark said. "I want to thank the Big 12 Board of Directors, Board Chair Douglas A. 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 their league on as a lifelong fan of the Big 12." 

Yormark stepped into the conference at a pivotal time in 2022 as the league faced a major realignment moment. He helped shepherd the league through adding eight new schools in a two-year period and negotiated a long-term television contract that stabilized the league. 

He was an unusual choice at the time after never working in college athletics, instead coming immediately from his role as CEO of Jay-Z's Roc Nation. He also worked in NASCAR and with the Brooklyn Nets. 

Under his leadership, the Big 12 vastly increased its business portfolio, including a partnership with Monster Energy to serve as naming rights partner on the football and basketball sides. The league also introduced a live music halftime show during the Big 12 Championship Game. 

The Big 12 now faces a pivotal hire heading into the back half of its television contract, with more realignment expected ahead of a 2031 contract date. 

Aggressive figure

Coming to the Big 12 from outside college sports, Yormark brought a unique mindset. Instead of leaning on stability, Yormark embraced the changing college athletics landscape and remade the league in his image. 

Former commissioner Bob Bowlsby previously added UCF, BYU, Houston and Cincinnati from the Group of Five level in the wake of Texas and Oklahoma leaving the league. However, Yormark was even more assertive. 

As both the Big 12 and Pac-12 negotiated television contracts, Yormark jumped in front, agreeing to terms with ESPN and FOX and boxing the Pac-12 out of the market. With the Pac-12 left with primarily streaming options, Yormark lobbied Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and Arizona State to defect from the league, ultimately leading to the conference's collapse. 

Heading into the last realignment, the Big 12 was long seen as the likeliest league to collapse. Because of Yormark's leadership, however, the league survived. 

There were times when Yormark's aggression led to some unpopular pushes. Yormark reportedly pushed UConn in realignment to cement power on the basketball side, and he repeatedly mentioned the idea of international games. However, his personality was a critical part of the Big 12 increasing its revenue after the loss of Texas and Oklahoma. 

Where does the league go?

With Yormark's departure, the Big 12 is at a crossroads. The first four full-time commissioners of the league were typical hires from inside college athletics. Yormark was a major zag, even compared to other FBS commissioners. 

Now, the Big 12 is more financially and competitively stable. That leaves the conference with a wide swath of options from which to find their next commissioner. 

"I'm going in very open-minded," Kansas chancellor Doug Girod told ESPN. "I don't need a (Yormark) twin. I need someone who hopefully has some experience with campuses, and mostly is going to be an innovator and help us on that path of revenue diversification and thinking differently about how we conduct ourselves and be the tip of the spear in some of these changes."

The SEC's Greg Sankey and ACC's Jim Phillips are both traditional commissioner candidates from the college athletics world. The Big Ten opted to go to the television world with Tony Petitti, a longtime television executive at CBS and with the MLB Network.