It feels like the majority response to the Big 12 hiring Brett Yormark as its new commissioner has been lukewarm, at best.
This isn’t surprising. It has all been very predictable.
Tupac could rise from the dead and do a concert at media days as the new league commish and it wouldn’t be enough to impress most of the scribes who cover college athletics.
When is the last time you read anything positive about the Big 12 nationally, or even regionally for that matter? Veteran beat writers within this league have made a living by drowning fans with negativity over the last 15 years. Much of the time, the Big 12 did this to itself, I’ll add.
The Big 12 has been a punching bag for too long.
It is time to attack.
That’s why despite the fact that I don’t know enough about former Roc Nation COO Brett Yormark yet to truly analyze this as a “great hire,” I am 100 percent on board with the direction that the league went. (I wrote about what I wanted to see from the league in detail last April, which you can read here.)
In press releases and in public, the support for Yormark within the Big 12 will be loud. That’s how public relations works.
WE ARE ALL ONE BIG HAPPY FAMILY. THIS IS THE GREATEST HIRE IN THE HISTORY OF ALL HIRES.
But after George Kliavkoff & Kevin Warren’s (guys without any background in intercollegiate athletics) posts with the Pac-12 and Big Ten and now Jay-Z’s right-hand man leading the Big 12, the establishment within college athletics is writhing.
Instead of a lifelong industry guy (or gal), the Big 12 presidents just opted for a sports (and entertainment) business professional with a load of experience in deal-making.
The Big 12’s next commissioner has represented iconic artists such as Alicia Keys, Rihanna, J. Cole and Jay-Z, to name a few. We’ve come a long way from Dan Bebee.
There’s no doubt that Yormark will have a lot to learn. To that end, he damn well better hire some experienced executives in the world of college athletics. The ins and outs of that world are unknown to most and can chew up and spit out smart men.
Ask Larry Scott.
The unfortunate fact of the matter is that whoever took this job was going to be forced to quickly swim against a turbulent stream. That is exactly why I’m just not sure that a traditional candidate would have worked.
Hear me out: Going forward, the Big 12 is bound to face geographic and demographic challenges compared to its peers. This is happening no matter who the commissioner is. It doesn’t matter if Adam Silver is running the show.
But as long as I have covered the Big 12 (dating back to 2004), it has been a reactive league (because it had to be) that was way too dependent on Texas and Oklahoma. Keeping loud and arrogant institutions happy all of the time took priority over the health of the greater whole. This even happened as late as last summer, when the league’s members reportedly were offering up greater slices of the television pie to keep Texas and Oklahoma from bolting to the SEC.
(Imagine how awful that had to be for administrators. These “brothers” had been lying to your face for years (reportedly in talks with the SEC) while knowing they were about to literally kill you, and you go back to them, offer up more to get them to stay?)
Good riddance. I am so ready for the post-Texas and Oklahoma Big 12.
The bullies are going to be gone soon, and the time is now for this league to go in a totally different direction.
This new Big 12 needs to truly be united and bold.
Brand yourself as the most fun football league in the country. It already boasts the best basketball.
The Big 12’s new commissioner is on speed dial with the largest sports agencies in America – another benefit to this hire in the name, image and likeness era.
Last but not least, there’s the new television contract that the Big 12 needs to get in place for 2025.
“On behalf of FOX Sports, we’d like to officially congratulate Brett Yormark on being named the new Commissioner of the Big 12,” said Eric Shanks, CEO and Executive Producer of FOX Sports said in the Big 12’s release. “Brett is a talented and innovative executive who brings a remarkably unique perspective to the position. Under his leadership and vision, the conference is set up for success, and we look forward to continuing to build on our relationship as a premier partner of the Big 12.”
As I noted above, don’t read too much into day one public relations. Everybody is gleeful on hiring day. However, that quote stood out to me while reading the Big 12’s window dressing on this decision. That’s a big one from a massive player in the game. (It is also noteworthy to a sports media geek like myself that nobody from Disney/ESPN was quoted in the release.)
I understand the establishment in college athletics being a bit territorial right now. Unfortunately for them, their kind is becoming rarer by the day due to the changing landscape we are seeing in the industry. Another unfortunate part of this is that those “old-timers” generally care more about the student-athletes and fans than these out-of-industry folks, who view everything as more of a commodity. Perhaps in 15 years, we are all going to look back at these hires and refer to these hires as complete and total disasters. It is very possible.
I do think it is interesting though that the most academic-minded people of all – the SCHOOL PRESIDENTS – are the ones who chose to go in this direction. This is well beyond a brash column from some know-it-all like me. The smart people in the room actually did this.
All I know is that for the last 15 years, the Big 12’s existence has been like a bit of a paycheck-to-paycheck situation. The people in charge have worked really hard to keep things on track, but there was always a chance that call would come and your entire world would explode.
This new league is NOT going to be on par financially with SEC and the Big Ten. The new Big 12 is going to continuously be doubted by the national media. We know all of this.
For that very reason, it is time for the Big 12 to shake things up a bit, which is exactly what the Brett Yormark hire represents to me.
With that, I will leave you today with my five favorite Jay-Z lyrics.
1 – “I sell ice in the winter, I sell fire in hell. I am a hustler, baby, I’ll sell water to a whale.”
2 – “I’m so far ahead of my time, I’m ‘bout to start another life. Look behind you, I’m ‘bout to pass you twice.”
3 – “I guess I got my swagger back. Mama, they say I killed a man, well I guess I got the dagger back. It’s the Roc, we are back, in the heezy. Jigga Man, B Sings and M-Easy.”
4 – “Momma ain’t raised no fool. Put me anywhere on God’s green earth, I’ll triple my worth.”
5 – “Allow me to re-introduce myself. My name is Hov, H-to-the-O-V. I used to move snowflakes by the O-Z. I guess back then you can call me, CEO of the R-O-C. Fresh out of the fryin’ pan into the fire. I be the music biz number one supplier. Flyer than a piece of paper bearin’ my name. Got the hottest chick in the game wearin’ my chain.”
