Brett Yormark, commissioner of the Big 12 Conference, will step down on Jan. 31, right after the college football title game.
The conference announced his impending departure Friday.
Yormark said, “Serving as the commissioner of the Big 12 Conference has been an extraordinary honor. … When I accepted this job, my goal was to put this conference on an upward trajectory. … 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.”
People were interested in these podcasts
He first briefed his superiors at the conference 10 days ago, with the terms of his departure formalized this week.
University of Kansas Chancellor Douglas Girod, chairman of the conference’s board of directors, told ESPN that Yormark “approached us with a proposal to craft a path for what you’d call an ’elegant exit.’”
Yormark became commissioner in 2022.
While the Universities of Texas and Oklahoma declared their departures and Brigham Young University, the University of Central Florida, the University of Cincinnati and the University of Houston all said they would join the Big 12 prior to Yormark’s time as commissioner, all the moves took place during his tenure.
Yormark also oversaw the additions of the University of Arizona, Arizona State University, the University of Colorado and the University of Utah to the conference from the Pac-12.
Girod credited Yormark, an executive at the Roc Nation sports management agency prior to becoming commissioner, with pushing the conference to exit its previous TV deal and try to get a new one inked.
“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, which was unable to get [a TV deal],” Girod told ESPN.
A source familiar with Yormark’s plans told The Athletic that his next job will be outside of college sports, though the role has not been announced.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.