Presidents and athletic directors of Big 12 schools will meet in August to discuss a variety of issues affecting the conference, commissioner Brett Yormark said Tuesday morning as the league’s football media days kicked off at The Star, the practice home of the Dallas Cowboys.
Advertisement
Specifically, Yormark acknowledged after fielding a question from a reporter from BYU’s Daily Universe, one “important” topic that will be addressed will be the derogatory chants directed at BYU fans and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from opposing fan bases at road games for the Cougars.
Repeating what he said at the Big 12 basketball championships last March, Yormark stressed that there will be repercussions for any schools that engage in such behavior.
“First of all, it’s a great question, and thank you for asking that question today,” Yormark said. “I can tell you, I speak on behalf of my role as commissioner, as well as my 16 institutions: We have a zero tolerance for that kind of behavior on a go-forward basis, zero tolerance.”
In the past school year, BYU fans experienced derogatory chants at football games at Colorado and Cincinnati and a basketball game at Oklahoma State, although the OSU chants may have been directed more at the referees than BYU fans.
“We have a meeting set up with the presidents, which make up our board, and our ADs, in August to address that situation and that topic very intentionally to make sure we are better next year,” Yormark said. “As I said in my closing comments, my goal, our collective goal, is to be great every day for our student athletes, for our member institutions, for our communities that we live in, and we plan on being better next year, for sure.”
Advertisement
Oklahoma State and Colorado were fined $50,000 for what the conference labeled “inappropriate chants” stemming from games in which BYU fans made up a substantial portion of the crowds. Cincinnati was never fined, despite video and audio that included the chants during BYU’s 26-14 win over the Bearcats last November.
There were no such incidents in last February’s Cincinnati-BYU basketball game in March, a 90-68 Cincinnati win.
What did Yormark say about Brendan Sorsby situation?
In a 17-minute question-and-answer session with reporters who cover the conference on Tuesday, Yormark also fielded questions about the league’s handling of the Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby gambling situation, College Football Playoff expansion, possible conference expansion, international games, and more.
Advertisement
Regarding the Sorsby situation, which resulted in the quarterback being ruled ineligible by the NCAA and the senior eventually withdrawing from Texas Tech and declaring for the NFL supplemental draft (which won’t happen), Yormark basically offered a “no comment” on the ordeal that ostracized Texas Tech from the other 15 members of the conference.
“Today is not the time to address that issue,” Yormark said. “Today is about celebrating the upcoming football season and celebrating our 16 schools.”
Later, Yormark stressed the importance of staying vigilant regarding student-athlete gambling, noting that it was not as readily available when he was growing up as it is now.
“Integrity for the game is critically important,” he said. “We will continue to work with our student-athletes to educate them and help guide them in this new environment.”
Advertisement
Pressed on why Texas Tech fans should continue to have trust in the league that rallied against the school after it backed a QB “who never played a down for the Red Raiders,” Yormark said he’s confident that relationships can be mended.
“We are going forward as 16 strong, and that’s my answer,” he said.
Yormark on CFP and conference expansion
Yormark said “there’s never been a better time to be a part of the Big 12 than right now,” and sidestepped a question about possible conference expansion in the future.
“I love the makeup of our conference right now,” he said, noting that out of conference games “are critically important” to the league. In one of the most-anticipated nonconference games of the season, BYU will host Notre Dame on Oct. 17 in Provo.
Advertisement
As for CFP expansion, Yormark doubled down on his desire to see it move to 24 teams and acknowledged that it could mean the loss of conference championship games. Last December, the Big 12 championship game in Arlington, Texas, pitting BYU and Texas Tech drew 85,000 fans, the most in Power Four history.
“When 24 became part of the conversation, we’ve done our own conference due diligence around it, and we think it might be a great fit for us. We discussed it most recently in our spring business meetings with our coaches across the board, they liked it, and we continue to have those conversations with our ADs and our presidents,” Yormark said.
“We do need to understand the economics. Is there a marketplace to go to 24? We have to understand the scheduling dynamic and what that means, and the unintended consequences, as it relates to our championship game. That’s a huge tent pole event for us.”
He said television ratings for the BYU-Texas Tech game were up 39% from the previous year.
Advertisement
“It’s a big deal for us, and there are economics that go with that championship game. So, as we consider 24 (teams) we’ve got to look at what we have and what potentially we might gain and ultimately make the best decision for the Big 12. But everything’s on the table.”
More announcements from the commissioner
• Arizona is the inaugural winner of the Allstate Commissioners Cup, which will recognize all-around athletic greatness in the conference. Arizona accumulated 1,377 points throughout the 2025-26 Big 12 Championship series, including conference titles in men’s basketball and men’s tennis.
The Wildcats will receive a scholarship donation from the insurance firm in recognition of the achievement, Yormark said. BYU was the highest Big 12 finisher in the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup, coming in at No. 25 nationally.
Advertisement
• The Big 12 is expanding its relationship with Monster Energy drinks, announcing a multi-year agreement with the “global beverage brand to be the “Entitlement Partner” of the Big 12 football and Big 12 basketball regular seasons.
“The global nature of who they are aligns with our global aspirations,” Yormark said. “Monster Energy is sold in approximately 159 countries during the regular season.”
Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark stands on the stage before the trophy presentation following the Big 12 Conference championship NCAA college football game between BYU and Texas Tech Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. | Julio Cortez
