Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark presented members of the conference with a lucrative first-of-its-kind revenue-generation proposal, Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports reports.
At a meeting of Big 12 administrators in Dallas in late May, Yormark proposed for the first time that the conference could sell its naming rights, just as stadiums and bowl games have done. Under the current version of the idea, the conference would keep the “12” in its name and replace “Big” with the name of the sponsor, according to Dellenger. (The conference had 14 teams in the 2023–24 academic year and will expand to 16 teams for the ’24 football season.)
The unprecedented sponsorship would generate “hundreds of millions of dollars” for the conference, Dellenger reports, and is expected to generate bids from several companies.
The news comes during a period of immense change for college athletics. The settlement in the House v. NCAA case paved the way for college athletes to receive direct compensation and has schools searching for additional revenue streams to pay players.
The Big 12 is also reportedly considering another unorthodox way to raise funds. Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports reported Thursday that the conference is considering an investment from Luxembourg-based private equity company CVC Capital Partners. The firm would invest between $800 million and $1 billion in exchange for a 15–20% stake in the conference.
The Big 12 is losing its two most high-profile members with the departure of Texas and Oklahoma, who are joining the SEC. Four former Pac-12 schools (Arizona, Arizona State, Utah and Colorado) will officially join the Big 12 on July 1.
DAN GARTLAND
Dan Gartland writes Sports Illustrated’s flagship daily newsletter, SI:AM, and is SI’s pro wrestling editor. Dan holds a degree in Communications and Media Studies from Fordham University.
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