The Big 12’s commissioner addressed expansion. Here’s what he said
The Big 12 Conference’s men’s and women’s basketball tournaments are being held in Kansas City this week, which gave conference commissioner Brett Yormark an opportunity to hold a press conference there on Wednesday.
With conference realignment being a hot topic of conversation again over the past several weeks, particularly as it relates to the Big 12 and Pac-12, perhaps it should come as no surprise that Yormark was asked a lot about it.
Here are the highlights of his remarks on the subject:
On his philosophy regarding expansion: Calling it “a priority” to “explore expansion for all the right reasons,” Yormark said. “It’s gotta be additive ... but we are focused on it, and we’re exploring every and all possibility. I say that while also saying that I love the composition, the makeup of this conference going forward.
“I love the four new schools that are coming in in July, the continuing eight. I think we’re in a great place, but if there’s a chance to get better, it’s incumbent on me as the commissioner to explore those possibilities, and that’s exactly what I’m doing.”
On what qualities he considers to be ‘additive’ in expansion: “It’s gotta be a good cultural fit, first and foremost. We have a like-minded board, like-minded institutions. We don’t want to compromise that, so whoever comes in, ultimately there needs to be a cultural fit.
“Obviously we look at geography because I think that matters, too. I’ve said it before — we want to be a truly national conference from a brand perspective, but also geographic footprint, so that matters. Performance matters, both academic and on the field and on the court, so we think about a lot of things when we explore expansion, not just one metric, but a couple.”
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On the possibility of Gonzaga joining the Big 12 in basketball: “I like Gonzaga. Obviously a great program. My focus right now is to see what happens throughout our industry. There’s a lot of moving parts. I continue to have conversations with Gonzaga, but I think as I prioritize what our next move might be in expansion, there’s other things right now that I’m focused on.”
What other schools could join the Big 12?
On Thursday morning, CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd reported that “Yormark continues to pursue” what have been dubbed the “Four Corners” schools of the Pac-12: Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah.
Dodd reported that there have been weekly conversations between those schools and the Big 12, and that “it may only take one of the Four Corners schools to bolt from the Pac-12 for the other three to follow,” according to his sources.
Dodd further reported that some of his sources believe that “Yormark is going to be successful in luring at least some combination of Four Corners schools.”
