Yormark: Big 12 is 'Done' Expanding 'Right Now'
It's been an active summer for Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark. He helped welcome in new members BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF to the league and entered negotiations to eventually land four more members - Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah, who are all set to join in 2024.
Once those schools enter and Oklahoma and Texas depart for the SEC, the Big 12 will stand at 16 members. According to Yormark, the league will move forward with those 16.
"Right now we're done [adding]," Yormark told the Arizona Republic. "We had a vision. We had a strategy and effectively we've been able to execute it. Initially, I wasn't sure if we'd go to 14 or 16. I think 16 was kind of a dream scenario, candidly. So from our perspective, our focus now is to integrate the four incoming schools as quickly as we can. Get them comfortable. We feel really good about our future and what our membership composition looks like when you look at it in terms of where we were and where we are and where we're going.
"Once Colorado decided to come I wasn't sure one was going to lead to two or three or four but I always felt there was a possibility that they weren't coming on their own given what I had been reading and just the climate around the conference. We took advantage of the moment and seized the moment. We're thrilled the four schools are going to be part of the family,"
I do believe Yormark in that they are done adding for now. But I seriously doubt he will sit on his hands and watch the Big Ten and SEC pick apart the ACC whenever that begins to happen. It's only a matter of time before the ACC crumbles and there's opportunity there to add more eastern members to join Cincinnati, UCF, and West Virginia.
Not to mention, the four "PAC 12" schools who are still searching for a home. We've been heading toward these 20-school super conferences for a while now and there are multiple ways the Big 12 can get to that coveted number.
You can follow us for future coverage by liking us on Facebook & following us on Twitter:
Facebook - @MountaineersNow
Twitter - @MountaineersNow and Schuyler Callihan at @Callihan_.