Commissioner Brett Yormark Has Intense Interaction With Texas Tech Media Member at Big 12 Media Days

The Big 12 kicked off media days for the 2026 college football season in the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, on Tuesday.

To open Big 12 Media Days, commissioner Brett Yormark delivered a 15-minute address about the state of the conference heading into the 2026 football season. Some highlights included the announcement of a partnership with Monster Energy that includes jersey patches and on-field logos, and the reiteration of his stance on College Football Playoff expansion and sports gambling.

Following the address, Yormark fielded questions from media members regarding items in his address and other topics of importance across the Big 12.

Sean Dillon of Rockin' Pregame asked Yormark a question about the league's treatment of Texas Tech over the last year, which evolved into an intense altercation between the two.

"Let me come closer, stand up. Ask that question again, and I'm going to give you the answer I want to give you," Yormark told Dillon.

A spicy interaction between Brett Yormark and Texas Tech media personality Sean Dillon.

"Stand up. Ask that question again and I'm going to give you the answer I want to give you." pic.twitter.com/sSq2A5qDbE
— Jake Brend (@JakeBrendTV) July 7, 2026

"Texas Tech got fined for tortillas, and tortillas were banned outright," Dillon repeated. "Oklahoma State has paddles that were given a noisemaker exemption back in 2012. (Brendan) Sorsby never played a snap for the Red Raiders, and yet there's a lawsuit. Cincinnati has yet to be touched. You're selling "greater than 12," why should Texas Tech fans believe it?"

"No, I didn't say greater than 12, you misquoted me," Yormark responded. "I said we're going forward as 16 strong, and that's my answer to your question, but thank you for that question."

Why is there hostility between Yormark and Texas Tech?

Texas Tech is being painted as a new villain by many in college athletics.

Now that paying for players is fully legal and players can transfer at will, Texas Tech is taking full advantage of the resources it possesses. Billionaire oil CEO and Red Raiders booster Cody Campbell is using the transfer portal to assemble the best teams possible, creating a competitive advantage no other Big 12 program boasts.

The second incident Dillon referred to involved the Red Raiders' efforts to circumvent the coming NCAA punishment of quarterback Brendan Sorsby for his gambling habits, which the Big 12 sued them over in June. In addition to the lawsuit, other Big 12 athletics directors threatened to not play Texas Tech if Sorsby remained on the team.

The Sorsby incident is not isolated; Yormark and Texas Tech have quarreled over other matters in the past year.

In April, Campbell and Yormark got into a social media spat over the league's decision to schedule Texas Tech's game against Houston on a Friday night, a night that is important for the state's rich high school football tradition.

Yormark responded to Campbell's complaint by saying Campbell does not control the Big 12. That provoked a response from Campbell that involved bringing back the banned tortilla-throwing tradition that the Big 12 banned in October of 2025.

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