If your goal is to make SEC fans mad, claim they don’t have the best conference in football. On Tuesday, during the start of the Big 12 conference media days, that’s precisely what league commissioner Brett Yormark achieved. During a back-and-forth with the media, Yormark claimed the Big 12 superior among their contemporaries.
According to Action Network college football insider Brett McMurphy, Yormark gave his conference a glowing review, going as far as claiming Big 12 football “the deepest conference in America.” The conference continues to march forward despite the upcoming departure of the Texas Longhorns and the Oklahoma Sooners to the SEC. The Arizona State Sun Devils, Arizona Wildcats, and Colorado Buffaloes will join the league next fall. BYU, Central Florida, Houston, and Cincinnati also joined the conference in 2023.
League Commissioner Brett Yormark: Praises Depth of Conference
Brett Yormark, the Big 12 commissioner since 2022, believes his conference reigns superior to the rest. While speaking with the media on Tuesday, Yormark called the league “the deepest conference in America” and said, “Every week will matter.” The conference, now a 16-team league, welcomes the Utah Utes, winners of at least ten games nine times since 2003, and three other former Pac-12 teams next season a year after adding Mountain West power BYU and a trio of longtime AAC squads.
Brett Yormark on upcoming football season: "Big 12 will be the deepest conference in America. Every week will matter"
🗣️BELIVE THAT pic.twitter.com/yw4qSDlfDu
— Barstool Big12 (@BarstoolBig12) July 9, 2024
Yormark continued, saying the league has “A lot of parity. A lot of star power. We’re a very deep conference. We got deeper. Last year, candidly I think we underperformed…There’s never been a better time than right now to be in the Big 12. We are more relevant now than ever before.” The conference commissioner praises the league for their depth in football despite the loss of Oklahoma and Texas this past offseason. However, Arizona and Colorado, who went a combined 7-17 last season, head to the Big 12. Meanwhile, Baylor, BYU, and TCU went under .500 in 2023.
As for the top end of the conference, last season’s top teams, the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns, will dart for the Southeastern Conference. Oklahoma won ten games, while Texas earned a birth in the College Football Playoff.
Big 12: Comparison to SEC, Big Ten
Although Yormark firmly believes that the Big 12 is the best conferenced in football, the league has yet to win a title since 2005, when a Vince Young-led Texas squad went 13-0. Meanwhile, the SEC has claimed 12 titles in the past 20 seasons. Additionally, the Big Ten, led by Ohio State and Michigan, have won two titles during that span.
The departure of the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners could also play a significant role in the now 16-team conference struggling to earn representation in the College Football Playoff. TCU and Cincinnati are the only teams within the conference to make the CFP, while the 1997 Nebraska Cornhuskers are the only team not named Texas or Oklahoma to win a title while a member of the Big 12.
Regarding talent, the league has also lagged behind other conferences regarding Heisman Trophy Award winners. The conference has been absent a Heisman winner since Kyler Murray in 2018. The last non-Oklahoma or non-Texas player to win the Heisman Trophy Award while representing the conference was Eric Crouch in 2001 as a member of the top-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers.
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