- Joined
- Aug 26, 2011
- Messages
- 88,058
- Reaction Score
- 329,762
Inside Brett Yormark's yearlong push to get the Big 12 to 16
There were countless twists and turns, but Yormark was never shy about his objective: Boost the Big 12 by any means necessary.
theathletic.com
Assisted access <<
-> UConn was different. It was no secret Yormark was most interested in inviting the Huskies to the Big 12 if the Pac-12 schools stuck together.
How far did it get with UConn? Yormark traveled to Storrs for a campus visit after the Huskies’ men’s basketball national title and later had a second meeting with their leadership in New York. The commissioner saw something his peers did not: a proven brand in men’s and women’s basketball that gets the league into New York City and the East Coast. He believed Jim Mora has the football program (currently 0-4 this season) heading in the right direction. He trusted that, over time, UConn would add value.
“I’m all about scenario management and think that’s critically important,” Yormark said. “We vetted them all out time and time again and tried to go down parallel paths with respect to how to work them.”
Still, it was always going to be tough to build support for that addition. ESPN and Fox were willing to pay full price for Pac-12 additions. The Big 12 board wanted Power 5 schools. It meant more to them. <-