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Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark to Step Down on January 31 After Four Years

Brett Yormark, who became the Big 12's fifth commissioner in 2022, will leave on January 31, 2027, to take a job outside college sports, the conference announced Friday. A national search for his replacement will follow.

By admin Oct. 30, 2026 · 2:46 PM ET 2 min read

A college football stadium filled with spectators at sunset, with a green field in the foreground

Brett Yormark is stepping down as commissioner of the Big 12, effective January 31, 2027, the conference announced on Friday. Yormark, who became the league’s fifth commissioner in 2022, plans to take another job outside of college sports, according to multiple reports, and the conference said it will launch a national search for his replacement.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel was the first to report the move. Speaking to Brett McMurphy of On3, Yormark said he looks forward to “passing the baton” to his replacement and will remain a lifelong fan of the Big 12.

An empty press conference room with a wooden podium, two microphones and rows of chairs

A tenure built on expansion

Yormark, 60, succeeded Bob Bowlsby in 2022 and was under contract through the 2029-30 academic year. He landed a $2.28 billion television deal with ESPN and Fox in 2022 and steered the conference through a period of national realignment. He oversaw the 2023 entry of BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF, then shepherded the 2024 additions of four former Pac-12 members: Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State and Utah.

A football resting on grass near a yard line under stadium lights at night

“When I accepted this job, my goal was to put this conference on an upward trajectory and I truly believe that the future of the conference could not be in better shape,” Yormark said in a statement. “The next commissioner of this league will inherit a conference that is 16 strong. There has never been a better time to be a member of the Big 12 than right now.”

What comes next

Kansas chancellor Douglas A. Girod, chair of the Big 12 Board of Directors, thanked Yormark on behalf of the league’s presidents. “When Brett arrived, we were at a crossroads in the Big 12 and as a college sports enterprise,” Girod said. “Brett’s vision, business acumen, and confidence put us on the path we find ourselves on today.”

Football players in dark unmarked uniforms and helmets seen from behind walking through a stadium tunnel toward the field

Before joining the Big 12, Yormark served as CEO and president of business operations and strategy at Roc Nation, where he was credited with helping the company land the Super Bowl entertainment contract, and spent more than a decade as CEO of Brooklyn Sports Entertainment. The Spun noted that Big 12 teams did not win a national title in the major sports during his tenure, a record his successor will inherit along with a 16-team league.

Reporting based on coverage by Field Level Media and The Spun.

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