Don’t look now but the Big 12 Conference – the nearly forgotten, little engine that could – is having a moment.
The Nielsen television ratings do not reflect what the rest of the country is experiencing in a college football awakening: The Big 12 Conference, with three teams still undefeated and residents of the top nine in the US LBM Coaches Poll, is front and center in the College Football Playoff race.
On the heels of BYU’s captivating, fourth-quarter dismissal of previously second-ranked Notre Dame – seen by more than nine million viewers – now is prelude to the Big 12’s next great moment: No. 16 Houston at No. 9 Utah.
ESPN’s "College GameDay" is spending the entire week in the Beehive’s capital city, moving from its early morning scenes against the Wasatch Mountains in Provo to the shadow of Salt Lake City.
It’s precisely what Brett Yormark envisioned when he accepted the Big 12 Conference’s commissioner role Aug. 1, 2022.
“I’ve lived my life, and I’ve done this for years, usually I’m a pretty happy guy, but never satisfied,” Yormark exclusively told USA TODAY Sports. “So, I would tell you that when the rankings came out on Sunday, I was really happy, but not satisfied. And, there’s still a lot of work to be done. But my goal from day one, when I became commissioner, was to make sure that this conference in all sports, but in particular football, was relevant and part of the national conversation. And I think this year we certainly are part of both. We’re relevant. For all the right reasons.
“We’re part of the national conversations. The (BYU) win, I think, in many respects, credentialized all the hard work that our schools have put in over the last couple of years.”
Kalani Sitake’s BYU squad trailed for less than five minutes in the first half and fewer than eight minutes in the second half of its upset-win against Notre Dame, which entered the contest as a 10-point favorite and positioned to claim the nation’s No. 1 ranking after Georgia’s loss earlier on Oct. 17.
“This is one game that we’re really excited for and proud of,” Sitake said after the Cougars’ 28-24 win, “but we’ve got to get ready for the next one, too.”
That contest is Saturday at Central Florida.
Yormark, who attended the BYU win against Notre Dame in person and will be at the intraconference Kansas State-Arizona State game this week, pointed to his member institution’s investments into football – and athletics writ large – in his conversation with USA TODAY Sports.
“Obviously, they’re investing at a high level. They understand the importance of football. They’re raising the bar,” Yormark told USA TODAY Sports. “Our board is certainly aware that athletics sits at the front porch of their institutions and football drives so much value when you think about enrollment and philanthropy and community engagement. For all the right reasons, the support and investment in football is happening."
Might that growth include a second College Football Playoff invitation for the Big 12 for the first time?
Through two iterations of the expanded, 12-team CFP, the Big 12 twice has had the No. 4-seeded participant – and no one else.
“Listen, I said at (Big 12 Conference) media days that we’d have multiple teams in the CFP,” Yormark emphasized. “I didn’t know if it was going to be two or three, but I think right now we want as many members in the CFP as we can get, and certainly multiple teams is something that we’re striving for, and I feel really good about it.”
A former business collaborator with hip-hop icon Jay-Z, Yormark touted that the investment from Big 12 Conference members – no institution more so than Texas Tech – has spurred a like-minded approach from the rest of the league.
“A hundred percent. I think that the school, everyone across the board is investing, and it’s nice to see your return on your investment,” Yormark said. “That’s truly important, and many of our schools are seeing that. You just think about it. This year, six teams have been ranked this season in the top 25 (polls), which is terrific. A few have been on the outside looking in."
Yormark carries with him a vision for elite events moving into the future – as a 24-team CFP seems imminent and conference championship games in football – the Big 12 just had a record-setting, 85,000-fan event last December – seem headed for the same path as redshirt-seasons: extinction. Utah coach Morgan Scalley previously told USA TODAY Sports he strongly supported a model for preseason bowl games.
“For us as a conference, we live by the mantra of being a different league; we do like to break boundaries,” Yormark said. “I think if a championship game goes away, and as I said (Tuesday, Oct. 20), we’re not there just yet with the expansion to 24, but should something happen and the championship games go away, we’re going to want to replace it."
“We’re in the IP (intellectual property) business, and it drives our narrative and our profile. It drives engagement with our fans. So we don’t know exactly what that looks like, although we’ve been ideating. But sooner than later, we’ll start crystallizing that."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Is Big 12 football having its CFP race moment? Brent Yormark think so