Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark to Vacate His Role

The Big 12 will begin its search for its new commissioner “immediately.”

Brett Yormark will step down from his role as Big 12 commissioner as of January 31, 2027, the league announced in a release on Friday.

“Serving as the commissioner of the Big 12 Conference has been an extraordinary honor,” said Yormark in the release. “I want to thank the Big 12 Board of Directors, Board Chair Douglas A. Girod, athletic directors, coaches, student-athletes, fans, fellow commissioners, and trusted colleagues at the league office. I am looking forward to passing the baton to the next commissioner and continuing to cheer this league on as a lifelong fan of the Big 12.”

Yormark has led the Big 12 since taking the position in August of 2022 after being hired away from Jay-Z. He was the chief operating officer of Jay-Z’s Roc Nation prior to taking the helm of the Big 12. Yormark is expected to take a position outside of college sports, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

“Speaking on behalf of all of the Big 12 Presidents, we thank Brett for shepherding this great conference through an extraordinary period in college athletics,” said University of Kansas Chancellor Douglas A. Girod, Chair of the Big 12 Board of Directors. “When Brett arrived, we were at a crossroads in the Big 12 and as a college sports enterprise. Brett’s vision, business acumen, and confidence put us on the path we find ourselves on today. He leveraged traditional and non-traditional avenues in the college space, solidifying the Big 12 Conference’s future. We are appreciative of his leadership, wish he and his family well, and look forward to building upon the strong foundation he helped put in place.”

He introduced and fostered directives to make the league “younger, hipper, cooler” whilst the landscape of college sports shifted under seismic changes in rules regarding transfers and NIL.

Yormark succeeded Bob Bowlsby as the fifth commissioner of the conference and was at the helm for one of its biggest periods of transition. He saw Texas and Oklahoma leave for the SEC but successfully maneuvered expansions that added Arizona, Arizona State, BYU, Central Florida, Cincinnati, Colorado, Houston and Utah.