Notebook: Yormark Talks Weeknight Games, AT&T Stadium and Rivals at Big 12 Media Days

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Big 12 is seemingly as busy as ever.

Whether it’s testing the waters in Mexico or setting up youth clinics at Rucker Park, conference commissioner Brett Yormark always has something going on. Yormark kicked off Big 12 Media Days on Wednesday at AT&T Stadium. Here are some of the things he hit on.

Looking for what Yormark said about Big 12 expansion? You can see that here.

Big 12 Looking into Thursday, Friday Games

In order to get in front of as many eyeballs as possible, the Big 12 is considering playing games on Thursday and Friday nights.

Oklahoma State has a Friday night a game this upcoming season — Oct. 6 against Kansas State.

As with most things, there are pros and cons to games on weeknights. The biggest pro is that with fewer college games going on, games would be more likely to be in a marquee setting.

Cons come in the form of the possibility of lesser attendance within the work week. Another is a double-edge sword in recruiting in that high school players would be less likely to come to town because they have games, and college coaches might not be able to evaluate as much because they then can’t go to those high school games.

“We collaborate with our ADs,” Yormark said. “We don’t do anything without the input and the sign-off from our ADs and our board. I will tell you that it’s very hot during the summer months, especially in the fall, so playing on a Friday night versus a Saturday morning does have its benefits.

“When you think about the tonnage of college football on air on a Saturday, it provides a lot of opportunity for us to kind of build our profile on a Friday night. But there’s a lot that goes into that decision. You’re absolutely right. It’s not just about visibility, it’s all about the fans and what’s right for our schools and their campuses. All that is part of the consideration set in how we move forward.”

Big 12 Championship to Stay in AT&T Stadium through 2030

The Big 12 is looking to make its championship game even bigger, but as far as stadiums go, it doesn’t get much bigger then Jerry World.

Yormark announced Wednesday that the conference has extended its agreement with AT&T Stadium to host to championship game through 2030.

In an attempt to give the game an even bigger feel, Yormark said the game will have a halftime show with a “major artist” to be announced Aug. 12, the day tickets to the game go on sale.

“I am pleased to announce again the extension of our contract with AT&T Stadium to continue as our football championship host site through the 2030 game,” Yormark said. “And I must thank the Jones family as well as the Dallas Cowboys organization for their commitment to the Big 12.”

Permanent Rivals?

When Oklahoma leaves the Big 12 after this season, Oklahoma State will be left without a natural rival.

No longer playing a round-robin format, certain teams aren’t guaranteed to be on the schedule every season unless the league elects to schedule permanent rivals like other conferences have done.

I made the case last week that the Red Raiders or Kansas State should be the Cowboys’ Big 12 rivals, but those teams have other rivals within the league. The Cowboys have just one game against a Texas team this season, a Nov. 18 matchup at Houston.

When asked about the topic, Yormark said he would defer that discussion to Scott Draper, the Big 12’s vice president and football lead.

“ADs and the conference are very collaborative,” Yormark said. “No decision gets made without vetting it out with our ADs and having that transparency. So certainly something we’ll consider, and we’ll do it with our ADs.”