https://www.heartlandcollegesports.com/2023/03/03/brett-yormark-deep-in-discussion-with-gonzaga-on-big-12-move-report/

Yourmark has stated that basketball is very undervalued.. Gonzaga would be for when the next TV contract comes up for negotiation.

I think it would be nice. Zags for bball only certainly doesn't weaken the conference, and prevents other conferences from picking them up. In the Big 12 they would also attract a top coach when Few leaves. I don't see that as a valid criticism.

Stefano DiMera said:

---

Yourmark has stated that basketball is very undervalued.. Gonzaga would be for when the next TV contract comes up for negotiation.

---

I get that…. Kind of. Isn't it the networks that decide these values?

Any conference can think they are owed a huge deal, it will only be seen when these media contracts are actually executed. It worries me to bring in Gonzaga.

Don't really see what they bring big picture wise, other than another way to long of a road trip.

I mean..he's pretty plugged in so he probably has an idea...and like I said he thinks basketball as a WHOLE is undervalued TV money wise..so if it doesn't affect us negatively money wise might as well add the biggest brand available now.

Smart move to hedge his bets. No one knows how the football contract is going to perform. It's a collection of regional teams of which not a lot of people nationally are interested in. With the additions of UCLA/USC to B1G and OU/UT to SEC, it only makes those conferences even more dominant in terms of national eyes and interest.

Although football is obviously more valuable in most instances, Big 12 has a valuable asset in terms of basketball that may be something Yormark can use to pull out a few more dollars in the next contract in 2030, as Stefano pointed out.

Basketball is undervalued.....says the basketball guy.

Giant payouts are based on football (see also B1G and SEC). Basketball is valuable but an also ran.

I'm mostly happy with where we've positioned ourselves, but the reality is everyone not the B1G or SEC is about to become a second rate football league.

I like that we are exploring the option of a college basketball super league. It's worth a look.

historian said:

---

https://www.heartlandcollegesports.com/2023/03/03/brett-yormark-deep-in-discussion-with-gonzaga-on-big-12-move-report/

---

Yick, the last thing we need is a non football power.

Isn't March Madness the most lucrative college sporting event every year? Maybe that's part of the calculations.

Quote:

---

Isn't March Madness the most lucrative college sporting event every year?

---

It is very lucrative. But lots of the money (half, or more I'ver heard but don't know, but if someone else does I'd like to hear what you know) belongs to the NCAA not the schools. They use it to fund things like the D3 men's Lacrosse tournament, the FCS tournament etc. So, to get at that money you have to break the NCAA. If you do that then the SEC and B1G could take their leagues and only play with each other. A 32 team league (maybe they'd add a few, take to 40, 4 divisions of 10) that play football and basketball with their own championships. The networks would pay for that and leave everyone else out. I think that's where this is going.

The men’s college basketball regular season is the most-watched on ESPN platforms in four years

🏀 ESPN’s 15 Sonic Blockbusters averaged 1.7M viewers
🏀 ESPN networks delivered 57 games of at least 1M viewers (vs. 46 a year ago)

More: https://t.co/lUgxeh2vHz pic.twitter.com/sKySMINKJ6

— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) March 8, 2023

THIS is why Yormark is kicking the tires with Gonzaga and potentially others. No one is fooling anyone. College basketball is never gonna bring the revenue of College Football, but there IS a value to ESPN, Fox and others.
He and the existing Big 12 leaders just have to decide if that future value is sufficient to warrant the addition of someone like Gonzaga.

Bring in strong basketball schools, like Houston. Or Arizona. I like it. But they need to play FBS football too, or they will be a drag on the conference and cause problems later on. If the Big East is the template for BY, then he needs to look at how it ended as well as how it began.