The Big 12 beat the Pac-12 to the punch in the realm of media rights. It raises a lot of questions. One of them is if the Big 12 might be able to pull off a coup and grab San Diego State before the Pac-12 can spring into action.
At the Wilner Hotline, Jon Wilner had plenty to say about the Big 12’s deal, arranged by commissioner Brett Yormark:
“We should add that the renewal gives Yormark leverage from which he can pursue schools outside the Power Five, including San Diego State, Fresno State and, perhaps, Gonzaga.
“But the early renewal strategy wasn’t rooted entirely in revenue. Security for the Big 12 in post-Texas/Oklahoma era also played a central role, and the early renewal deal provides just that for a conference that has experienced so much tumult over the past 12 years.
“Assuming they sign the agreement, Brigham Young, Houston, Cincinnati and UCF are now bound to the conference until 2031. They are off the market for the Pac-12.
“And if you think members of that quartet weren’t quietly keeping their options open — at least until the Big 12 provided them with contractual security beyond 2025 — your head is buried in the windswept dirt of the Southern Plains. Yormark has smartly locked everyone down into the next decade.”
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