Big 12 Commissioner Sees BYU-Utah as ‘Critical’ League Rivals
The 2024 football season began with Big 12 media days at Allegiant Stadium.
Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark kicked off the two-day event with a keynote presentation.
Yormark spoke on a variety of themes, including raising income, finding new TV windows, and strengthening the greatest basketball conference, among others.
"The Big 12 will always be ambitious because that's who we are.
I know there's a lot of pressure on a lot of people right now, but I will leave you with this: pressure is a privilege."#Big12FB | @totinos pic.twitter.com/ofJmVGrbSZ
— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) July 9, 2024
He also stated that conference rivalries are “critically important” in the new era of Big 12 football.
The BYU-Utah rivalry is a priority in the new Big 12
“We were focused on the rivalries that obviously mean something, not only to the history of the conference but also to our fans,” Yormark told reporters.
“I think we landed in a great spot,” he added.
.@Big12Conference commissioner Brett Yormark says rivalries like @BYUfootball–@Utah_Football are “critically important.”#KSLBig12 #Big12 #GoCougs #GoUtes pic.twitter.com/bflj9zNHfm
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) July 9, 2024
The Big 12’s rivalry week will look different in the future. No longer will all rivalry games take place at the end of the regular season.
Instead, they will be distributed over the season.
Yormark and the conference pulled off a superb move. In terms of television viewership, no Big 12 rivalry game can match Ohio State vs Michigan.
The same may be stated about other SEC rivalry games, such as Alabama against Auburn.
Moving the games to separate weeks, on the other hand, allows them to take center stage and attract a larger audience.
Avoiding historic rivalry matchups also opens up a larger TV window, depending on how the season progresses.
Regardless matter what happens with these clubs in 2024, Yormark remains optimistic about the future: “I think it’s safe to say we are more relevant now than ever before,” mentioned Yormark.
Notable Big 12 Rivalry Games
BYU at Utah – November 9th, 2024.
Taking it all in. #GoUtes pic.twitter.com/XSrlQoI0kc
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) July 9, 2024
- Arizona State at Arizona
- November 3oth, 2024
- TCU at Baylor
- November 2nd, 2024
- Kansas at Kansas State
- October 26th, 2024.
- Texas Tech at Oklahoma State
- November 23rd, 2024.
Matt Baiamonte may be heard every Saturday on KSL Newsradio for Cougar Sports Saturday from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., or follow him on Twitter at @baiamontematt.
