New Big 12 commissioner Yormark: Conference 'open for business'

New Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said Wednesday that the conference will continue to strongly explore potential expansion options.

"There's no doubt the Big 12 is open for business," Yormark said at the Big 12's football media days. "We will leave no stone unturned to drive value for the conference. Just as I pledged to the board, we'll be bold and humble, aggressive and thoughtful, and innovative and creative. All in an effort to position the conference in a way that not only grows the Big 12 brand and business but makes us a bit more contemporary."

"Open for business means I'll receive any call from anyone," he added, according to Brett McMurphy of Action Network. "(It's) not just (about) conference realignment but everything we do. It has to create value for all the right reasons."

Yormark joined the Big 12 in June to replace Bob Bowlsby, who spent a decade as the conference's commissioner. Yormark arrived roughly a year after Texas and Oklahoma agreed to leave the Big 12 and join the SEC no later than 2025. The Big 12 has since agreed to add Cincinnati, UCF, Houston, and BYU in 2023.

Yormark said he'll "look for a win-win situation" when asked if he plans to keep Texas and Oklahoma in the Big 12 until 2025 as planned, according to Zac Boyer of the Lawrence Journal-World.

USC and UCLA recently announced that they will leave the Pac-12 for the Big Ten in 2024 in a stunning move that will likely spark more changes across college sports.

It was recently reported that the Big 12 is also interested in adding up to six Pac-12 schools - Arizona, Arizona State, Utah, Colorado, Washington, and Oregon. Yormark didn't confirm the interest but said he's "received a lot of phone calls," according to The Athletic's Max Olson.

"Nothing is imminent," he added.

The 55-year-old says he's excited about what the future holds for his conference.

"There's incredible upside with the Big 12. ... We have a chance to build our brand and business, nationalize our conference in a way that hasn't been done before," Yormark said.

Yormark added he wants to position the Big 12 brand to be "more national, a little younger, hipper, cooler."