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IRVING, Texas — Big 12 schools will share a record $470 million in revenue sharing, the conference announced Friday as it concludes its first spring meetings as a 14-team league and before being expanded by two more universities.
With the addition of four schools joining the league for the 2023-24 academic year, 10 full-share members will receive less than last year, commissioner Brett Yormark said, making the conference more relevant than ever. .
“We went with stability as a conference and we felt it was investing in all the right ways and for all the right reasons,” Yormark said. “Obviously it was right for this conference because we think about where we’re going.”
First-year members BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF will each receive a partial share of about $18 million. About $398 million could be split between the league’s 10 other schools, including Oklahoma and Texas, before moving to the Southeastern Conference this summer.
About $440 million was distributed last year.
The Big 12 will grow to 16 teams and will officially join Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah from the Pac-12 on August 1. While four incoming schools participated in this week’s meet, Oklahoma and Texas did not.
Yormark said the increase came as a result of larger College Football Playoff and bowl revenues, increased ticket revenue across all conference championships and a streamlining of sponsorships to be run directly by the conference rather than using outside teams.
According to tax filings released last week, the five power conferences generated $3.55 billion in the 2022-23 fiscal year, with the Big Ten reporting $879.9 million in revenue compared to $852.6 million for the SEC. The ACC saw the most significant increase, going from $617 million to $707 million in 2021-22.
The Pac-12, which will see 10 of its 12 members spread to other conferences in 2024-25, earned $603.9 million. The Big 12 was fifth at $510.7 million, which was before distribution when it was still a 10-member league.
Like other leagues, the Big 12 is gearing up for big changes following news of a landmark $2.8 billion settlement that will transform the way athletes are compensated. Power conferences last week agreed to settle a number of antitrust claims that could begin steering athletes directly into millions of dollars starting with the 2025 fall semester.
“I think we ended up in a fair and reasonable place,” Yormark said. “Obviously, it’s going to be a changing landscape. But I also see opportunities in that changing landscape, and the work really begins now. There’s a lot of work to be done. I see it as a bit of a reset for our industry. And we’re ready for it, I, the board, we’re pretty I have been discussing for some time.
Two summers after he became Big 12 commissioner, Earmark was an executive at Jay-Z’s Roc Nation and the former CEO of the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets. He spent nearly 15 years with the Nets, overseeing the club’s relocation from New Jersey and construction of the Barclays Center, and was previously with NASCAR, where he oversaw a $750 million deal with Nextel Communications for naming rights to the circuit’s top racing series.
“Since I took this job, you know, I’ve said from day one, I’ve been open for business. And I guess you could say we’re more open for business now than ever,” Yormark said. “When I think about my background, I definitely believe that collegiate athletics is moving, closer to where I came from than where we are today.”
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