Big 12 Looking At Selling Name Of League To Insurance Company
Jun 13, 2024, 2:14 PM | Updated: Jun 14, 2024, 3:19 pm
SALT LAKE CITY—The Big 12 Conference, which will have 16 teams beginning August 1, is exploring ways to generate more revenue.
How about selling the rights to the conference name to a company?
Big 12 Conference named by Allstate?
Action Network’s Brett McMurphy reports that the Big 12 is considering selling the naming rights to insurance company Allstate. If the deal goes through, the price tag would be $30 to $50 million per year.
Big 12 in discussions w/Allstate on a naming rights deal to change league's name, sources told @ActionNetworkHQ. Deal could be worth b/w $30-$50 million annually & name possibilities include Big Allstate Conference or Allstate 12 Conference, sources said https://t.co/Cv22vjhBSx
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) June 13, 2024
McMurphy reports that some of the possible names could be Big Allstate Conference or Allstate 12 Conference.
The deal has not been finalized, but if it happens, it will be the first league college or pro to have a naming rights sponsor attached.
Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark has often called the Big 12 Conference a “startup.” The league was formed in 1996, the youngest among the Power Four conferences. Its membership has changed drastically in its 28 years.
This year will mark a new iteration to the conference with a 16-team look that features newcomers Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah.
“Open for business”
Out of the 16 teams that make up the league, eight members joined in the past two years. The history of the league has altered drastically, so if there’s a conference to sell its league name to a conference, the Big 12 might be the perfect one.
Yormark has consistently used the line “open for business” in his messaging since taking the Commissioner chair in 2022. Adding naming rights to the league would definitely indicate that the league is striking unique business deals.
“Value creation” was a top priority for the 16-team Big 12 at their Spring Business Meetings.#Big12 pic.twitter.com/CoaPX2lBOS
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) May 31, 2024
“Since I took this job, I said from day one, I was open for business. And I guess you could say we’re open for business now more so than ever before,” Yormark said on May 31.
Yormark wants to add “value” to his current membership within those business deals.
“Value creation is the number one initiative and priority,” Yormark said after the Big 12 Spring Business Meetings in Dallas. “And we spoke a lot about that over the last couple of days and myself and my staff, were able to have some meaningful conversations with our key stakeholders on some big ideas and some opportunities that we’re going to vet out in order to create that value.”
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
