Big 12 Commish Sees BYU-Utah Among ‘Critical’ League Rivalries
Jul 9, 2024, 1:45 PM | Updated: 2:08 pm
BYU and Utah football helmets from Big 12 media days 2024 (Kyle Ireland, KSL Sports)
(Kyle Ireland, KSL Sports)
LAS VEGAS, Nevada – The 2024 football season got underway with Big 12 media days from Allegiant Stadium.
Kicking off the two-day event was Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark with a keynote address.
Yormark touched on various topics like increasing revenue, exploring new TV windows, and strengthing the best basketball conference, amongst 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 mentioned that conference rivalries are “critically important” in this 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,” said Yormark.
“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
Rivalry week will be different in the Big 12 going forward. No longer will all rivalry games be played at the end of the regular season.
Instead, they’ll be sprinkled throughout the season.
It’s a brilliant move by Yormark and the conference. No Big 12 rivalry game can compete against Ohio State vs Michigan when it comes to TV eyeballs.
The same can be said for other rivalry games in the SEC like Alabama vs Auburn.
However, moving the games to different weeks allows for those games to take on a bigger stage and audience.
Avoiding historic rivalry matchups also allows for a greater TV window depending on how the season progresses.
Regardless of what happens with these teams in 2024, Yormark is bullish on the future: “I think it’s safe to say we are more relevant now than ever before,” added 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.
You can hear Matt Baiamonte every Saturday on KSL Newsradio for Cougar Sports Saturday from 12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. or you can find him on Twitter @baiamontematt here.
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