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PT Barnum had a new idea. This one refers to college sports. How appropriate, considering college athletics is something of a circus.
Excuse me, it wasn’t Barnum who came up with this brilliant new idea for how to make more money from idiots. It’s Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark.
Sometimes I confuse the two.
The Yormark Big 12 is considering selling the conference’s naming rights in a move that would generate tens of millions in annual revenue, according to multiple reports.
Action Network’s Brett McMurphy reported that the Allstate 12 Conference is a leading candidate for the conference’s new name if a deal is reached with the insurance giant.
This is not surprising. Yormark pushes the boundaries and makes deals that other commissioners wouldn’t make — or at least haven’t made yet.
To wit, Yormark had already created “Big 12 Mexico,” with plans to play Big 12 games across the border in multiple sports, including men’s and women’s basketball and, potentially, football.
Schools are already selling stadium naming rights. Bowl games are sponsored. Corporate sponsor logos are making their way onto college football fields. Sponsored shirt patches could be next. Even some coaching positions generate income through donations. You may know Troy Taylor as the head football coach at Stanford, but technically he is the Director of Football at Bradford M. Freeman.
In college athletics, anything goes to make money.
The SEC and Big Ten have used new media rights deals to further extend their financial lead, while the Big 12 and ACC try to keep up. On a separate front, schools will likely be required to share revenue with athletes starting in 2025, a new annual expense of more than $20 million. These developments have individual schools and conferences evaluating their budgets and lifting stones in search of new sources of revenue.
When you need more money, you tighten your belt or generate new revenue.
When was the last time you remember College Athletics Inc. tightening its belt? Many speculated that the COVID pandemic in 2020 would result in more savings. Then Tennessee offered Jeremy Pruitt a raise and an extension, and Auburn swallowed a $21 million buyout to fire Gus Malzahn, who never had a losing season.
Pinch a penny? Oh. Major Division I athletic departments will not accept this. Better pass the bill.
Selling conference naming rights would hardly be the stupidest idea. And it’s not like the Big 12 is betraying a rich history. The conference grew out of the Big Eight. Four of these Big Eight teams now have a different conference as their home venue. For years, the Big 12 operated with 10 members.
So would the Allstate 12 really be that strange?
This isn’t Barnum’s only million-dollar idea. (Excuse me, Yormark. Here I go again.)
CBS Sports reported that the Big 12 is considering inviting private capital into its coop and selling a 15% to 20% stake in the conference to a Luxembourg-based equity and investment firm.
Ah yes, Luxemburg, a well-known great supporter of American college sports.
Next up: Big 12 Luxembourg, where Barnum advocates the idea of sponsored handball matches played in the Atlantic Ocean.
Blake Toppmeyer is an SEC columnist for the USA TODAY Network. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer. Also, check out his podcast, SEC Football Unfiltered.
