Texas Tech and Big 12 fans rejoice in the news of Brett Yormark's resignation

Friday, fans around the nation learned that Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark will be stepping down effective January 31, 2027. It brings an end to one of the more hotly debated comissionerships in conference history.

Yormark took over the reins of the conference at a shaky time. Back in August of 2022, when he arrived on the scene, Texas and Oklahoma had announced they were headed to the S.E.C., leaving the Big 12 in a state of flux.

While BYU had already been invited to join the league, Yormark was at the helm when the conference added Houston, Cincinnati, UCF, Arizona, Arizona State, Utah, and Colorado. Those additions seemed to stabilize the league, and for that, Yormark must be praised.

Since then, though, he's had a string of odd moves that didn't pan out. His push for a global Big 12 presence never paid many dividends. The league has played some games in Europe, but those contests haven't moved the needle, and his "Big 12 Mexico" initiative died on the vine.

Another outside-the-box strategy he implemented was to try to merge the Big 12 with the world of popular culture. In addition to having Shaquille O'Neal DJ the men's conference basketball tournament, he has tried to bring attention to the Big 12 football championship game by having halftime acts like Nelly, NE-YO, and John Pardi. What's more, he initiated an odd partnership with World Wrestling Entertainment to be part of the football title game, a move that added nothing of substance.

One of his biggest failures was to have a slippery glass LED court installed for the 2026 men's and women's conference basketball tournaments. That idea was such a disaster that the court was replaced with a traditional wood surface in the middle of the men's tournament due to player safety concerns.

What's more, his branding partnership with Monster Energy has been widely panned. Fans hate seeing the league sell its soul and plaster the ugly Monster logo all over uniforms and playing surfaces so that schools get a measly $17 million per year.

Texas Tech fans have plenty of reasons to dislike Yormark

While fans of every school in the league probably had strong opinions about Yormark, perhaps no school in the conference had more clashes with him than Texas Tech. That's why Red Raiders are particularly happy that his time in charge of the Big 12 is coming to an end.

Under Yormark's leadership, Tech had to suspend its beloved tradition of throwing tortillas at home football games. Though the rule was officially put in place to penalize any school when fans throw objects onto the playing surface, everyone could clearly see that the change was aimed primarily at Tech's tortilla toss.

Of course, Yormark and the league refused to stand by Texas Tech during this summer's Brendan Sorsby saga. In fact, the conference was reportedly prepared to sue Texas Tech and take as much action as possible to prevent Sorsby from playing, even though the courts cleared a path for him to be eligible in 2026.

Yormark and Texas Tech mega donor Cody Campbell got crossways in April when it was announced that the Red Raiders' 2026 home game with Houston would be played on a Friday night. Campbell and the Texas Tech leadership believed that Friday nights should be for high school football, especially in West Texas, but Yormark publicly said, "Cody Campbell does not run the Big 12".

Then, there was the odd interaction between Yormark and a reporter at this summer's Big 12 Football Media Days. When asked why Texas Tech fans shouldn't feel singled out by the conference given several instances of what look like double standards, Yormark gave a sarcastic, terse, and evasive response, one that did nothing but further the belief that he was still angry with Texas Tech.

Certainly, Yormark and Texas Tech have had a combative relationship over the past two years. That is why most Red Raider fans are happy to see him walk away.

What's interesting, though, is that many fans of other Big 12 schools feel the same way. That feeling has generated quite a bit of comedy gold on X, where fans went to celebrate Friday's news. Here are some of the best posts that celebrated Yormark's departure.

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