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The first College Football Playoff rankings will be released next Tuesday, and the Big 12 is seeking multiple bids for the first time in conference history. The conference is just 1–9 all-time in the Playoff era, the lone win being TCU over Michigan in the 2022 Fiesta Bowl, and is the only Power 4 conference to never receive multiple bids in one year.
However, the league has positioned itself well ahead of this weekend’s slate and next Tuesday’s rankings. This week’s AP Top 25 Poll featured six Big 12 teams, the most since 2012. Three Big 12 teams are in the top 15: Utah (No. 6), BYU (No. 8) and Texas Tech (No. 13). The number of legitimate playoff contenders at this point in the season makes the goal for multiple bids feel tangible.
“Having multiple teams in the CFP would validate the investments our schools are making and reinforce the depth and strength of football in the Big 12,” outgoing Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark tells Front Office Sports.
On Friday, the Big 12 announced Yormark is stepping down, effective Jan. 31, 2027. Under his leadership, the conference has seen significant financial growth, including a sponsorship deal with Monster Energy. The Big 12 has also brought in private equity investments at both the conference and individual level.
“It would be significant but deserved,” Yormark says of the possibility of more than one team earning a bid. “We have multiple teams that have put themselves in position to compete for the College Football Playoff, and now they have to finish. I’ve been very clear with our schools: if we want to grow Big 12 Football and strengthen our position, we need to win nationally.”
Big Weekend Ahead
The Big 12 suffered two big upsets last weekend: BYU, formerly No. 2, falling 39–31 in double overtime at Central Florida, and Texas Tech, formerly No. 8, losing on the road to Cincinnati by a 37–24 margin.
Texas Tech hosting No. 22 Arizona is the conference’s marquee matchup this weekend with five of the six ranked teams in action: BYU hosting Arizona State, No. 24 Oklahoma State at Iowa State, and Utah at Cincinnati. With one more weekend to make an impression on the committee, Yormark hopes the committee perceives the league as strong throughout.
The Big 12’s ranked teams hold a combined 27–5 record. Four teams—BYU, UCF, Utah, Cincinnati—have at least one win over an AP Top 15 team (at the time of kickoff), tied with the Big Ten for second-most nationally and trails only the SEC (9).
“I want the committee to evaluate the totality of the résumé and recognize the strength and depth of our league,” Yorkmark says. “When good teams play other good teams, somebody is going to lose. That shouldn’t diminish the strength of the conference or the quality of those teams. We have multiple CFP-caliber teams and their résumés should be evaluated accordingly.”
What’s at Stake With Multiple Bids?
There have been eight instances where a conference secured multiple bids since the playoffs began in 2014: four years for the SEC (2017, 2021, 2024, 2025); three for the Big Ten (2022, 2024, 2025); and one for the ACC (2024). The number of teams a conference sends to the playoffs has major financial implications.
Last season, there was at least $116 million in CFP prize payouts up for grabs for conferences, depending on how far their schools went. The payouts are as follows:
- Making the CFP: $4 million (12 teams)
- Advancing to the quarterfinals: $4 million (8 teams)
- Advancing to the semifinals: $6 million (4 teams)
- Advancing to the title game: $6 million (2 teams)
Beginning this season, each individual school in the Playoff will receive $3.18 million (up from $3 million last year) per round to cover expenses such as travel, lodging, and meals for players, coaches, and support staff, including marching bands, cheerleaders, and administration, as well as logistics costs such as equipment shipping or security.
Since 2024, when the 12-team format was introduced, the Big Ten leads all conferences in performance-based revenue distribution payments, receiving $82 million to date. Second is the SEC with $64 million.
The ACC has received $22 million so far, followed by the Big 12 with $16 million. The Mountain West and American conferences have received $8 million each, and the Sun Belt has received $4 million. Notre Dame got $20 million in 2024 alone by reaching the CFP national championship game, which the school did not have to split with other schools because it doesn’t belong to a football conference.
Final Rankings and Yormark’s Legacy
The Big 12’s eventual placement in the final rankings will be measured against the league’s investment in football under Yorkmark’s leadership. He became commissioner in August 2022, one year after Oklahoma and Texas announced intent to leave the conference for the SEC.
In October of that year, the Big 12 signed a six-year, $2.28 billion media rights extension with ESPN and Fox Sports. Under Yormark, the conference added Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah to create the 16-team league it is today. Of those schools, Arizona State was the conference’s lone playoff representative in 2024, and Utah is currently the Big 12’s highest-ranked team nationally.
Yormark stabilized the league at a time of national uncertainty with conference realignment. Ahead of another expected shift in the sport, a multi-bid playoff year would be one last cash infusion into the conference before his departure.
“Our schools have made significant investments in football, and those investments are showing up on the field,” Yormark says. “This is a deep, competitive league with multiple teams competing at the highest levels. We’ve earned the right to have multiple of our teams firmly in the national conversation, and I expect that to continue throughout the remainder of the regular season.”
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