Big 12 commissioner needed a school for Mexico game: Here’s why he picked KU Jayhawks

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark isn’t afraid to innovate.

His latest innovation is a project called Big 12 Mexico — where the conference will play different sporting events south of the border.

First, the Kansas Jayhawks men’s and women’s basketball teams will play Big 12 newcomer Houston in regular-season games in Mexico City at Arena CDMX in December 2024. Later on, it’ll expand to sports such as soccer and baseball.

These games will not count in the conference standings but will serve to showcase the Big 12 programs.

Yormark started as commissioner in August, but he’s been clear about wanting to expand the Big 12’s brand since his first day.

His vision? A global Big 12.

As a former CEO of Brooklyn Sports Entertainment with the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets, Yormark believes there’s value of playing sports in Mexico; the Nets hosted two “home” games in Mexico City at Arena Ciudad de Mexico in 2017.

He saw firsthand the NBA’s success in Mexico and was determined to do that with the Big 12.

After the conference’s athletic directors and coaches were on board with games in Mexico, Yormark pondered which schools would be right to represent the conference globally.

The first Big 12 school that came to mind? None other than college basketball’s all-time winningest program, the Kansas Jayhawks.

“They came to Kansas and asked us (to go, representing the Big 12) as what we believe to be the leader in basketball,” KU athletic director Travis Goff said on Thursday. “We enthusiastically agreed to provide that. Houston makes a lot of great sense as a new member and an outstanding basketball brand as well.”

For Yormark, picking the Jayhawks was a no-brainer.

“I think it’s fantastic,” Yormark said. “It’s the ideal scenario for us. You only have one chance to launch a brand in Mexico City, and doing it with Kansas is incredible for us.

“I’m just thrilled that both schools and both the men’s and women’s coaches have been very eager about this opportunity. Obviously, our goal is to play there annually. So this will be the first of hopefully some very major moments for not only our basketball brands, but for what we do in Mexico.”

Goff has spoken about wanting KU to become one of the leaders of the Big 12, especially with the impending departure of Texas and Oklahoma.

Making KU a global brand is a significant way of doing that, so that’s where Mexico comes in for Kansas.

“I think any of the institutions can see the need to not just help expand the Big 12 brand, but really each institutional brand,” Goff said. “We know the world has gotten smaller and smaller all the time. We know both the market of Mexico itself (and), more broadly, the Hispanic populations in general. When we think about every state in the U.S., certainly Texas, Oklahoma and of course in Kansas, we think there’s a student recruitment opportunity.

“The sport of basketball resonates at a really high level. There are millions upon millions of basketball fans in that country and in Mexico City.”

Goff also said the experience of going to Mexico would be valuable for KU’s student-athletes, as well as playing at a “world-class arena.”

In this age of conference realignment — where every big game could be viewed as an audition to convince other schools to join the Big 12 — Yormark needed a school to represent the brand globally.

Kansas stepped up and answered the call.

“It’s a natural opportunity for us, just given the geographic footprint of the Big 12,” Yormark said. “We are so excited that Kansas has raised (its) hand. I think it’s going to be a special moment for us.”