Garth Brooks Highlights Big 12’s Newly Formed Business Advisory Board

SALT LAKE CITY – BYU will soon be in a Big 12 Conference that includes Garth Brooks. So you could say BYU now has friends in high places with that sort of partnership.

Brooks, the country music superstar, is one of 37 people who makes up the Big 12’s new Business Advisory Board. Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark formed the Business Advisory Board.

Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark today announced the formation of a Business Advisory Board to collaborate and help co-author the Conference’s business strategy.

📰 https://t.co/BkoROc7O44 pic.twitter.com/shjMrX4I6s

— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) November 14, 2022

Garth Brooks is part of 37-person Business Advisory Board for Big 12

What’s the mission of this newly formed Business Advisory Board? “To collaborate and help co-author the Conference’s business strategy,” the conference said in a press release.

“The Business Advisory Board will play a crucial role in creating the blueprint to growing our brand and business,” said Yormark. “I appreciate each board member’s willingness to assist the Big 12 in crafting our business strategy. Every member brings a wealth of expertise and experience to the table, and I look forward to working with the entire board.”

Yormark lined up a board of advisors that ranges from Brooks, NBA head coach Jason Kidd, VaynerX CEO Gary Vaynerchuk, along with EVPs and CEOs of prestigious companies.

From the moment Yormark was hired, he has made it clear that the Big 12 was “open for business.” He would not leave any stone unturned that could drive value for his conference. Along those same lines, hiring this advisory board with a few celebrities with business backgrounds could also make the conference more contemporary, another goal of Yormark’s.

Yormark has hinted in interviews that his league will have “tentpole events” to drive league revenue. Anyone up for a Garth Brooks concert at a Big 12 football or basketball event? I’m just sayin’.

BYU and UCF, Cincinnati, and Houston join the Big 12 on July 1, 2023. In addition, it has been reported that Yormark secured a media rights extension with ESPN and FOX that will be worth $31.5 million per school after Texas and Oklahoma leave for the SEC, which is more than the current 10-team Big 12 members make in media rights.

Big 12 Business Advisory Board Members

• Spencer Armour: Partner – Geneses Investments
• John Barrett: Chairman, President and CEO – Western & Southern Financial Group
• Steve Bergstrom: Chairman – Williams Company
• Elizabeth Brady: EVP, Chief Marketing, Customer & Communications Officer – Allstate
• Karen Brodkin: EVP, Content Strategy & Development – ENDEAVOR, Co-Head – WME Sports
• Garth Brooks: Singer / Songwriter / Musician
• Stuart Bryan: Global Partnerships & Corporate Communications Lead – NBA
• Fraser Bullock: Partner – Sorenson Capital
• Lawrence Chu: Vice Chairman – Jefferies LLC.
• Adam Dettman: Head of Partnerships – North America, Molson Coors Beverage Company
• Jim Donald: Co-Chairman – Albertsons
• Mark Dowley: COO – RedBird Capital Partners
• Paul Foster: President – Franklin Mountain Investments
• Elliott Hill: Retired – Nike, Founder – Open Road Capital
• Jason Kidd: Head Coach – Dallas Mavericks
• Charlene Lake: SVP, Corp. Responsibility & Chief Sustainability Officer – AT&T
• Ross Levinsohn: Chairman and CEO – The Arena Group and Sports Illustrated
• Monte Lipman: Founder and CEO – Republic Records
• Joseph McFarland: EVP of Stores – Lowes
• Jenny McGhee: Senior Director of Competition – Big 12, former NCAA student-athlete
• Jarrod Moses: Founder, CEO & President – United Entertainment Group
• Nicholas Perkins: CEO – Fuddruckers
• Petra Pope: Entertainment & Creative Director – NBA and NFL organizations
• George Pyne: Founder & CEO – Bruin Capital
• Mike Repole: Serial Entrepreneur – Driven Capital Management
• Wayne Richards: President & CEO – GR Energy Services
• Ryan Schinman: Co-Founder – Mayflower Entertainment
• Elizabeth Schartz: Partner- Holland & Knight LLP
• Dayna Scherf: Vice President of Competition – Big 12, former NCAA student-athlete
• Mark Shapiro: President – Endeavor
• Keith Sheldon: President of Entertainment for Hard Rock International – Seminole Gaming and Seminole Hard Rock Support Services
• Stacy Sonnenberg: Managing Director & Co-Head of PSI’s Global Sports Finance Franchise – Goldman Sachs
• Steve Stoute: Founder and CEO – Translation / UnitedMasters Inc.
• Gary Vaynerchuk: CEO – VaynerMedia, Chairman – VaynerX
• Ben Weiss: Founder & Former CEO – BAI, Founder and Chairman – Crook & Marker
• Dustin R. Womble: Chairman – Masked Rider Capital
• Nick Woodhouse: President & CMO – Authentic Brands Group

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him as BYU transitions to the Big 12 Conference on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.

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