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The Big 12’s Trust in an Outsider Is the Latest Sign of a New NCAA Landscape

On Yormark, get set …

Wait, really? The remodeled Big 12 Conference is running toward an uncertain future with a new commissioner few people in college athletics had even heard of before Monday night?

Yes, really. Brett Yormark, the 55-year-old chief operating officer from Jay-Z’s talent agency, Roc Nation, is the latest unconventional choice to lead a Power 5 conference. He replaces the ultimate college sports insider/lifer in Bob Bowlsby. He follows George Kliavkoff, who last year took over the Pac-12 after being president of entertainment and sports for MGM Resorts. And Kliavkoff followed Kevin Warren, who became the Big Ten commish after working as the COO of the Minnesota Vikings.