photo by: AP File

Barclays Center Chief Executive Officer Brett Yormark is shown during a press conference at Barclays Center in the Brooklyn borough of New York, Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2016. Yormark, an executive with Jay-Z's Roc Nation and former CEO of the Brooklyn Nets, was named Big 12 commissioner Wednesday, June 29, 2022.

DALLAS — Brett Yormark, an executive with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation and former CEO of the Brooklyn Nets, was named Big 12 commissioner Wednesday, another unconventional hire by a major conference amid the rapidly changing landscape of college athletics.

Yormark is taking over for Bob Bowlsby, who joined the conference a decade ago after stints as athletic director at Stanford, Iowa and Northern Iowa.

The background for Yormark isn’t in college athletics, but could play an interesting role for a conference bracing for challenges in revenue with the impending departures of Oklahoma and Texas while adjusting to athletes cashing in on use of their celebrity.

Yormark, 55, is expected to start Aug. 1, but he will likely make his first public appearance at Big 12 football media days in Arlington, Texas, beginning July 13.

“I’m here to listen, learn, find ways to add value, add resources and try to help shine a light on the importance of college athletics,” Yormark said. “I look forward to leveraging my experience and network alongside our presidents, chancellors and athletic directors to shape the future of the Big 12 brand and emphasize our collective strengths.”

The hiring of Yormark is similar to the Pac-12′s choice for commissioner last year — former MGM Resorts International executive George Kliavkoff, who also had an extensive background in digital media.

“On behalf of Kansas Athletics, I want to welcome new Big 12 commissioner, Brett Yormark, to our conference,” Kansas athletic director Travis Goff said. “This is a crucial time in college athletics and Brett’s experience and background will make him a premier leader among Power 5 conference commissioners. I look forward to working alongside him and my other peers to continue to position the Big 12 among the nation’s leaders year in and year out.”

The biggest issue looming for Yormark is a new media rights deal without the powerful brands of the Sooners and Longhorns in the mix. The multibillion-dollar TV deal with ESPN and Fox Sports expires after the 2024-25 academic year, when Oklahoma and Texas will join the SEC — if they haven’t already moved before then.

Within weeks of OU and Texas accepting invitations from the SEC, the Big 12 expanded by adding BYU, UCF, Cincinnati and Houston. It could be a 14-team conference for two years if the Sooners and Longhorns don’t leave early.

Yormark joined Jay-Z’s marketing agency in 2019 as co-CEO of Roc Nation Unified, which handles licensing and branding. He was promoted to the company’s chief operating officer in January.

Before Roc Nation, Yormark spent almost 15 years with the Nets, overseeing their move from New Jersey and the construction of the Barclays Center. Yormark left the Nets after Joseph Tsai bought controlling interest in 2019.

Yormark, who graduated from Indiana University in 1988, was with NASCAR before the Nets and oversaw the $750 million agreement with Nextel Communications for naming rights to the circuit’s top racing series.

“Brett is one of the most skilled and knowledgeable executives in sports and entertainment,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said. “His decades of operational experience, relentless work ethic and strong industry relationships will be of enormous value to the Big 12, its schools and fans.”

Yormark joins the Big 12 in a period of uncertainty, although not one as dire as when Bowlsby took over. The 70-year-old is retiring but planning to transition into an interim role until his contract expires in 2025.

The conference in 2012 was coming off a two-year period when it lost four schools to three other conferences and at times appeared on the brink of collapse. The Big 12 eventually settled as a 10-team conference with the additions of TCU and West Virginia and secured the lucrative media deal not long after hiring Bowlsby.

The Big 12 enjoyed almost a decade of relative stability before the stunner from Oklahoma and Texas last summer. Now the conference has to battle the perception that the loss of the Sooners and Longhorns has dropped it a notch below the other Power Five conferences.