Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark took some very sharp jabs at Steve Sarkisian and Texas prior to the 2023 college football season. The Longhorns got the last laugh on Saturday by winning the conference championship in a blowout.
Following the game, Yormark was forced to present the Big 12 Championship trophy to the head coach during a very awkward moment in Arlington. Texas fans viciously booed him as he spoke and chanted ‘S-E-C’ during his awkward attempt to make amends.
Come on, come on. It’s all good. Alright, guys. I’ll look at that as love.
— Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark
You could hardly even hear what he had to say.
To make matters worse, perhaps because he was rattled by the raucous environment that was entirely against him, Yormark proceeded to butcher Sarkisian’s last name. He wasn’t even close.
The Longhorns are off to the Southeastern Conference and will leave the Big 12 behind. Yormark was salty about the departure and made some bold anti-Texas comments prior to Week 1.
He spoke at a preseason booster meeting in Lubbock and challenged Texas Tech to “take care of business in Austin, like you did here last year.” It was a reference to the Red Raiders’ home win last year.
Obviously, Yormark’s comments did not go over well in Austin. And he looked mighty dumb on Saturday.
The Longhorns won 12 games, won the Big 12 regular season title, and won the Big 12 Championship. Neither Texas Tech, nor anybody else but Oklahoma, “took care of business” as Yormark wished.
Mr. Commissioner, who claims that he does not regret his comments because he “doesn’t look back,” absolutely regretted his comments while boos rained down during the trophy presentation. Brett Yormark was stumbling and bumbling through his entire speech and botched Steve Sarkisian‘s name in pretty brutal fashion.
Texas fans had him so incredibly rattled that he couldn’t pronounce one of the most iconic names in college football. Karma is a fickle mistress!