Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark told Kansas legislators on Monday that states should invest in their public universities because they are economic drivers.

Yormark spoke during meeting of the Joint Committee on Commerce at the Capitol. The meeting was an informational session that touched on recent changes that have changed the face of college athletics, including the player portal and revenue sharing, which involves universities paying athletes directly.

The post Yormark, Linton urge KS legislators to invest in athletics as economic driver for state appeared first on News Radio KMAN.

By Tim Everson

Kansas State is officially declining its bowl bid, athletics director Gene Taylor announced in a statement released Sunday morning.

“Following our recent coaching change and conversations with our player leadership and Commissioner (Brett) Yormark, I determined that we will not accept a bowl invitation on Sunday,” Taylor said in a statement. “This decision was not taken lightly, but with our coaching staff transition and several uncertainties regarding player availability, I felt it was not in our best interest to try to field a team that was not representative of Kansas State University.

The post K-State declines bowl bid as offseason preparations begin appeared first on News Radio KMAN.

Brigham Young University was the overwhelming pick in this week’s Big 12 power rankings ahead of Saturday’s showdown with Texas Tech in Lubbock.

The Cougars received 14 of 16 first-place votes from a panel of media who regularly cover the league, including Mercury sports editor Tim Everson. Texas Tech received the other two first-place votes.

https://themercury.com/k_state_sports/big-12-power-rankings-tech-and-utah-elevate-after-big-wins/article_62033551-dfbc-4a06-8b5e-539cb2596ada.html

Click here for more K-State sports.

The post Big 12 power rankings: Tech and Utah elevate after big wins appeared first on News Radio KMAN.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said Tuesday that he is in favor of expanding the NCAA Tournament and the College Football Playoff, though he remains cautious about exactly how two of college sports’ premier events will look in the future.

NCAA president Charlie Baker recently said that he supported the expansion of March Madness, which has included 68 teams since the 2011 edition. And while different numbers have been floated over the years, it appears that 72 or 76 teams with more “play-in” games could be on deck as soon as the 2027 tournament.

“That’s an NCAA decision,” Yormark said at Big 12’s annual women’s basketball media day, “but from a conference perspective, we’re in favor of modest expansion. Let’s use 76 as a working number — might not be the number, but a working number. But the right economics have to come with it.”

While expansion may not create much much additional revenue for conferences on the front end, since broadcast partners CBS and TNT have deals in place that run through the 2032 tournament, the additional teams would likely come from power leagues, and that could drive viewership and TV ratings for one of the NCAA’s signature events.

Big Ten counterpart Tony Petitti recently said coaches and athletic directors in his league have been “supportive” of expansion.

“I think there’s some momentum,” Yormark said. “We’ll see where it lands.”

The Big 12 commissioner also believes there is momentum for an expanded football playoff, which already has grown from four teams to 12 this past season. Yormark favors moving to 16 teams in a “5+11” model that would provide five automatic bids for the winners of the highest-ranked conferences and 11 at-large bids chosen by a committee.

Other leagues have floated other formats, though, and a subset of stakeholders believe 12 is already the right number.

“I’ve always said you have to earn it on the field. Nothing should be predetermined come the beginning of the season,” Yormark said. “If there was a conversation about a format that gave the power conferences the same number of (automatic qualifiers), I’d be all ears. I want to give our schools a chance each and every year to compete at the highest levels.”

In other news, Yormark said the Big 12 has no interest in private equity investment; the Big Ten recently backed off plans — for now — that would have called for a $2 billion investment in exchange for a 10% stake in its league-wide media rights.

The Big 12 had previously considered an investment from CVC Capital Partners to provide schools long-term financial security.

“It’s incumbent upon all commissioners to look at different options that they can bring back to their boards. Some of those options make sense, some don’t,” Yormark said. “We like where we are right now. That doesn’t mean we’re not exploring different options, but private equity for us doesn’t work. We’re bullish on our future. We’re not giving a stake to anyone. ”

Yormark also said the Big 12 supports the SCORE Act, a bill introduced in July that would preempt state laws regarding name, image and likeness payments that have been allowed since July 2021. Different states have different NIL rules, creating a “wild west” in college sports in which teams and conferences are forced to operate under different sets of rules.

The legislation also calls for schools to provide medical insurance to athletes after they leave school, among other things.

“At its core, the SCORE Act is about protecting the future of college sports for every athlete, every school and every college fan. It creates a national NIL standard,” Yormark said. “It protects a student-athlete’s rights to control their own name, image and likeness with a fair and transparent system. It expands scholarships, medical coverage, mental health resources and academic support. And it ensures student-athletes remain students, not employees.”

The post Big 12’s Yormark backs NCAA Tournament, College Football Playoff expansion appeared first on News Radio KMAN.

Texas Tech was the unanimous pick for the top spot in this week’s Big 12 power rankings.

The Red Raiders received all 16 first-place votes from a panel of media who regularly cover the Big 12, including the Manhattan Mercury’s Tim Everson.

To view the full article visit theMercury.com.

Click here for more K-State sports.

The post Big 12 power rankings: Cincinnati jumps to No. 3 after Iowa State win appeared first on News Radio KMAN.

Your turn, Texas Tech.

On the verge of a top 10 ranking after an impressive road win against Utah, the Red Raiders moved into the top spot in this week’s Big 12 power rankings.

To view the full article visit theMercury.com.

Click here for more K-State sports.

The post Big 12 Power Rankings: Texas Tech rises to the top after win over Utah appeared first on News Radio KMAN.

Mike Gundy, one of college football’s most colorful coaches over the last two decades, has been fired at Oklahoma State, according to multiple media reports.

The 58-year-old Gundy had a career record of 170-90 at his alma mater, where he was a star quarterback in the late 1980s. He posted winning records every season from 2006 to 2023, but had losing records in his final two years.

Oklahoma State did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Gundy arrived as head coach in 2005, and the Oklahoma City native’s charm and sense of humor appealed to fans and recruits and helped the Cowboys compete with better-funded programs. As late billionaire T. Boone Pickens poured millions into the program, Gundy turned Oklahoma State into an unlikely powerhouse that often affected the national championship race. The Cowboys won the Big 12 in 2011 and played in the Big 12 title game in 2021 and 2023.

But the Cowboys couldn’t keep up as college football changed. The transfer portal and NIL made it more difficult for a coach who made his name mining diamonds in the rough. Gundy lost 11 of his final 12 games with the program. In his final two seasons, he emerged as a refreshingly open and honest voice about the changes in the sport.

For all his positives, Gundy came with quirks. He is known as much for his “I’m a man, I’m 40” rant that he made defending a player — a diatribe that remains a part of pop culture through a Consumer Cellular commercial — as for his success.

In 2020, he apologized for calling COVID-19 the “Chinese Virus, ” and again months later after he wore a T-shirt featuring the far-right One America News Network that created a disagreement with running back Chuba Hubbard.

All those things were forgiven as the team won. But the Cowboys lost their last nine games last season, the final defeat a 52-0 blowout at Colorado.

This season, Oklahoma State struggled out of the gate against FCS program Tennessee-Martin, winning 27-7 but raising eyebrows with its struggles after quarterback Hauss Hejny went down with a broken foot in the first quarter.

The next week, the Cowboys lost at Oregon 69-3. Ducks coach Dan Lanning said Gundy got his team fired up by talking about how much money Oregon had at its disposal.

After a bye week, the Cowboys lost at home to Tulsa for the first time since 1951.

On Monday, Gundy said he wanted to stay.

“Ever since I was hired, I’ve put my heart and soul into this, and I’ll continue to do that until I don’t want to do it anymore, or until someone else says we don’t want you to do it,” he said.

Oklahoma State hosts Baylor on Saturday.

The post Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy has been fired appeared first on News Radio KMAN.

IRVING, Texas (Big 12) – Beginning with the 2025-26 season, the Big 12 Conference will publicly provide player availability reports for all Conference games in football, men’s basketball, and women’s basketball. Approved by all member institutions, the policy will include updates in the days leading up to each game, as well as a final report 90 minutes prior to kickoff or tip-off.

Big 12 football programs will be required to submit daily reports beginning three days before each game. Men’s and women’s basketball teams will update their availability reports the night before each contest.

All reports will be housed exclusively at Big12Sports.com. For football, student-athletes must be designated as available, probable, questionable, doubtful, or out. Basketball designations will include available, game-time decision, or out.

The post Big 12 to begin player availability reporting for football and basketball appeared first on News Radio KMAN.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Another college basketball season in the books means another offseason to reset, recruit and reassess the growing needs of the game.

Following a yearlong experiment with a 20-game conference schedule, the Big 12 announced its intention to return to 18 games for the upcoming season.

Vice President of Big 12 Men’s Basketball Brian Thornton said Wednesday there were multiple reasons for the change.

“The schedule got very compressed and when you’re planning in a league as challenging as ours, understandably our coaches wanted a little bit of an opportunity during the course of conference play to take a deep breath, and going to 18 games allows that,” Thornton told The Associated Press at the Big 12 spring meetings. “It allows us to have a built-in bye, and it’s something that we feel is important for the time being.”

The transition to 18 games accommodates the requests of college coaches after complaints during the season. But the reason behind the shift goes beyond rest time and injury prevention.

“We want to maximize bids, we want to maximize seeds,” Thornton said. “The nonconference schedule is a huge component of that. We’re moving from 20 conference games to 18 conference games, and so we spent considerable time talking about the importance of replacing those games with quality games that allows our conference to continue to thrive.”

The Atlantic Coast Conference made the same move in early May after earning just four NCAA Tournament bids, its lowest total since 2013.

The Big 12 had seven bids in the tournament, the third-most behind the Big Ten (8) and SEC (14). Houston coach Kelvin Sampson, whose Cougars reached the national championship game, took notice.

“One of the great things but also great challenges of coaching in the Big 12 is that you’ve got to keep up,” Sampson said. “It’s competitive, you know. The SEC got 14 teams in the NCAA Tournament this year, we only had seven.”

Both the ACC and Big 12 hope the increased strength of schedule and strategic nonconference games lead to higher seeding, increased bids and more national attention.

“What our conference does during the nonconference schedule is really what sets the stage for how strong our conference is going to be overall,” Thornton said. “The ball games that we schedule, the success that we have during that time, will set the stage for if we’re viewed as the No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 conference in the country as we go down the stretch and head into March Madness.”

The post Big 12 men’s basketball decision to drop to 18 conference games goes beyond injury prevention appeared first on News Radio KMAN.

(ESPN) – A Utah woman has alleged that BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff raped, strangled and bit her, and that she was encouraged by Provo police not to do anything after reporting it, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Utah state court.

The woman, identified in the lawsuit as Jane Doe A.G., alleges the assault took place at Retzlaff’s home in November 2023.

“A year and half after the rape and strangulation, Jane Doe A.G. continues to experience extreme post-traumatic stress disorder and other trauma symptoms as she works to process what happened and move on,” the lawsuit states.

Retzlaff’s attorney, Mark Baute, said in a statement that his client is “factually innocent.”

“We look forward to proving that innocence,” Baute said. “Jake’s focus this year will be on football. We don’t try cases in the media, we will respect the process and establish Jake’s innocence through the judicial system.”

Email and phone calls to a spokesperson for the BYU athletic department and the Provo Police Department seeking comment were not immediately returned.

The lawsuit says the woman and Retzlaff connected through social media in October 2023 and messaged for a few weeks before he invited her to his place on or around Nov. 22. The woman and a friend arrived at Retzlaff’s home that night, where friends and teammates of Retzlaff were also present.

Later that evening, the woman’s friend left, after which Retzlaff and the woman started watching a movie, the lawsuit states.

“At some point they began to kiss, but Jane Doe A.G. did not want to do anything more,” the lawsuit states. “Retzlaff began escalating the situation … and Jane Doe A.G. tried to de-escalate the situation and attempted to slow things down, trying to pull away, and saying ‘wait.’ She did not want to do anything sexual with him.”

The lawsuit says the woman told Retlaff “no” and “wait, stop,” but he continued to force himself on her. After she tried to get up out of the bed, the lawsuit alleges, in graphic detail, that Retzlaff put his hands around her neck and proceeded to rape her.

“It hurt so bad and caused so much pain that Jane Doe A.G. passed out,” the lawsuit states. “Jane Doe A.G. remembers tears rolling down her face as she fought to breathe.”

The woman visited the hospital a few days later, where a rape kit was performed and pictures of her injuries were taken. The lawsuit says she was connected with Provo police but did not initially share Retzlaff’s name.

“At some point after speaking to the police, an officer reached out to her asking for the name because someone else filed a complaint against a football player and the police wanted to see if it was the same person,” the lawsuit said. “At that point Jane Doe A.G. shared Retzlaff’s name, and the Provo police then encouraged her not to do anything because, as they claimed, ‘sexual assault victims never get justice.’”

Retzlaff made four starts for BYU in November 2023, and he took over as the program’s starting quarterback for the 2024 season, serving as co-captain. He transferred to BYU from Riverside City College in Southern California.

The post Woman sues BYU QB Jake Retzlaff, alleging rape, strangulation appeared first on News Radio KMAN.