Brett Yormark, commissioner of US college sports’ Big 12 Conference, has said that the 2026 Union Jack Classic, the NCAA’s first-ever game in London, UK, will go ahead with the full support of the league’s commercial sponsors and media partners.
Speaking to Sportcal (GlobalData Sport) in London today, Yormark explained the Big 12’s commercial backers are supportive of the project.
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“Our TV partners love it,” he said, referencing the fact that the 2025 Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Dublin, Ireland that featured another Big 12 matchup.
“We had a conference game in Dublin in August that was highly rated back in the US. It wasn't a city, but a country embracing college football and the pageantry that we know every Saturday unfolded in Dublin, and we expect the same here.
On the opinions of the division’s partners, he continued: “They're very bullish on it. And then our commercial partners, many of which are global, like that opportunity too, so they can extend their partnership with us as we break some boundaries and go to new markets. Commercial partners like it, media partners have embraced it, so we're excited.”
Back in 2023 Big 12 extended its media rights deals with major national broadcasters ESPN and Fox through the 2030-31 campaign.
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By GlobalDataThough it is an NCAA initiative, the inaugural Union Jack Classic fixture will be a Big 12 divisional game between the University of Kansas Jayhawks face the Arizona State University Sun Devils, and will be staged at London’s 90,000-capacity Wembley Stadium. Yormark has already opened the door to further returns in the future.
“We don't want this just to be a one-shot deal,” he stated emphatically. “We'd like to build equity here, no different than what the [Jacksonville] Jaguars do. And if the opportunity is [there] to continuously come back to Wembley and engage fans and show them our brand of college football, we're going to want to do that. So we look at this as the first step in many steps that we want to take in this market.”
While the game will be the first college football event to take place at Wembley, the stadium is no stranger to American football, having hosted National Football League (NFL) games since 2007.
Yormark, for his part, was adamant that the NFL international games have paved the way for the Union Jack Classic, saying: “In some respects, we're drafting behind the NFL. I mean, they've been here since 2007, they've paved the way, if you will.
“There are 17 million American football fans here who highly engage, whether they're attending games, watching it on TV, or buying merchandise. So, obviously, that's the core audience for us to tap into.
“I think there's a lot of crossover with the rugby fan. I think rugby is like football without the pads, but the core audience is that 17 million, and [the NFL has] done a great job. And I think the time is right for us to follow in their footsteps and come to a market like England.”
Yormark also reveals that, since he took charge of the conference in 2022, globalization has always been the aim, saying, “We think we can win globally. There are short-term and long-term goals that go with it.
“Short term is obviously the cultural experience for our student athletes to come and see a new country. [Then] there are the recruitment opportunities, [as] many of our student athletes come from England on the Olympic sport side.
“And then, just as importantly, the global profile of our conference. That's critically important as we put our flag here long term. It's how do we monetize our international TV rights and develop a following in major European countries? England being one.”
In the UK, college football rights are held by OTT service DAZN as part of the streamer’s international sub-licensing deal with US media giant ESPN.
This includes around 25 college football games a week across the regular season from ‘power four’ conferences, including the Big 12, as well as the likes of the ACC and the SEC.
“We encourage [sub-licensing deals] for all the right reasons,” Yormark opined on that. “We want our brand to go global, we want our game to go global, and DAZN has done a nice job to consummate a partnership that can do that for us.”
The last few years of NCAA college football have been dogged by school realignment, with the Big 12, for one, expanding to 16 teams, half of which have joined since 2023.
Now, though, in the aftermath of that major shift, Yormark claims that the conference is entering a period of stability, one that has allowed its internationalization goals to come to the fore.
“I think we're at a point now where it’s very stable. When you think about realignment, I don't think anyone's thinking about future expansion. We're 16 strong. We're in 10 states. We’re in four time zones. We’re truly a national conference, and I love our composition and makeup right now.
“The question for me is, how do I continue to integrate the new schools so that we can be the best version of ourselves? And the opportunity to come here to England is an opportunity for us to showcase the new makeup of the Big 12.
“We're in a growth mode right now, and going international is certainly a part of that growth strategy for us.”
