Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark wants a school in “that fourth time zone” but declined to name names

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark left his expansion plans vague when asked about targeting Pac-12 schools during a podcast conversation earlier this week.

Since taking over the conference last summer, Yormark has made no secret about his desire to grow the Big 12’s footprint and has coast-to-coast aspirations.

“I’m not targeting anyone specifically,” Yormark said Wednesday on “Canzano and Wilner: The Podcast.”

“I’ve been saying it. I’ve been pretty transparent and intentional that we’d like that fourth time zone to create more value for our media partners …

“Would I like to be a national conference in all the different time zones and from a geography standpoint have our Big 12 flag all over the country? One hundred percent. We’ll see where it ends up. It’s a fluid process.”

Because of their geographic proximity to the Big 12, which is based in Texas, the so-called Four Corners schools (Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah) have been the objects of expansion speculation.

Yormark added fuel to the rumors last summer at the Big 12’s football media gala when he pronounced the conference “open for business.”

Since then, his public remarks on the topic have often focused on targeting “the fourth time zone” — not any specific schools.

The Big 12 is rooted in the Central Time Zone but will add two more this summer when UCF and Cincinnati (Eastern) and Brigham Young (Mountain) join the conference.

That leaves the Pacific Time Zone as the only region without a Big 12 flag.

Gonzaga has been rumored as an addition despite not having football. Fresno State and San Diego State are considered potential targets, as well. 

Later in the podcast, Yormark made a vague reference to expansion when asked about his relationship with Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff.

“I look to partner with all of my colleagues in the Power Five as often as I can and when the opportunity exists,” he said.

“But there (are) going to be those moments when we compete. That’s just life. We’re not going after the Pac-12. The Pac-12’s not going after us.

“George and I have a nice relationship. The media has turned it into something different. But from my standpoint, I have a good relationship with all of my colleagues.”