Big 12 Conference to Change Name? Discussions Are Underway

The Big 12 name could become a thing of the past as the league is open to selling naming rights.

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark is one of the most aggressive and innovative commissioners in all of collegiate sports and to keep the conference alive, he has to be.

The SEC and Big Ten are viewed as the "big two" thanks to their mega TV deals and while the Big 12 has done a phenomenal job adding members to the league and stablizing its immediate future, they have to think outside of the box to close the gap on the aforementioned big two.

One route, apparently, is selling the naming rights to the league. It's an odd way to generate revenue, isn't it? It's not something I really saw coming, but leave it to Yormark to find a path to more dollars. Thursday morning, Pete Thamel of ESPN reported that the league would be open to selling the naming rights and just a few hours later, a report surfaced from Brett McMurphy of The Action Network, citing a potential partner.

"The Big 12 Conference and Allstate are in discussions about selling the league's naming rights to the insurance giant, sources told Action Network. Name possibilities for the Big 12 include “The Big Allstate Conference” or the “The Allstate 12 Conference,” sources said. The multi-year deal could earn the league between $30-$50 million annually to be divided among its 16 league members, sources said.

"The Big 12 also is considering a financial company for its naming rights, which would pay the league slightly more than Allstate, sources said. However, the league has been more engaged with Allstate, a source said."

I don't think anyone minds the Big 12 taking this unique approach to generating revenue, however, completely changing the name of the league seems a bit far to me. If it's the Big 12 Conference presented by Allstate or the Allstate Big 12 Conference, sure. Go nuts. Completely overhauling the name to the sponsor just sounds whacky.

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