Suffice it to say, the Big 12 presidents are very happy with the leadership of Brett Yormark.

The Big 12 commissioner received an extension from the league’s presidents, which will keep him running the league through 2030. Under the leadership of Brett Yormark, the Big 12 has gone through substantial change, expanding to 16 members for this season.

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It’s a ringing endorsement for Yormark, who took over what was considered to be a sinking ship. When Texas and Oklahoma decided to move to the SEC, the expectation was that other brands would follow.

Instead, the Big 12 expanded. The league added Cincinnati, Houston, Central Florida and Brigham Young from the mid-major level, and Yormark pulled a major card from the stack by getting Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State and Utah to come.

With all that in mind, it’s a good time to take a look and ask, really, how has Brett Yormark done for the Big 12?

Read more: How Has Brett Yormark Done for the Big 12?

The League Is On Stable Footing

In this day and age, this was job one, two, three and probably all the way down to 10. It was easy to see a world where the Pac-12 pulled some of the Big 12’s westernmost schools away and the ACC and Big Ten divvied up the rest.

Brett Yormark stabilized the situation. He also got West Virginia some help.

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Cincinnati’s not really a rival, but West Virginia fans can reach it without too much difficulty. It’s a reasonable 300-mile trip from Morgantown. That’s not as close as Penn State or even Maryland, but it’s not terrible. West Virginia isn’t a geographic outlier in the league anymore.

Central Florida was another boon for a different reason. Orlando’s not close (Lawrence is two miles closer to Morgantown), but it opened up the Florida market for West Virginia. It is much easier to recruit to a state when you can tell recruits that they can play a game or two in front of friends and family. Not only that, but you build relationships in states where you play often.

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More than that, the extra schools brought strength and stability to the league. West Virginia now has a home that has a good TV contract and several strong partners. This is a league that’s built to last.

Yormark Has Kept Basketball Strong

One thing you can say about Brett Yormark: the man cares about men’s basketball. And he should. Basketball doesn’t drive things the way football does, but it’s still a big revenue producer. When schools win in March, they bring respect and money into the league.

Yormark showed basketball mattered by pursuing Connecticut and Gonzaga. Those are two of the strongest basketball brands there are. Granted, that probably wasn’t Yormark’s best decision, as both would have been tough fits in the league. They’re geographic outliers and bring nothing to the table in football (Connecticut is below average at best; Gonzaga doesn’t compete at all).

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But it showed Yormark would make hoops a priority and would think outside the box. That matters. One reason the Pac-12 is diminished is that Tom Hansen was rigid in his thinking. He wanted a 10-team league on the West Coast and to go to the Rose Bowl every year, thank you very much. Larry Scott then followed with poor leadership, and the league fell apart soon after that.

Yormark is a good blend of being willing to swing for the fences and making wise decisions. That’s what this league needs.

Besides that, Yormark has gotten good basketball brands that bring something to the table elsewhere. Arizona is a genuine blue blood and Houston played for the national title last month. The league has a lot of value at all times of the year, something only the SEC can really say.

Yormark Has Work to Do With Football

Football isn’t quite where it needs to be. Part of that is because the league doesn’t have one dominant program. Oklahoma State crashed and bottomed out, Cincinnati and Central Florida couldn’t sustain the success they had as Group of 5’s and Texas and Oklahoma left. That’s hard to rebuild.

The good news is that the league does have some programs on solid footing. Arizona State was brilliant last season. Iowa State and Kansas State seem to be stable. Colorado proved a phenomenon under Deion Sanders. There’s a lot to keep viewers interested.

But there needs to be stronger performances against the other power leagues. The Big 12 has to show it can handle the SEC and the Big Ten. That will take time, but it’s a doable task.

Baseball Is a Mixed Bag

When you add Arizona and the Wildcats take a small step back, there’s not a lot you can do. The Wildcats are a proven power and should be strong again in future seasons.

But the league has depth now. Kansas and Kansas State have become solid baseball programs. West Virginia has clearly shown what life in the Big 12 does for a baseball program. The Mountaineers were barely worth a mention in the Big East, but they’re a national contender now.

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Even Utah is building a new ballpark to get itself up to a Big 12 level in the sport. There’s a lot of progress here. The league’s not on the level of the SEC or ACC, but it’s pretty good. That’s a good thing.

Women’s Sports Are Strong

When you have TCU winning the league and making a name for itself in the NCAA tournament, that says something. The Big 12 has long been an area where women’s sports have thrived, and that has remained the case.

Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas State, Oklahoma State and more have had historically robust women’s programs. As women’s sports continues to thrive, that needs to remain the case. And so far, women’s sports are on a good trajectory in the league.

All of that is a long way to say that overall, Brett Yormark has done his job well. This is a well-earned extension.