A confrontation characteristic of West Texas is developing within the Big 12, involving influential Texas Tech supporter Cody Campbell, who serves as the chairman of the university’s board of regents, and the league’s commissioner, Brett Yormark.
Campbell lately shared on X that the gridiron match-up on October 18th featuring the Red Raiders and Houston is anticipated to be broadcast on FOX on a Friday evening. He expressed disapproval of holding the game on a night he described as “sacred” for scholastic football.
“Friday Night Lights are sacred in the Great State of Texas! It is absolutely absurd that the @Big12Conference and @FOXSports would consider scheduling @TexasTechFB and @UHCougarFB on a Friday night (October 18th)!! I know that @brettyormark is not a native Texan, but he’s been here long enough to know better! Come on, man!”
In response, Yormark informed the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal on Wednesday that “Cody Campbell does not run the Big 12.”
Campbell further fueled the disagreement with another social media post early Thursday morning. He pushed back on a contentious issue for Texas Tech devotees: the Big 12’s prohibition of their tortilla-throwing festivities at Jones’ AT&T Stadium. Texas Tech eventually requested fans to cease the practice due to substantial penalties threatened by the conference.
He also reiterated a declaration once captured during a locker room address by head coach Joey McGuire after the Red Raiders defeated Texas in 2022, a phrase that now adorns a wall inside the Texas Tech football facility.
“Apparently Brett didn’t get the memo: EVERYTHING RUNS THROUGH LUBBOCK!!,” Campbell wrote on X. “Maybe we should bring the tortillas back??”
Campbell’s comments did not end there. He subsequently told ESPN that Yormark’s role was not to be “the dictator of the conference.”
“As commissioner, he needs to remember that he works for the Presidents, and the Presidents work for the Boards,” Campbell told ESPN. “He is not the dictator of the conference. That’s not his role. It is his responsibility to advocate for his members in all cases.”
Yormark’s declaration to the newspaper stated that the league’s board and athletic directors had consented to 12 annual games not held on Saturdays to boost Big 12 viewership, and that a Texas Tech match in primetime would achieve this.
Over the last five campaigns, not including the Friday following Thanksgiving, which frequently features collegiate football games, Houston has participated in five Friday night contests, and TCU has played four. Texas Tech has not engaged in a regular season Friday game outside of Black Friday. Last year, the Red Raiders and Iowa State were the sole Big 12 teams not to play on a Friday evening.
“Friday night Big 12 football games outperformed the Conference’s average rating by 64% in 2025,” Yormark said. “All of our schools are treated equally during the TV scheduling process and this game fits within our scheduling parameters. I am thankful that our TV partners provide us with these opportunities.”
Television windows for league matchups have not yet been disclosed, but Campbell communicated to the newspaper that he had learned this game was scheduled for that particular date, though he believes it is now too late to alter it. He conveyed his conviction that it is not in the institution’s — nor the conference’s — paramount interest for Texas Tech to compete on that night, especially after facing Oregon State in Corvallis on the preceding Saturday and enduring a lengthy journey back.
“I think Yormark could have gone to bat for us and didn’t, because, again, he wanted the ratings,” Campbell said. “I think FOX is not concerned about any individual team. I think, again, they also want ratings, so they picked the game that’s going to give them the most viewership for that weekend.”
Campbell has emerged as an outspoken advocate on college athletics, including championing reform in a series of national television advertisements and participating in President Donald Trump’s “Saving College Sports” discussion at the White House on March 6.
A former Texas Tech offensive lineman under Mike Leach, he is a billionaire oil magnate who co-founded the Matador Club, the collective that has invested substantially with the aim of elevating Texas Tech athletics to prominence across all sports. Campbell’s name graces the field at Jones AT&T Stadium on the Texas Tech campus.
Campbell has a son, Carson, who plays for All Saints Episcopal in Worth and is considered one of the leading offensive line recruits for the state in the class of 2029.