Cody Campbell and Brett Yormack are trading blows over the upcoming Big 12 football schedule.
LUBBOCK - West Texas oil billionaire, Texas Tech alum and proud booster Cody Campbell isn't backing down.
Following his Red Raiders' run through the Big 12 and on to the College Football Playoff in 2025, the Chairman of the Texas Tech University System Board of Regents is now calling out the conference's commissioner, Brett Yormark, to disencourage the league from moving a Texas Tech game this season onto a Friday, saying that the final weekday is "sacred" to Texas high school football.
"I heard about it through the (Tech football) staff up here and our administration that it was being discussed," Campbell said to the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.
"They (TV partners) have the draft or whatever, and the conference doesn't want to really acknowledge it, but they do have an ability to influence those decisions. They just chose not to because they were chasing ratings — which I do understand on one hand, but on the other hand, high school football is important in the state of Texas."
The game in question is a Sep. 19 matchup with the Houston Cougars in Week 3 for Tech's conference opener. The Red Raiders play Oregon State in Corvallis, Ore. the week prior, on Saturday, Sep. 12.
"We've got a road game the week before. It's not an ideal situation for us, and ... I think our conference should protect us more than they did."
Yormark came back with an emphatic response that intensifies the growing feud between the conference and its largest athletic brand.
"Cody Campbell does not run the Big 12," Yormark said.
"Our Board and our ADs approved playing 12 games a year off of Saturdays in an effort to raise the profile, narrative, and viewership of Big 12 Football. Texas Tech hosting a primetime game on Friday night delivers that."
"Friday night Big 12 football games outperformed the Conference’s average rating by 64% in 2025," the commissioner added. "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."
The Red Raiders' stout NIL-funded transfer portal class, largely backed by Campbell's efforts, is undoubtedly one of the Big 12's largest draws across the season. Placing them in a primetime Friday spotlight would bring a massive audience, but that's something Campbell understands.
Still, he is pushing the player safety of a shortened week from the West Coast trip early in the season, but Campbell does not hold out hope of the Houston game remaining on a Saturday.
"I think it's done," he said reluctantly, "unless they come back and they figure something else out. I think Yormark could have gone to bat for us and didn't, because, again, he wanted the ratings.
"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 offered one more parting blow to Yormark and his role in coordinating the league's schedule, as well as other operations with its members.
"As commissioner, he needs to remember that he works for the Presidents, and the Presidents work for the Boards," Campbell said, via ESPN's Dave Wilson. "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.”
The Big 12 has not released a formal statement about the matter.
"We'll deal with it," Campbell said. "We'll play on Monday night if we have to, but I don't think it's in the best interest of the kids or our program or even the Big 12 for us to be playing that [Houston] game that night."
