'Farmageddon' presents first test of Big 12's ambitious global plans

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark wants his conference to go global.

He has his first opportunity Aug. 23 to see how feasible it is. The famed "Farmageddon" rivalry game between No. 22 Iowa State and No. 17 Kansas State kicks off the college football season in the traditional Week 0 Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Dublin, Ireland.

Places like Paris and Rome may not be ready for the invasion of large swaths of Iowa State and K-State fans, but Ireland welcoming two schools that brag about their agriculture prowess seems fitting.

“The game in Ireland is an impetus for future global expansion, and I’m all in on it,” Yormark said at July's Big 12 media days, via David Rumsey of Front Office Sports.

Yormark took over as Big 12 commissioner in 2022 and has been open about his desire to go international. Are collegiate brands built to go across borders? More specifically, are some of the Big 12's brands desired? We'll find out soon enough.

In addition to this week's football game, Baylor women's basketball will face Duke in Paris this November and TCU football will take on North Carolina in Ireland next season. Yormark also stated the Big 12 hopes to play baseball games in Mexico City in the spring of 2026.

The expansion into Mexico is a logical one. Since the Big 12 expanded to include Arizona and Arizona State, the conference has six of its 16 schools in states that border Mexico.

Yormark first floated his plan to play games in Mexico two years ago, but the conference has yet to make it a reality. With the recent success of America's professional sports going global, Yormark sees an opportunity.

“I want this conference to be a global conference,” he said, via Rumsey. “I think we can win globally big-time."

In the ultra-competitive college landscape, perhaps the Big 12 can get a bigger piece of the pie by taking its product abroad. The on-field stakes of Saturday's Farmageddon are big, but the off-field stakes are just as high.