by With Week One of college football in the books, let’s analyze the conference realignment in the off-season. A significant source of conversation this off-season was the realignment of the conferences in college football. From what I’ve seen, half believe it will benefit football, and half think it will hurt the game. I personally believe that most of the moves made were unnecessary. With teams like UCLA and Oregon moving to the Big Ten, player safety also comes into play, along with long flights and drastic time changes. Teams now complain about travel costs and time because they must travel from the west coast to the east coast and vice versa.
Let’s talk about some of the changes that occurred in College Football. We will only cover the Power Five conferences, although now it is considered the Power 4 after the mass exodus of the Pac-12.
The Big Ten
The Big Ten added four teams this off-season. Nearly two years after it was announced, UCLA and USC are officially part of the Big Ten conference. Oregon and Washington have also joined the Big Ten. Previously, the furthest team west was Nebraska. Now, these four teams will have to fly to the East Coast multiple times a year. As I mentioned before, it could become dangerous for these student-athletes to travel back and forth between the East and West Coasts, all while playing intense football games.
The Pac-12
The Pac-12 was completely dismantled this past off-season. Currently, only two teams are left: Oregon State and Washington State. Ten teams left the Pac-12 conference, including Coach Prime’s Colorado Buffalo’s. Four teams left for the Big Ten, four for the Big 12, and two for the ACC. Each team that left the conference is in the west. If these teams stayed in the Pac-12, travel would not be an issue. In my opinion, if leaving couldn’t be avoided, the Pac-12 should have been dissolved. News broke Monday that the Pac-12 and Mountain West conferences could not reach a deal by the September 1st deadline. Therefore, Oregon State and Washington State will likely have independent schedules for the 2025 season.
The Big 12
The Big 12 will add four teams for the second year. Last year, they added BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF. Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah will join the Big 12 this year. Oklahoma and Texas are both leaving for the SEC. This realignment has travel implications that are different from those of other conferences. There are teams outside of the typical geographical position of the Big 12, but nothing as intense as a coast-to-coast trip. The Big 12 makes sense for Texas and Oklahoma teams.
The ACC
The ACC added three teams this off-season: California and Stanford from the west, and SMU from Texas. Theydidn’t lose any teams this year, which ties them for the most teams in a conference with the Big Ten, which has 18 teams. With a name like the Atlantic Coast Conference, you would think that all the teams would be on the East Coast. However, there are now two teams on the West Coast. Stanford has one of the most grueling schedules, not because of the teams it plays but because of the travel. This season, Stanford will have to travel to Syracuse (New York), Clemson (South Carolina), and North Carolina State (North Carolina). These teams are on the East Coast and have a travel time of at least eight hours and a three-hour time difference.
The SEC
The SEC added two teams this off-season: Texas and Oklahoma. Texas and Oklahoma are both College Football Playoff Contenders this year. While I believe these two teams should have stayed in the Big 12, these changes don’t impact player safety like the ACC or Big Ten changes. The SEC, or the Southeastern Conference, mostly stays true to its name, with only a few teams not being in the Southeast. They didn’t lose any teams this season, bringing their total to sixteen teams. The SEC is the most powerful conference, with the Big Ten being close behind.
We all know the reason for such drastic conference realignment is money. At the end of the day, each school is just trying to make the most amount of money, which is respectable. However, player safety should be the most important thing to each college. Travel times of up to ten hours multiple times a month and playing intense physical games is just not safe. Collegiate athletes are also students with courses to complete. As a college student, I couldn’t imagine traveling from California to South Carolina and back one weekend just to travel from California to North Carolina the next weekend. This type of travel does not seem sustainable. This is my opinion now, but opinions change over time. My opinions may change as more details about player safety plans come out.
