Twitter. X. Whatever you call it, and we still call it Twitter, is different. Once a vibrant hub for news, social commentary, and cultural conversations, the platform has transformed into a more chaotic and unpredictable space. But, let’s be honest, we still love it. If there are rumors and breaking news, it is still the place to be. What’s the latest on conference realignment? Where are Flordia State and Clemson going? Will Miami and Mario Cristobal take a knee? We still go to Twitter.
As much as we go for breaking news or trash-talking our favorite opposing fan base, it can still be a spot to make us laugh and remember not to take life so seriously. One of the best accounts on Twitter is Super70Sports. If you are a fan of Linda Carter, NSFW tweets, and just things to make you laugh and forget about the craziness of life, this account is for you. Earlier this week, they shared a link that perfectly captured conference alignment. With the 2024 season about to kick off, let’s get Super70Sports and the rest of you up-to-date on the conference realignment carousel.
Explaining Conference Realignment to @Super70Sports
Blame the SEC for Conference Realignment
- New members: Texas and Oklahoma
Blame Greg Sankey. Or better yet, blame Texas. Those two are easy marks and are both a large reason why the conference realignment kicked into high gear in the summer of 2021. In July 2021, Texas and Oklahoma notified the Big 12 that they were moving on up to the SEC. How badly did they want to get out? The two schools paid more than $100 million to leave the conference and join the SEC this season.
These were founding members of the Big 12. Sure, the conference only started in 1994, but the decision to move for eyeballs and spotlight gave us a lesson to set the tone for the conference realignment carousel: follow the money.
Everything is bigger in Texas, except maybe their win total. The Longhorns threw a big party in Austin back in July to officially mark the dawn of a new era. Steve Sarkisian has done an excellent job preparing Texas for this moment. Let’s hope it doesn’t get a little too big…
Oklahoma has won 50 conference championships since 1915, but it may be 5o years before they win an SEC Championship. Not really, but ask Nebraska about the challenges of leveling up to a more difficult conference.
The Big 12 is in Good Hands
- New Members: Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah
Brett Yormark continues to keep the Big 12 open for business. He became conference commissioner right after Texas and Oklahoma decided to leave the Big 12. If you had a crystal ball in 2021, it would have been easy to see and even predict that the Big 12 had an expiration date that was fast approaching. Instead, Yormark continues to innovate and think outside the box.
Last year, he brought the best four teams in the Group of Five: BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF to the Big 12. This was a move for stability. The moves expanded the Big 12 into Ohio, Florida, and the Rocky Mountains, bringing an old Southwest Conference rival back into the fold.
Yormark also brought stability by leapfrogging the Pac-12 and negotiating a new TV deal with Fox and ESPN that brought extra dollars to the schools. The Pac-12 was left flat-footed and without a logical TV partner, leaving its most valuable brands ripe for the pickings. While Yormark didn’t have the first choice, he did take the two Arizona schools, Colorado and Utah. The moves brought more parody and eyeballs that could see Big 12 playing on screens from noon until after dark.
A New B1G Map
- New Members: Oregon, UCLA, USC, and Washington
In 2020, the Big Ten, led by then-commissioner Kevin Warren, joined the ACC and Pac-12 commissioners and formed “The Alliance.” While the stated goal was to “preserve college football” and stand up to the big bad SEC, Warren had other plans. He distracted his fellow conference commissioners while “looking them in the eyes” by taking the two biggest brands, UCLA and USC, from the Pac-12.
This move was the final straw that broke the conference realignment. Like Texas and Oklahoma, the two Los Angeles schools were founding members of their conference. Here is the difference: The Big 12 was formed in 1994. USC joined the Pac-12 in 1922, and UCLA joined in 1928.
The move rocked the Pac-12’s foundation to its core. Members publicly said they were still aligned but used back channels to find the nearest lifeboat out of the sinking ship. Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff could not find a television partner to keep his conference together. Last summer, Oregon and Washington, the two most valuable brands left in the conference, announced they were leaving for the Big Ten at a discount.
We now have a new B1G Map stretching from coast to coast. While it may be pretty, it still just doesn’t feel right.
ACC Goes Coastal (for real)
- New Members: Cal, Standford, and SMU
The ACC is going coastal, and no, we are not talking about how six different teams won the Coastal Division between 2013 and 2018. ACC commissioner Jim Phillips has been stuck on his heels throughout the latest rounds of conference realignment. He has hidden behind his conference’s Grant of Rights that has prevented teams (looking at you, Florida State, Clemson, et al.) from seeking greener pastures.
Phillips moved to expand his conference by adding two Pac-12 Schools and a school from Texas in 2024. Cal and Standford are nice academic schools but have been and will likely continue to be non-factors in college football. Plus, the connection between Silicon Valley and the ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE doesn’t make sense when you think about it and less when you think about a Tuesday night cross-country trip in basketball.
SMU was a freebie—no, seriously. The Pony Express, err, SMU Boosters raised more than $150 million to self-finance their move to the ACC. Of the three schools, SMU makes the most sense. It is a smaller private academic school like Duke and Wake Forest. More importantly, it gives the ACC footing in Texas. If Clemson and Flordia State go elsewhere, the Ponies get another sort of death penalty. Still stuck in a conference going nowhere and wandering eyes for greener pastures.
2Pac Conference Realignment
- Who’s left: Oregon State and Washington State
Now, let me welcome everybody to the Wild Wild West. There was no California or national love for folks in Corvallis and Pullman during conference realignment. Oregon State and Washington State were left on the outside looking in as their fellow Pac-12 institutions scrambled to the Big Ten, Big 12, and ACC. Sure, they had some fun in Vegas. Trying to poke fun at the situation by having an After Hours with the Beavs and Cougs for Media Days. New Commissioner Teresa Gould took the microphone and even cracked the first joke, announcing that “if anybody has earned the right to drink, it’s the Pac-12.”
What happened to Oregon State and Washington State is another canary in the coal mine. As the SEC and Big Ten distance themselves, a change is coming. Conference commissioners may look at those schools at the bottom of their standings and ask, “Do you bring us joy (money)?” If the answer is no, the next round of conference realignment may become conference contraction.
Whatever happens, we hope you are now informed about the conference realignment heading into the 2024 season. So, grab a cold drink and some pizza. Football is almost here.
