The Southeastern Conference made headlines earlier in the month by announcing their intention to add both Texas and Oklahoma from the Big XII as they move closer and closer to a 16-team super league. The news of that intended move has huge implications on revenue, scheduling, television deals, and more.
In response, it appears as though the remaining Power Five schools are working together to form an alliance of their own. Members of the ACC, Big Ten, and PAC 12 have been in talks to form an affiliation that sees more crossover scheduling between opponents from the three leagues.
So what’s it all mean for the future of the sport? One thing that looks inevitable is the expansion of the conference schedule. The SEC has long been on an eight-game league slate, but the move to add UT and OU almost guarantees that a nine-, or even ten-game conference schedule is on the horizon. That cuts out one out-of-conference matchup for each school, including South Carolina.
With the announcement that the other three leagues plan to schedule out-of-league matchups amongst themselves, it leaves even fewer chances for SEC affiliates to become a part of the conversation.
The Alliance won’t kill South Carolina football’s rivalry with Clemson, for now.
While we could potentially see less out-of-conference scheduling for SEC schools, administrators from the ACC, Big Ten, and Big XII have said that they don’t intend for this move to be “a boycott.” Rather, it’s just an attempt to gain a bit of influence in the ever-changing landscape of college football.
When UT and OU jumped ship from the Big XII, it appeared to be the SEC and everyone else in terms of power. Now, these three leagues are forming a way to get some of that power back in terms of revenue and scheduling flexibility. I’m sure fans would love to see more matchups like Clemson vs. Ohio State or Michigan vs. Oregon on a year-to-year basis.
College Football Playoff expansion was another reason for the move. The CFP committee announced plans to move forward to a 12-team playoff over the offseason, creating a situation where you could theoretically see half of the postseason contenders hail from the SEC. Alabama, LSU, Georgia, Texas A&M, Florida, and now Oklahoma, have all had realistic shots to make the CFP in the current four-team setup. Expand that to 12, and it’s easy to see how the SEC would gobble up a number of slots.
The Alliance is now attempting to slow the expansion to a 12-team playoff, and with the three conferences making up 40 of the 65 Power Five programs, they certainly have a say. That number goes up to 41 if you include Notre Dame, who was an ACC member last season. The Irish also have deep rooted rivalries in the PAC 12 and Big Ten, so it’s easy to see where their loyalties would lie.
The CFP wouldn’t be able to work if the conferences forming this alliance aren’t participating, meaning the move will have influence over the committee’s ultimate decision. If Alliance members decided to pull out of a 12-team CFP, we’d just have the SEC and the scraps from the Big XII left to fill the spots.
This move has been more about evening the playing field, not killing the tradition of college football. So, for now, rivalries like South Carolina and Clemson are safe.