Finally the mega college athletic conferences are forming. (For better or worse.)

A tradition as American as apple pie, college football is as much a staple for Thanksgiving weekend in most households as the turkey that headlines the event. And a $4 billion dollar industry, it’s going nowhere anytime soon. 

 

For the past decade, five conferences or “The Power Five” have dominated our television screens – The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), the Big Ten, the Big 12, Pac-12, the Southeastern Conference (SEC). 

 

But for how long will their hold last? After recovering from losing Colorado, Nebraska, Texas A&M and Missouri in 2011 and 2012, the Big 12 is facing another devastating blow – the loss of Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC – a huge flex for the SEC and loss for The Big 12. Their looming exit could potentially set off a mass exodus of the remaining schools due to concerns surrounding air time. To placate these teams, The Big 12 officially announced the addition of BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF to its 2024-25 roster. But will that be enough?

 

With this power move by the SEC, the ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12 are definitely feeling the pressure to make some big moves of their own. Talks of an alliance have been put in place where the four commit to working together. A mutual agreement rather than a formal pact, the alliance is more of a gentleman’s agreement nodding to a mutual agreement towards the future of the sport.

But what would happen if The Power Five downsized into a mega four and the Big-12 found itself on the outside? 

Well, the eight leftover teams would transition neatly into the four remaining conferences, giving them an even 16 teams each. And four mega conferences with four divisions each would provide the tidiest of setups for playoff season wrapped up neatly with a bow. Just like the NFL, the first seed could play the fourth and the second the third. With the new alignment, the famed rivalries that have made the sport so exciting throughout history would still be preserved. 

 

So what’s the downside, minus the dissolvement of the Big-12 of course? Some teams would find themselves on the wrong side of history and booted out of this mega-shift. 

 

While this is all exciting and creates great buzz around the sport, it’s all still speculation. Which leads up to this – what’s actually next for college football? 

 

We’ll all just need to wait until the next quarter to find out.