Not too long ago — it seems like just a few years but it might have been more — college sports analysts predicted that the NCAA’s top level of competition would wind up with four “superconferences,” each with 16 teams.
It was easy to shake off the idea, because it could not happen unless conferences started accepting new members from outside their primary region. Plus, there were five big conferences: the SEC, Big Ten, ACC, Big XII and the Pac-12. Was one of those five really going to wither away?
Last week we got the answer to that last question. The Pac-12 is down to just four teams: Stanford, California, Oregon State and Washington State. USC and UCLA said last year they would defect to the Big Ten, and last week Oregon and Washington decided to join them. Meanwhile, Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah are moving to the Big XII.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma and Texas soon are scheduled to leave the Big XII for the Southeastern Conference. And if the dust settles after that, it turns out that the prognosticators came pretty close to the mark.
Unless more schools move, the SEC and the Big XII each will have 16 teams, while the Big Ten will have 18 and the ACC 14 plus Notre Dame as a participant in everything but football.
At least the presidents and athletic directors whose schools are switching conferences are finally being honest about the reason. It’s money, and lots of it — specifically the billion-dollar television contracts that are being thrown into college sports, most notably the SEC and the Big Ten.
The Pac-12’s greatest sin was failing to keep up with other conferences in generating money for their members from sports. Why else would four schools out West join the Big Ten? It’s just a horrible fit, except for the few college sports addicts who won’t be able to tear themselves away from that USC at Illinois showdown, followed by Iowa at Oregon.
At least the SEC has fared better with its more recent additions. Five of its six additions since the 1990s are schools in Southern states, with Missouri the lone outlier. But there’s more money to be made in the SEC, so forget about Missouri’s regional rivalries that are available in the Big XII or the Big Ten.
Some college football fans enjoy dismissing the NFL as a scummy. money-driven game. College sports, they proclaim, are sainted activities, with dual goals of athletic and academic excellence as noble universities prepare student athletes for an enlightened and prosperous future.
Stop it. Just stop it, and stuff it in your NIL bucket — though some fans think college players shouldn’t be paid for the work they do.
Few may be able to admit this, but universities determined to maximize their revenue have made a mess of college sports. They’ve hit their “Jerry Maguire” moment: Show me the money. This will not be fun to watch.
Jack Ryan, Enterprise-Journal
