1 year, 3 months ago

What’s next in major college football realignment? How about a best-of-the-rest league

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! A relegation approach is a complicated if inclusive way to reach what might be the best next move for the two schools and other top programs in the so-called Group of Five conferences: A best-of-the-rest, football-only conference that ignores geography and focuses on maximizing TV dollars and securing access to the College Football Playoff, which will expand from four teams to 12 next year. The wave of conference realignment that washed away most of the Pac-12, sending 10 members scattering to three other conferences starting next year, has left schools outside the Atlantic Coast, Big Ten, Big 12 and Southeastern conferences facing the reality that if they have not been invited to the VIP room yet, they won’t be anytime soon. As the rest of major college football plots a course for what’s next, Oregon State and Washington State — who will play Saturday in Pullman, Washington — want to rebuild the Pac-12 and keep control of the tens of millions of dollars in assets the conference still has. “It creates storylines and if people have figured anything out about college football this year by Mr. Sanders, storylines matter.” Oregon State athletic director Scott Barnes said major college athletics seems to be moving away from equal revenue sharing in conferences and toward rewarding schools that drive value for television networks, heavily invest in football and have success on the field.

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History of this topic

1 month, 3 weeks ago

College Basketball Realignment: A Seismic Shift in the Landscape of the Game

Associated Press

College basketball undergoes a major upheaval with the introduction of the transfer portal, name, image and likeness compensation deals, and conference realignment. The recent realignment round, which shifted power in college hoops, has forced coaches to adjust their strategies and players to adapt to the changing landscape of the sport.

1 month, 3 weeks ago

Washington State Soars to No. 22 in AP Top 25 Poll

Associated Press

Washington State's season debut in the AP Top 25 poll is at No. 22, marking the team's highest ranking since 2018. The Cougars' comeback victory against San Diego State and San Jose State showcases their grit and resilience. With a strong performance against a top-ranked team, the Cougars are looking to build for their future in the Pac-12.

2 months, 4 weeks ago

For ACC teams, adding an NFL-like front office is the new norm for transfer-portal recruiting

Associated Press

New Boston College coach Bill O’Brien wanted to build a pro-style approach to handle the growing demands of recruiting in the transfer-portal era. “We’re continuing to grow,” said California coach Justin Wilcox, whose Bears are in their first ACC season. If there’s more investment on the front end, I’ve got to believe the back end is going to look better, …

3 months ago

Memphis, Tulane, South Florida, UTSA reaffirm commitment to AAC after Pac-12 talks

New York Times

Memphis, Tulane, South Florida and UTSA have reaffirmed their commitment to the American Athletic Conference, the universities and conference announced Monday, spurning interest from the Pac-12 to join that rebuilding conference. The AAC has also targeted Texas State in addition to Air Force and UNLV, from the shrinking Mountain West as potential expansion candidates beyond this group. The Pac-12 is …

3 months ago

College football Week 4: As conference play ramps up, more mismatches are on the slate for top teams

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! We aren’t quite in the throes of conference play as the first month of the college football season winds down. Utah hopes to have quarterback Cam Rising back, though true freshman Isaac Wilson filled in admirably against Utah State last week in his first start. USC …

3 months ago

What we’re hearing about the Pac-12, AAC and Mountain West’s next moves

New York Times

The next phase of conference realignment is a tug of war. Although Oregon State athletic director Scott Barnes told The Athletic on Saturday that football is a requirement for members, other sources briefed on the league’s thinking believe that’s just for this next step, not ruling out the possibility that the league would try to add a school like Gonzaga …

3 months, 1 week ago

Oregon State AD says the new Pac-12 will look to add new schools quickly

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! CORVALLIS, Ore. — Oregon State athletic director Scott Barnes said the newly rebuilt Pac-12 will look to add at least two more schools for 2026 as quickly as possible. “Get it right, but it’s in our best interest to move as quickly as we can.” The …

54 years, 11 months ago

College football realignment: The Pac-12’s expansion augurs a ruthless new era.

Slate

Bad news first: College sports continues to besiege itself with chaotic realignment of its conferences, leaving even more schools with reasons to be paranoid about their future ability to keep up with the nation’s Joneses. Without enough teams to stage a conference championship game, they’re the only teams among 134 in the top level of college football who cannot access …

3 months, 1 week ago

Why join the Pac-12? What schools could be targeted next? What’s next for Mountain West?

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! The Pac-12 is still two schools short of what it needs to be a recognized conference by the NCAA in two years and the Mountain West is facing a future without four of its most valuable members, so shopping for replacements could be the next step. …

3 months, 2 weeks ago

ACC schools have a new path to more revenue: Just win... in the postseason

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! That “success initiative” could mean $20 million to $25 million more for a school in a big year, based primarily on football like everything else in college athletics. The plan also includes existing revenue distributions for success in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, with “units” earned …

3 months, 3 weeks ago

Conference realignment makes future USC-LSU opening matchups unlikely

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! “The first game, there’s always the sense of new and excitement and you’re kind of waiting to see what you really are and what the opponent really is.” Or as Trojans quarterback Miller Moss noted: “These are the kinds of games you come to USC to …

3 months, 3 weeks ago

Comcast-Big Ten Network impasse with West Coast schools part of realignment headaches

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! Huskies and Ducks fans who subscribe to Comcast might not be able to see their team’s openers on Saturday due to a carriage dispute with the Big Ten Network. As the one distribution partner that declined to expand along with us, Comcast Xfinity viewers in many …

4 months ago

Bulked-up Big Ten and SEC set to dominate college football on and off the field

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! “An incredibly strong conference, amazing TV deals, incredible partner, certainly exciting times to be part of the Big Ten,” Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens recent said recently on the Navigating Sports Business podcast. “Now, as a TV guy, if I’m going to pay increasing dollars, I’m …

4 months ago

Coast-to-coast conferences and expanded playoff mark a season of change in college football

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! College Football Playoff The expanded playoff will be spread over a month beginning Dec. 20-21 and could require the last two teams standing to play an unprecedented 17 games. The 12 playoff teams will be the five conference champions ranked highest by the CFP selection committee, …

5 months ago

SMU embracing challenge of ‘moving up in weight class’ and joining Atlantic Coast Conference

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! “I think it just speaks to the acknowledgement from our community, the SMU community, this isn’t just about athletics,” athletics director Rick Hart said. “That us off pretty bad and we are mad at that.. That’s a big motivator because now we know we just can’t …

6 months, 3 weeks ago

SEC gathers to sort through consequences of settlement, comes away with more questions than answers

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! “It’s going to be a process,” Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin said. “We have to recognize we don’t have all the answers right now.” One way to boost revenue schools are already considering is selling advertising that would be displayed on football fields or uniforms. In …

9 months, 1 week ago

College Football Playoff moving toward agreement between conferences needed to complete ESPN deal

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! The College Football Playoff is moving toward a revenue-sharing agreement among participating conferences that is needed in order to finalize a new media rights contact with ESPN. Conference officials were meeting separately this week with their schools to consider a deal that would commit them to …

9 months, 3 weeks ago

Analysis: Big Ten and SEC power play undermines credibility of playoff, marginalizes ACC and Big 12

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! There will be at least two 12-team playoffs, this season and next, but the Power Five is now down to four, dominated by a Big Two: The Southeastern Conference and Big Ten have decided to throw their weight around to protect their own interests with little …

10 months ago

With 12-team playoff set, CFP already discussing possibly more teams for 2026 and beyond

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! DALLAS — Now that the yearslong process to finalize how the 12 teams for the expanded College Football Playoff will be selected for the next two seasons is complete, there are already discussions about maybe adding more teams for 2026 and beyond. The CFP management committee …

10 months, 1 week ago

Pac-12 parts ways with Commissioner George Kliavkoff, who oversaw demise of league with realignment

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! The Pac-12 is parting ways with Commissioner George Kliavkoff after the former MGM executive oversaw the demise of the once-powerful league during a wave of conference realignment last year. The Pac-12 Board of Directors announced the move Friday in a two-sentence news release, saying the conference …

11 months, 2 weeks ago

College Football Playoff delays tweaking 12-team format to decrease spots reserved for league champs

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! The College Football Playoff delayed reducing the number of spots reserved for conference champions from six to five in the upcoming 12-team format on Monday, though the change is expected to be in place next season. For now, the playoff format for the next two years …

11 months, 3 weeks ago

Washington gives Pac-12 chance to be conference of champions in football 1 more time before leaving

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! NEW ORLEANS — The curtain will close on the Pac-12’s final season as a Power Five football conference on the biggest stage in the sport. Washington, one of 10 schools leaving the conference this coming summer, beat Texas 37-31 in the Sugar Bowl to earn a …

1 year ago

AP Sports Story of the Year: Realignment, stunning demise of Pac-12 usher in super conference era

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! The redrawing of the college sports map and demise of the Pac-12, a conference that claims the most NCAA championships and a legacy that includes the likes of Jackie Robinson, Bill Walton, Aaron Rodgers, Katie Ledecky, Tiger Woods and Cheryl Miller, made conference realignment The Associated …

1 year, 2 months ago

Pac-12 booming in attendance, ratings in last season before teams scatter to different conferences

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! Less than a day after the Buffaloes’ colossal collapse against Stanford, “ Saturday Night Live ” did a parody of Sanders with the actor in the skit decked out in Colorado gear and sunglasses. “It would have been very interesting to see what the options would …

1 year, 2 months ago

AP Top 25: Washington into top 5 for 1st time in 6 years. Air Force ranked for 1st time since 2019

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! 5 on Sunday in The Associated Press college football poll, the Huskies’ best ranking in six years, after a thrilling victory against Oregon and unbeaten Air Force was ranked for the first time since 2019. IN-N-OUT Air Force has finished 10-3 in each of the last …

1 year, 2 months ago

Opinion: The Pac-12 is the ‘Conference of Champions.’ Don’t let it disappear

LA Times

USC Trojans celebrate their victory in the Division 1 NCAA Women’s Beach Volleyball Championship in May 2023. Consider the Olympic sports contested across the NCAA: Pac-12 schools dominate the top 25 national rankings and finishes, and Stanford, UCLA and USC sweep the podium spots for schools with the most NCAA team titles. Indeed, it is Olympic sports that have made …

1 year, 2 months ago

CFP puts off decisions on format tweaks with Pac-12 still in limbo, hears from potential TV partners

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! The number of spots reserved for conference champions when the College Football Playoff expands to 12 teams next year remained open for discussion Wednesday as administrators who manage the postseason wrapped up meetings that mostly focused on potential television partners. College Football Playoff Executive Director Bill …

1 year, 3 months ago

Q&A: The downfall of the Pac-12: How did we get here and what comes next?

LA Times

With Stanford and California joining the mass exodus from the Pac-12 on Friday, the one-time power conference could be no more by next year. With the news last week that Stanford and California will bolt to the Atlantic Coast Conference next year, the speedy demise of a power conference that has been around for more than a century is nearly …

1 year, 3 months ago

Analysis: Conference realignment has mangled the college sports map, but to what benefit?

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! Beyond dollars moving from one bank account to another it’s hard to see the overall benefit, but the most disruptive round of conference realignment at the highest level of college sports appears to be almost over — at least for the near future. We’ll probably have …

1 year, 3 months ago

ACC becomes latest super conference, expanding cross-country by adding Stanford, Cal and SMU

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! “Joining the ACC will ensure the Power Conference competitive infrastructure and long-term media revenues that are critical for our student-athletes to compete.” For the ACC, adding three schools will increase media rights revenue from its long-term deal with ESPN and allow the conference to spread much …

1 year, 3 months ago

AAC won’t ‘look westward’ for expansion: Where that leaves Washington State, Oregon State

New York Times

The American Athletic Conference will “not look westward” for expansion following Friday’s news that the Atlantic Coast Conference is adding Stanford, Cal and SMU, AAC commissioner Mike Aresco said in a statement Friday. Here’s what you need to know: The ACC’s moves leave the Pac-12 Conference with just two schools, Washington State and Oregon State, which both the AAC and …

1 year, 3 months ago

Realignment prompts fresh look at the number of automatic bids in 12-team College Football Playoff

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! IRVING, Texas — The conference commissioners who manage the College Football Playoff met Wednesday for the first time since a wave of realignment tore apart the Pac-12, raising the possibility that the number of automatic bids in the 12-team postseason format to be implemented next year …

1 year, 3 months ago

X marks the spot as Oregon’s Bo Nix and Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. return for one more season

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! EUGENE, Ore. — Neither Bo Nix or Michael Penix Jr. expected to spend five or six years in college, let alone at two different schools. “I do what I can with the position I’m in and I wouldn’t trade anything.” Nix and Penix will both enter …

1 year, 4 months ago

As Stanford holds out hope for ACC invitation, Oregon State and Washington State wait on Cardinal

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! Leaders from Stanford, California, Oregon State and Washington State spoke Thursday, and Stanford told its colleagues it had informed the ACC that it would be open to joining the conference at greatly reduced or even no media rights payout for several years, a person familiar with …

1 year, 4 months ago

Conference realignment shakes up recruiting landscape as Big Ten, Big 12, SEC widen footprints

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! With Southern California, UCLA, Washington and Oregon leaving the Pac-12 for the Big Ten next year, the sprawling conference will boast programs from the West Coast all the way to New Jersey. “If you were a kid in Arizona and you were a little hesitant to …

1 year, 4 months ago

What’s next in conference realignment as Pac-4 search for solutions and conferences weight options?

Associated Press

The Pac-4 schools are in limbo. The Atlantic Coast Conference can’t reach a consensus on expansion, and the Big Ten seems to be done adding West Coast schools — but we have heard that before. PAC-4 While talking with the ACC, Stanford and Cal were still exhausting options to convince the Big Ten to add two more West Coast schools …

1 year, 4 months ago

What are the Pac-4 teams’ conference options: ACC, Mountain West or American?

New York Times

Editor’s note: ACC presidents have voted to add Stanford, Cal and SMU The next step in conference realignment begins with Stanford and Cal. We are prepared for multiple possible scenarios and continue to pursue every opportunity for OSU student-athletes and the university.” GO DEEPER ‘All hell broke loose’: The chaotic final days that shook the Pac-12 and college football to …

1 year, 4 months ago

Oregon State, Washington State ponder next moves after getting left out of college reshuffling

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! CORVALLIS, Ore. — Inside one of the new premium areas at Oregon State’s renovated football stadium reads a lyric from the school’s fight song. And that’s all I want to say today,” Oregon State athletic director Scott Barnes said Tuesday during a tour of the school’s …

1 year, 4 months ago

ACC considering westward expansion, with eye on Stanford and Cal, AP source says

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! The four remaining Pac-12 schools still aboard for next season — California, Stanford, Oregon State and Washington State — have options if they are looking for another conference. The American Athletic Conference also has interest in expanding West and adding all four Pac-12 teams, a person …

1 year, 4 months ago

Column: It’s not conference realignment. It’s consolidation and no one is safe in the dash for cash

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! What was once a Big Six in major college football conferences became a Power Five and is now down to four after the Big 12 and Big Ten, motivated by a dwindling pool of television network dollars, carved up the Pac-12 over the course of about …

1 year, 4 months ago

College sports realignment, always chaotic, gets another spin as Pac-12 dwindles

Associated Press

College sports in the U.S. has seen scores of schools change conference affiliation over the past century, but the pace has quickened over the past three decades. 2023 : Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest BIG TEN 1996 : Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan …

1 year, 4 months ago

Conference realignment 2023: Timeline of college football rumors, moves and what’s next

New York Times

Since Colorado announced its departure from the Pac-12 for the Big 12 one week ago, myriad other potential realignment moves have surfaced. GO DEEPER Vannini: Losing Colorado is a blow, but Pac-12's future will depend on Arizona schools Aug. 1: Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff presented a new media rights deal to his league’s board and athletic directors. McCullough called the …

1 year, 4 months ago

Prime real estate: Colorado’s return to Big 12 fits Deion Sanders’ football recruiting blueprint

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! BOULDER, Colo. — Colorado’s return to the Big 12 in 2024 fits right into Deion Sanders’ recruiting blueprint, allowing him to get an even better foothold in the teeming Texas and Florida markets. “So I think more than anything it adds to the excitement because it’s …

1 year, 4 months ago

Can the Pac-12 survive? Conference of champions faces murky future after Colorado bolts for Big 12

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! Colorado’s announcement Thursday that it will return to the Big 12 comes a little more than a year after Southern California and UCLA said they were ditching the Pac-12 to join the Big Ten. “We are focused on concluding our media rights deal and securing our …

1 year, 5 months ago

ACC football mailbag: Ranking brands, realignment misses, playing the what-if game

New York Times

ACC media day begins Tuesday in Charlotte, N.C. That means we are getting close to the beginning of preseason camp, so it’s a great time to answer your questions about the league. Corrigan later told PennLive columnist David Jones he’d have persuaded ACC presidents to get Penn State into the league had he known it was looking to leave the …

1 year, 5 months ago

Predicting conference realignment’s unpredictable future: 5 scenarios for 2033 and beyond

New York Times

Four years ago, The Athletic admirably — and, as it turns out, foolishly — attempted to predict the future of college sports when my colleague Stewart Mandel took a stab at what the conference landscape would look like five or 10 years into the future. “But I also know that the SEC can’t sit still and allow the Big Ten …

1 year, 5 months ago

College football conference realignment timeline: 124 years of drama, money and bitterness

New York Times

The Western Conference, known today as the Big Ten, was formed in 1896 by the universities of Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern, Purdue, Wisconsin and Chicago. GO DEEPER Journey back to Sewanee, a founding SEC member that has no regrets Dec. 12, 1948: Nearly a decade after original member Chicago dropped football, the Western Conference becomes the Big Ten again by …

1 year, 7 months ago

ACC leadership touts progress in trying to address financial gap with the Big Ten and the SEC

Associated Press

AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. — The Atlantic Coast Conference emerged from three days of spring meetings at a posh, oceanside resort with one resolution: the formalization of tiebreaker rules for the league’s new, no-division format. Most everything else discussed behind closed doors remained secretive works in progress, most notably how the league plans to close the financial gap on college football’s …

1 year, 9 months ago

Big 12 looking west, Pac-12 looking for a TV deal: What we’re hearing on realignment

New York Times

Last July, weeks after USC and UCLA’s stunning Big Ten announcement, Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff made a bold realignment prediction: “No Pac-12 school is going to the Big 12.” Eight months later, we may finally learn whether his confidence was justified or false bravado. Yormark has never been shy about his interest in expanding the Big 12 into the “fourth …

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15 hours, 24 minutes ago