5 bold changes to watch for in college football conference realignment
College football conference realignment has really changed the game surrounding college sports. Whether people like it or hate it, this is not going away. After a massive year of changes, including the demolition of the Pac-12 Conference, there will be more moves on the horizon.
So, what are some bold predictions surrounding college football conference realignment that we have? Let's take a deeper dive into five of them.
Bold changes in College Football conference realignment
ACC completely collapses
The Atlantic Coast Conference has been on the verge of a collapse with a lawsuit hanging over them. There is also the case of Florida State Seminoles and Clemson Tigers continuing to head towards an exit.
Even the threat of leaving can cause uneasiness for the conference as a whole. Once those teams leave, others are going to follow suit. While there might be teams that are ready to jump to the ACC, it will only be a matter of time until the collapse actually happens.
Notre Dame calls a conference home
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have been an independent football program since its beginning, but that could change.
Notre Dame cannot continue to see massive increases on their singular media rights deals and they would make more money if they were to join a power conference.
Their current deal has them making about $67 million overall, with $50 million coming from the NBA and $17 million as a partial ACC member. However, that is still less than the Big Ten members make overall. This could be a reason for the Fighting Irish to forego their independent status.
The SEC expands
The Southeastern Conference has expanded on very rare occasions. Adding the Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns was their first expansion since 2013.
However, with the ability to poach some ACC teams, do not be surprised to see SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey look to expand to 18 or even 20 total teams. The North Carolina Tar Heels, Kansas Jayhawks or Duke Blue Devils are in play if they do not want to go after the Clemson Tigers and Florida State Seminoles.
The Pac-12 merges with the Mountain West
This seemed like happening last year when the Mountain West announced a scheduling agreement with Oregon State and Washington State.
While this still may not elevate them to a power conference status, it seems like the most likely situation as there is a lot of talent. However, they do not have the ability to match the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten and SEC.
Florida State & Clemson join the Big Ten
The Florida State Seminoles and the Clemson Tigers could be the two biggest teams available for a conference since the UCLA Bruins and the USC Trojans left the Pac-12.
They are unhappy with the current situation they are in. The ACC and the Big Ten are going to offer them the biggest platform. The SEC may not be as interested as the Big Ten to get some southeastern United States market share.