In the next few weeks the College Football landscape could be changed forever. The two “bread winners” in the Big 12, Oklahoma and Texas, have reached out to the SEC about joining their conference. Big 12 administrators were on a conference call to discuss Wednesday’s news, and the two flagship programs were not in attendance. If the Sooners and Longhorns jump ship, the Big 12 conference will ultimately dissolve, and the NCAA will move closer to expand to four super conferences.
If passed the SEC will set the groundwork for other conferences once the realignment is complete. The SEC proposed a “pods” system that can be seen below.
With this new realignment plan, what will happen to the remainder of the Big 12 conference?
Baylor, TCU, and Texas Tech have already reached out to the Pac-12 about joining their conference once Texas and Oklahoma secede. I fully expect Oklahoma State to join them as well, giving the conference 16 teams.
West Virginia will finally join the ACC since the collapse of the Big East. Kansas will join the Mountaineers in the ACC because of their blue blood basketball program. Kansas would be a much better fit in the ACC, with their dominance in basketball, than in the Big Ten.
The only program that will definitely join the Big Ten is Iowa State, to join their in state rival. Kansas State will probably join them. If there is one rivalry we could do without in major college sports its the Governor’s Cup. Where Kansas dominates on the court, and Kansas State on the gridiron.
Nothing is set in stone yet, but its looking more likely that a decision will be met in the coming weeks. As College Football is constantly changing as it moves forward in the 21st century, with the new NIL policy, a more than likely playoff expansion, and now the possibility of “super conferences”, the landscape of this great sport will be changed forever.