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Big Ten, Pac-12, and ACC form an alliance for the future of college sports

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Three of college athletics’ “Power Five Conferences” are aligning in response to the SEC’s expansion this summer to protect the collegiate model. This agreement is “among three gentlemen and a commitment from 41 presidents and chancellors and 41 athletic directors to do what we say we’re going to do.”

The Big Ten, ACC, and Pac-12 will unite together now that Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners will be added to the SEC in 2025. As Oklahoma and Texas leave, the Big 12 has now changed to the Big 10. After the Southeastern Conference made an expansion by inviting Texas and Oklahoma, three of the SEC’s Power Five peers countered with the creation of an alliance of 41 schools that span from Miami to Seattle.

“And to the three of us, we felt the stabilization of the current environment, across Division I and FBS — in Power Five in particular — this was a chance for a new direction, a new initiative that I don’t think has ever been done before.” ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips stated,.

Kevin Warren of the Big Ten stated that he hoped bringing the three conferences together would provide stability. “There is turbulence right now in college athletics. … There is a lot of work to be done,” he said. 

The commissioner of the Pac-12, George Kliavkoff says their agreement would allow them to hit a reset button and deal with the current challenges in college sports such as academic and athletic excellence. 

As of yet, there are a lot of things that need to be worked out. There isn’t any new scheduling agreement for future games but there will be some epic matchups that will come from the deal. 

To further elaborate on the upcoming changes, the NCAA Board of Governors has called a special constitutional convention in November which will be the first step toward what could be sweeping reform and a decentralized governance model.

The commissioners and university presidents are scheduled to meet in late September to discuss what comes next for the expansion proposal with the goal to have the best interest in the long-term for the college athletes

It has been proposed to expand the College Football Playoff from four to 12 teams and this will be unveiled publicly in June.

Finding a solidified foundation of how things will play out could possibly affect numerous non-conference football games per season due schedules being made years in advance and multiple team events in basketball involving ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12 teams, potentially creating new and valuable television inventory.

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