Report: Big Ten, Pac-12, ACC Expected to Announce Conference Alliance

Following the SEC's expansion with Oklahoma and Texas, three of the Power 5 conferences are eyeing "broader cooperation."

The SEC's expansion of Texas and Oklahoma marked the first dominos of the college-football offseason. And another seismic change for the sport appears to be on the horizon  

The Big Ten, Pac-12 and ACC are expected to make a formal announcement regarding conference alliance "as early as next week," according to Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic. The three conference commissioners—the Big Ten's Kevin Warren, Pac-12's George Kliavkoff and ACC's Jim Phillips—have had "high-level discussions" throughout August, per The Athletic.

Specifics of the discussions are not yet known, but the broad goal of the alliance is for the three leagues to be in unison when voting on major issues, such as College Football Playoff expansion. The three commissioners have reportedly not yet discussed trying to lure the remaining eight Big 12 teams to their respective leagues.

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The Big 12 does not appear to be involved in this potential alliance. Commissioner Bob Bowlsby met with Kliavkoff earlier this summer to discuss a prospective working relationship, though this latest development would represent another setback for the Big 12 if it were to be left out.

An official alliance is not expected to come together imminently, though it's clear that the SEC's power move to add Texas and Oklahoma has created a sense of urgency for the rest of the Power 5.

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