'Sad For Fans': Rebels Lane Kiffin Weighs In On Conference Realignment

Lane Kiffin is not a fan on the recent conference realignment conversations.

Nick Saban gave an opinion on the situation. Eli Drinkwitz went on a rant to no end. Even Jimbo Fisher down in College Station couldn't help but voice his thoughts on the news that shocked the sport's landscape.

So naturally, Ole Miss' Lane Kiffin had thoughts on the shifting tides in college football, especially regarding realignment. It's evident he's not a fan of the recent moves made by the six Pac-12 schools to depart the conference and head toward a paycheck over prevalence in the game's history.

"I think it's really sad for fans that want to travel to games," Kiffin said Monday at his press conference. "And we're just talking about football here. Let's talk about all the other sports that now you have to fly across the country. They play on weekdays. They get back at four in the morning. They have to go to school. Parents aren't going to be able to see (nearly) as many games."

Last season, USC and UCLA announced their intent to join the Big Ten for the 2024 season, leaving the Pac-12 at an influx. Late last month, Colorado was the first of the nine remaining schools to depart the conference after conversations stalled on a new media rights deal, returning the Big 12 after a 13-year hiatus.

Arizona, Arizona State and Utah followed Colorado to the Big 12, while Oregon and Washington agreed to join the Big Ten, bringing the two conferences to 16 and 18 teams, respectively. Kiffin, who coached in the Pac-12 while at USC from 2010-13, pointed toward financial considerations as the main point of disbandment.

"That's not for the betterment of the student-athlete at all," Kiffin said. "But it is what it is. It's about money."

According to CBS Sports, Washington and Oregon will receive 50 percent shares of Big Ten media rights revenue, which carves out to be roughly $30 million. That number, however, will increase by $1 million each season until the completion of the conference's new television deal.

Per The Action Network, the Pac-12's Four Corners Schools will receive the entire Big 12 revenue share, estimated to be about $42 million in 2024. In the Pac-12's latest efforts to agree to terms on a media rights contract, the conference would have made roughly $20 million in annual revenue under the Apple TV+ streaming service plan.

Kiffin also mentioned how the new realignment could play an influential role in NIL, while also affecting long-standing rivalries. For example, Oklahoma's arrival in the SEC next fall will cease the 'Bedlam Series,' the annual matchup between Oklahoma-Oklahoma State since 1904.

"I hope nobody gets on these 17, 18-year-olds that make decisions based off NIL money when all these universities are doing it," said Kiffin. "And, it's just the tradition part. You're talking about 100 years of tradition just washed up for some more money."

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