ACC, Big Ten, and Pac-12 Announce a Conference Alliance

The three conferences will collaborate on NCAA governance and collegiate scheduling

After days of talks between athletic directors and commissioners, the Big Ten, Pac-12, and Atlantic Coast conferences announced on Tuesday morning that they will form an alliance to develop a “collaborative approach surrounding the future evolution of college athletics and scheduling.”

The ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12 today announced an historic alliance that will bring 41 world-class institutions together on a collaborative approach surrounding the future evolution of college athletics and scheduling.https://t.co/djdQJKg4GN

— The ACC (@theACC) August 24, 2021

The alliance received unanimous support from the athletic directors and presidents/chancellors of each of the 41 member schools of the three conferences. The joint-announcement made it clear that the three conferences will “remain competitors in every sense” but will collaborate to address specific issues related to college athletics, including the “future structure of the NCAA, federal legislative efforts, and postseason championships and future formats.”

The most immediate impact of this alliance will be a new inter-conference scheduling structure for football and men’s and women’s basketball. Per the press release, “the scheduling alliance will begin as soon as practical while honoring current contractual obligations.”

University of Virginia Athletic Director Carla Williams will be among the four ADs from the ACC that will be working with ADs from the Big Ten and Pac-12 to oversee the strategy of the scheduling alliance.

Although not expressly stated as a motive, the announcement of this alliance is largely being perceived as a reaction to the recent consolidation of collegiate athletic power in the SEC following the announcement that Texas and Oklahoma will be leaving the Big 12 as soon as the current Big 12 media contract expires in June of 2025 and joining the SEC to form a 16-team superconference.

The alliance also comes following the recent decline of power in the NCAA after the Supreme Court’s ruling on student-athlete name, image, and likeness rights. The move by the SEC and now this alliance between the ACC, Big Ten, and Pac-12 could suggest that these groups are preparing for a power vacuum in collegiate athletics if the NCAA continues to lose control.

“The ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12 recognize the unique environment and challenges currently facing intercollegiate athletics, and we are proud and confident in this timely and necessary alliance that brings together like-minded institutions and conferences focused on the overall educational missions of our preeminent institutions,” said ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips.

While it is still unclear when these changes will actually take effect or what form those changes will take, it is undeniable that we are entering an era of significant change in the landscape of intercollegiate athletics.