The Big Ten, Pac 12 and the ACC Alliance is Official (Sort of)

The Big 12 Conference's uncertainty leaves them on the outside looking in (again)

On Tuesday, the Big Ten, Pac 12 and ACC conferences officially formed an alliance in the hopes of shaping the future of college football. The announcement follows the departure of two historical programs from the Big 12 Conference, the University of Texas and Oklahoma University, to join the Southeastern Conference (SEC). 

The trio of commissioners held a joint press conference following the release of their goals in the collaboration were unanimously supported by the presidents, chancellors and athletics directors at all 41 institutions.  However, Pac 12 commissioner George Kliavkoff stated, "There is no signed document. There is an agreement between three gentlemen."

They will be guided in all cases by a commitment to, and prioritization of, supporting student-athlete well-being, academic and athletic opportunities, experiences and diverse educational programming. The three conferences are grounded in their support of broad-based athletic programs, the collegiate model and opportunities for student-athletes as part of the educational missions of institutions. 

The three conferences remain competitors in every sense but are committed to collaborating and providing thought leadership on various opportunities and challenges facing college athletics, including:

· Student-athlete mental and physical health, safety, wellness and support.

· Strong academic experience and support

· Diversity, equity, and inclusion

· Social justice

· Gender equality

· Future structure of the NCAA

· Federal legislative efforts

· Postseason championships and future formats

The alliance includes a scheduling component for football and women’s and men’s basketball designed to create new inter-conference games, enhance opportunities for student-athletes, and optimize the college athletics experience for both student-athletes and fans across the country. The scheduling alliance will begin as soon as practical while honoring current contractual obligations. A working group compromised of athletic directors representing the three conferences will oversee the scheduling component of the alliance, including determining the criteria upon which scheduling decisions will be made. All three leagues and their respective institutions understand that scheduling decisions will be an evolutionary process given current scheduling commitments.

The football scheduling alliance will feature additional attractive matchups across the three conferences while continuing to honor historic rivalries and the best traditions of college football.

On women’s and men’s basketball, the three conferences will add early and midseason games as well as annual events that feature premier matchups between the three leagues.

The three conferences will also explore opportunities for the vast and exceptional Olympic Sports programs to compete more frequently and forge additional attractive and meaningful rivalries. 

Jul 21, 2021; Charlotte, NC, USA; ACC commissioner Jim Phillips speaks to the media during the ACC Kickoff at The Westin Charlotte / Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

Where is the Big 12 in all of this? ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips said, "We want and need the Big 12 to do well. The Big 12 matters," before explaining that uncertainty with the league is the reason there was no invitation. 

"This group of Power Five schools’ matters. We know what the Power Five does not for only those 65 schools or so, not only FBS but Division I. We understand what those championships mean, specifically at least right now, in basketball, some of the CFP distribution, etc, to FBS. 

"We’re in such a critical time, I think, in the history of college athletics as we look at it, to have the uncertainty in legislation, in governance, in the future of the NCAA, federal government involvement, lawsuit, Alston, transfer legislation, CFP – that’s more than enough for all of us to have to digest. And there’s the huge unsettling of the membership and where schools are going. The Big 12 has been around a lot of years and has meant a lot to college sports and college athletics.

"As for this particular alliance, I think there’s uncertainty. There’s uncertainty in what’s going on between two conferences. There just is. How long, when, who goes where, etc., and we felt the three of us, and the conferences that we represent and the broad-based program that we’re committed to and the like-minded values that I described earlier that we had a chance to stabilize it. And we’re all hopeful that this will and allow a conference like the Big 12 to figure out their path forward. So, there’s a lot of moving parts, but that was part of our rationale on putting our alliance together."

To sum up the day, three conferences are looking for stability, there is no written agreement between the three conferences, and the biggest news to come out of the announcement is an agreement for future scheduling, which will immediately have a bigger effect on non-football programs. 

As for the Big 12 Conference, it sounds like the ACC, Big Ten and Pac 12 are giving them a chance to fill the unfillable void left behind by Oklahoma and Texas. However, we can go down the rabbit hole, and maybe they got together to figure out who will take the remaining members. 

Fox Sports College Football Analyst Dave Wannstedt claimed on a local Chicago radio show that West Virginia was heading to the ACC, Iowa State and Kansas were going to the Big 10 while Oklahoma State and Kansas State are moving to the Pac 12. 

Nonetheless, more news awaits as George Kliavkoff told The Athletic they will announce whether or not they will expand the Pac 12 by the end of the week. So, all the dominoes could quickly fall or we will all have to continue to play the waiting game. 

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