The commissioners of the Big Ten, Pac-12 and ACC made it official Tuesday, announcing an alliance between the three leagues.
The bigger issue is the stability of the collegiate model.
We will look back 10, 20, even 50 years from now, they will study what happened in 2020 and 2021, from the murder of George Floyd to COVID and the issues we’re talking about right now.
Kliavkoff even joked that the information surrounding the the 12-team playoff expansion hasn’t changed since the idea was first floated, but “who knows about it has changed” — a not-so-subtle dig at SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, who helped design the format while also negotiating with Oklahoma and Texas.
For one, the Alston case is at the forefront of everyone’s minds, and three conferences colluding on the future of the NCAA in any official capacity would be a big red flag with antitrust litigation looming.
As Phillips said, “We are bullish on scheduling, as it will elevate the national profile of all of our teams by playing from coast to coast, with college fans across the country as the beneficiaries.” But as for a timeline …
“This is not about getting out of contracts and blowing anything up,” Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren said.
Warren and Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff said the number of conference games they play would have to be addressed down the road.
The third factor here involves television.
They are aligned in being “methodical” in the discussions as they continue into September, when the CFP Board of Managers will meet again to discuss the proposed expanded 12-team format.
The most telling comment about the playoff came in a Zoom call the three commissioners had with ESPN after their news conference.
Kliavkoff said the Pac-12 will have a decision on whether to pursue expansion by the end of the week, but it seems pretty clear that none of these conferences will be poaching league members from each other.
“The history of college athletics, one expansion of a conference has usually led to another to another into another,” Phillips said.
On the one hand, Phillips said this about the Big 12: “We want and need the Big 12 to do well.
“At the time that we got together, there was great instability,” Phillips said.
So what does it all mean? Beyond the platitudes and comments that Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby will figure things out, the future of the Big 12 remains precarious.