The Big Ten, Pac 12, and the ACC Alliance are official (sort of)

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

The trio of commissioners held a joint press conference after the publication of their collaboration goals and were unanimously supported by the presidents, chancellors and sports directors of the 41 institutions. However, Pac 12 commissioner George Kliavkoff said: “There is no signed document. There is an agreement between three gentlemen.”

They will be guided in all cases by a commitment and priority to supporting the well-being of student-athletes, academic and sporting opportunities, diverse educational experiences and programs. All three conferences are based on their support for large-scale athletic programs, the college model, and opportunities for student-athletes as part of the institutions’ educational missions.

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

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

Strong academic experience and support

Diversity, equity and inclusion

· Social justice

Gender equality

Future structure of the NCAA

Federal legislative efforts

Post-season championships and future formats

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

The football programming alliance will offer additional engaging matchups across all three conferences while continuing to honor historic rivalries and the best traditions of college football.

On women’s and men’s basketball, all three conferences will add early and mid-season games as well as annual events that will feature top-notch clashes between the three leagues.

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

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 count,” before explaining that uncertainty with the league is why he doesn’t. there was no invitation.

“This group of Power Five schools matters. We know what the Power Five is not doing just for these 65 or so schools, not just for FBS but for Division I. We understand what these championships mean, at least right now. , in basketball, some of the CFP cast, etc, at FBS.

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

“Regarding this particular alliance, I think there is uncertainty. There is uncertainty in what happens between two conferences. There is just. How long, when, who is going where, etc., and the three of us felt, and the conferences that we represent and the broad program to which we are committed and the like-minded values ​​that I described earlier that we had a chance to stabilize. And we all hope that will and allow a conference like the Big 12 to find their way forward. So there are a lot of moving parts, but it was part of our logic to set up our alliance. “

To sum up the day, three conferences seek 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 programming, which will immediately take effect. more important on non-football programs.

As for the Big 12 Conference, it looks like the ACC, Big Ten and Pac 12 are giving them a chance to fill the incumbent void left by Oklahoma and Texas. However, we can descend into the rabbit hole, and maybe they’ve got together to figure out who will take the remaining limbs.

Fox Sports College football analyst Dave Wannstedt claimed on a local Chicago radio show that West Virginia is heading for the ACC, Iowa State and Kansas are heading for the Big 10 while the state of Oklahoma and the state of Kansas were heading towards the Pac 12.

Nonetheless, more news awaits as George Kliavkoff said Athleticism they will announce whether or not they will extend the Pac 12 by the end of the week. So all the dominoes could quickly fall or we will all have to keep playing the game of waiting.

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