College Football Realigns Itself Outside the Margins

In this episode, I try to make sense of all the conference realignment madness including the mass exodus of major "Power 5" programs out of the Pac 12 conference. West Coast powers like Oregon and Utah are joining USC and UCLA on the move eastward to the Midwest and Deep South regions.

The video mainly just reflects on the chaos affecting the Big 12, Big 10 and the now seemingly defunct Pac 12 conference. Among several questions heading into the 2023-24 college football season, a lingering question will be what happens to the four remaining Pac 12 schools: Cal, Oregon State, Stanford, and Washington State. It seems that two of the four may have a new conference by next weekend.

Unfortunately, the episode ends before I could ponder the potential implications for all college sports in these conferences. What do you think will be the long-term impact of these conference realignments? Can a coast-to-coast Big 10 conference thrive beyond football? Will the new Big 12 dominate college basketball for the next generation? Will anyone care?

Share your thoughts at drjermg@coolmeanderings.com or check out my YouTube channel for soundbites from episodes like this one!

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Episode sources

ESPN: Andrea Adelson, Source: Florida State Among 4 ACC schools against adding Cal, Stanford.
ESPN: Kyle Bonagura: Mountain West mulls next move as ACC decides on Cal, Stanford.
ESPN: NCAA 2023: College football realignment tracker.
USA Today: Brent Schrotenboer. Who's to blame for college football conference realignment chaos? Here are top candidates.
Associated Press: Paul Newberry. Column: Football rules, and every other sport will suffer from realignment frenzy.
College Football Playoff: Bowl Championship Series (BCS) All-time Results.
College Football Playoff: 2017-2018 Semifinals
College Football Playoff: 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship.
College Football Playoff: 2019-2020 Semifinals.
College Football Playoff: 2020 College Football Playoff National Championship.
BuffZone: Brian Howell. Lasting legacy: Rashaan Salaam's life still inspiring others.

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