Realignment, as we keep finding out, is not a permanent thing. We thought in May the chessboard was going to remain relatively stable for the next few years until the new College Football Playoff television rights deal was negotiated for the 2026 season and beyond.
San Diego State and SMU joining the Pac-12 was viewed two months ago as possible realignment move, but that was going to be it. The Pac-12 would have stayed intact, and the other Power Five conferences would remain unchanged. Everything seemed quiet … and then Colorado bolted for the Big 12.
All heck broke loose.
The Pac-12 abruptly splintered and was reduced to the rubble of four teams. The Big 12 grew to 16 schools, and the Big Ten ballooned to 18 just days after commissioner Tony Petitti said his focus was only on getting USC and UCLA smoothly integrated into the conference.
Permanence is not part of the reality in realignment. Therefore, while a lot of different scenarios simply aren’t going to happen right now, they could happen in a few years. The idea the chessboard is fixed just doesn’t hold water.
By the end of this decade (the 2020s), it’s hard to see the ACC retaining all of the schools currently part of the conference. There is bound to be at least one defection if not more from the ACC. That would likely cause more defections and/or changes in the landscape.
It is worth looking at various conference and school changes which, if made, would make college sports so much better and serve the interests of numerous schools, not to mention fans and media. These changes aren’t going to happen in the next few years (we think), but it’s worth mentioning them.
Let’s start with the ACC, since that conference is the most likely to undergo changes within the next five years: