The student athlete is the clear loser of conference realignment. Conferences, specifically the Big 12 and Big Ten, will have unwieldy geographic footprints.
The large geographic footprints can be justified some in football, where teams may play only four or five road games in a season. However, the additional travel will be a considerable burden on the student athlete in most other sports such as basketball, baseball, soccer and volleyball.
Ultimately, conference expansion and realignment is happening because of money. Colleges are looking for better TV deals and don’t care if it affects the well-being of student athletes or ends traditional rivalries.
The SEC is adding Oklahoma and Texas in 2024, but has stayed out of much of 2023’s realignment chaos. That did not stop prominent SEC football head coaches Nick Saban, Lane Kiffin and Eli Drinkwitz from speaking out against recent conference realignment.