College Football Rumors: Big Ten, ACC, Pac-12 Alliance Expected, Could Delay Playoff Expansion

With major changes coming to college sports, particularly football, three of the biggest conferences are reportedly forming an alliance. The Big Ten, Pac-12 and ACC are expected to make an announcement regarding their new partnership as early as next week, according to The Athletic.

The report comes a few weeks after news of the SEC’s expansion. College football’s most dominant conference is poised to get even strong with Texas and Oklahoma set to leave the Big 12 for the SEC.

It’s not exactly clear what the upcoming announcement from the three conferences will entail. Administrators in the Big Ten, Pac-12 and ACC believe in the collegiate model and want it to continue, The Athletic reports.

"Is that about philosophy, governance, scheduling?" one athletic director asked, via ESPN. "It could be all of those things."

Amid the SEC’s expansion and the new rule allowing players to profit off their name, image and likeness, there is some concern that college football could be affected negatively. There’s also the potential expansion of the College Football Playoff, which appears likely to go from four to 12 teams for the 2023 season.

The expected alliance could work to delay the expanded College Football Playoff, according to The Athletic.

Of course, there is speculation that such an alignment would lead to marquee inter-conference matchups. Clemson and Ohio State have met in back-to-back CFP semifinals and could face off in the regular season if the conferences come to an agreement.