ACC, Big Ten, Pac-12 announce sports alliance

On the heels of Texas and Oklahoma’s move to the SEC, we knew big changes to college football were coming—and fast. While there’s still much to be figured out—how the rest of the conference realignment will shake out, if the Big 12 will even exist next year, etc.—today’s announcement showed that the future of college football is more fluid than ever.

The ACC, Big Ten, and Pac-12 formed an alliance today, August 24. On the surface, we’ll probably see more out of conference football and basketball games scheduled between the conference (will the ACC-Big Ten Challenge now include Pac-12 schools too?). But make no mistake, this announcement was really about counterbalancing the SECs obscene power over the college football landscape.

From ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips: “The ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12 recognize the unique environment and challenges currently facing intercollegiate athletics, and we are proud and confident in this timely and necessary alliance that brings together like-minded institutions and conferences focused on the overall educational missions of our preeminent institutions. The alliance will ensure that the educational outcomes and experiences for student-athletes participating at the highest level of collegiate athletics will remain the driving factor in all decisions moving forward.”

Read between the lines at your pleasure. Of course, there’s no binding contract, so maybe all of this means nothing in the grand scheme of things. But how might it affect Virginia Tech specifically? Stay tuned.