Three years after Texas and Oklahoma announced their move to the SEC and sparked a tectonic shift in college sports, the Longhorns and Sooners are finally joining the SEC.
On July 1, the departure of the two Big 12 blue bloods became official, as did many other conference realignment moves, which reverberated throughout every corner of Division I. The exodus of 10 schools from the Pac- 12 to other conferences will become official on August 1.
In total, 15 FBS schools will change conferences this summer. When you include the four Sun Belt changes in 2022 and 14 more FBS changes in 2023, a total of 33 FBS teams have changed conferences since Texas and Oklahoma announced their moves. That’s nearly a quarter of the FBS, which grew from 130 to 134 teams during that span. And that’s not counting the three additional moves scheduled for the summer of 2025.
To help you keep up with all the moves, here’s a refresher on what changes are currently in effect (or soon to be in effect) and which schools belong to which FBS conferences in 2024.
Big Ten (18 teams)
- Will add USC and UCLA from Pac-12 on August 1 (announced in 2022)
- Will add Oregon and Washington from Pac-12 on August 1 (announced in 2023)
Full members as of August 1, 2024:
When Texas and Oklahoma announced their decisions in 2021, the Big Ten helped form “The Alliance” with the ACC and Pac-12 to slow realignment and keep conferences from destroying each other. Or so it seemed. A year later, the Big Ten announced the addition of USC and UCLA, along with a new TV deal. The league then opted not to add Oregon and Washington. But last summer, as the Pac-12 struggled to secure a TV deal, Oregon and Washington jumped into the Big Ten at a discounted price at the last minute, hurting the West Coast power conference.
The Big Ten did away with divisions and now has 18 teams, surpassing the WAC of the late 1990s as the largest FBS conference since the Southern Conference had 23 teams in the early 1930s.
GO FURTHER
‘All hell broke loose’: The chaotic final days that rocked the Pac-12 and college football
SEC (16 teams)
- Addition of Texas and Oklahoma from the Big 12 (announced in 2021)
Full members as of July 1, 2024:
The movement that sparked this wave of realignment is perhaps the easiest to understand. The SEC already had a presence in Texas, and the addition of the historic Longhorns and Sooners programs keeps the conference in contiguous states. Football divisions have also been removed here.
Big 12 (16 teams)
Full members as of August 1, 2024:
The Big 12 appeared on the brink of collapse in 2021 when it was caught off guard by the elimination of Texas and Oklahoma. Not only did it survive, officially adding four schools last season, but it now expands to 16 teams by taking on the Pac-12’s “Four Corners” schools, which came after more than a year of courtship.
GO FURTHER
Behind the scenes of Brett Yormark’s year-long effort to bring the Big 12 to 16
ACC (17 football teams)
- Addition of SMU from the American Athletic Conference (announced in 2023)
- Will add Cal and Stanford from Pac-12 on August 1 (announced in 2023)
Full members as of August 1, 2024:
(Notre Dame is not a football member)
The ACC took a proactive step in realignment by adding Cal, Stanford and SMU after the Pac-12 collapsed, although NC State had to reverse its original position to accomplish this. Clemson, Florida State and North Carolina voted against the decision. Clemson and FSU have since filed lawsuits against the league in hopes of overturning the league’s rights grant and potentially leaving the conference. The realignment may not have happened yet, but the ACC hopes it has ultimately stabilized by this event.
GO FURTHER
SMU is once again a power conference program. Can the Mustangs capitalize?
Pac-12 (Two teams)
- Will lose USC and UCLA to Big Ten on August 1 (announced in 2022)
- Will lose Oregon and Washington to the Big Ten on August 1 (announced in 2023)
- Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah will lose to the Big 12 on August 1 (announced in 2023)
- Will lose Cal and Stanford to ACC on August 1 (announced in 2023)
Full members as of August 1, 2024:
There will be no Pac-12 championship this year with only two teams. Oregon State and Washington State will each play at least six Mountain West football games, but will essentially operate as independent teams. Mountain West made room for games by trimming its schedule to seven conference games this season. A potential merger between the two teams is possible, but OSU and WSU have until 2026 to determine their plans.
GO FURTHER
Oregon State, Washington State see futures become clearer after Pac-12 chaos
American Athletic Conference (14 football teams)
- SMU lost to ACC (announced in 2023)
- Addition of the army since independence as a football-only member (announced in 2023)
Members from July. 1st 2024:
The AAC has lost four schools to power conferences in the past two years, but the addition of Army will keep the league at 14 teams. Army and Navy will retain their post-championship weekend game, but it will be a non-conference game and will not factor into potential College Football Playoff scenarios.
Conference USA (10 teams)
Full members as of July 1, 2024:
CUSA was down to five future schools at one point in 2021. But the league held on, added four schools for 2023 and is now in the tenth round for 2024 with the addition of Kennesaw State. The Owls only started playing football in 2015, but the suburban Atlanta school is a strong FCS program.
No change: MAC, Mountain West, Sun Belt.
Coming in 2025: UMass joins MAC; Delaware and Missouri State join Conference USA.
(Photo: Daniel Dunn / USA Today)
News Source : www.nytimes.com
Gn sports
