By the end of the most recent realignment wave, pundits wondered whether the consolidation would widen the gap between the haves and have-nots. But at least within the power conferences, there appears to be more parity than ever.
This year, every single Power 4 title game will feature a conference newcomer, some of which aren’t traditional heavyweights. Oregon will play in the Big Ten championship, SMU in the ACC championship, Texas in the SEC championship, and Arizona State in the Big 12 championship.
These four programs all arrived in their new leagues after the pursuit of media-rights revenue decimated the Pac-12 and created a new Power 4 structure. Oregon and Arizona State are Pac-12 alums, and SMU was a Group of 5 team just one year ago.
Texas, a longtime Big 12 member, set off the chain of events in the summer of 2021. That July, the Longhorns, along with the Oklahoma Sooners, announced they would leave the Big 12 for the SEC. The Big 12 then added BYU, UCF, Cincinnati, and Houston.
The following summer, the Big Ten made a move to solidify its place as the SEC’s main rival: It announced it would add USC and UCLA. The losses weakened the Pac-12’s media-rights value, and former commissioner George Kliavkoff was ultimately unable to present a viable deal in the eyes of Pac-12 administrators. So Oregon and Washington decided they would also defect to join the Big Ten; Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah agreed to leave for the Big 12; Stanford and Cal (as well as SMU) would leave for the ACC.
In some cases, the moves were motivated solely by broadcast dollars. Fox bankrolled the moves by Oregon and Washington, promising $30 million to $40 million in media-rights revenue per year to the two West Coast programs. In others, it was the lust for a power conference designation: SMU agreed to join the ACC without any media-rights revenue at all, with boosters reportedly agreeing to pay $200 million instead. And then there was desperation: Stanford and Cal didn’t want to be left out in the cold—but they didn’t want to join a Group of 5 conference, opting instead to take a media-rights cut to join the ACC.
By the end, the Pac-12 had only two members (though the conference itself has begun a rebuild and will have at least eight in 2026).
With the College Football Playoff expanding to 12 teams this year, conference championships matter more than ever. Each champion will earn an automatic bid to the postseason. So the Playoff has a chance to feature newcomers like Arizona State or SMU—providing a breath of fresh air to a sport that has been dominated by the same bluebloods for the past decade.
