From Local Pride to National Reach: How Super Conferences are Changing College Football
- karinnaleonard
- 1 day ago
- 7 min read
College football used to be about geography. Rivalries were born out of proximity and state lines, as teams repeatedly battled familiar foes and nearby schools. Now in the era of super conferences, those regional bonds are being redrawn and, in some cases, erased entirely. Tradition has been put aside in the pursuit of better media deals and bigger television markets. As a result, the latest wave of conference realignments has transformed college football from a local game into one that spans across multiple time zones. The Big Ten now stretches from Rutgers in New Jersey all the way to the Pacific Northwest with Oregon and Washington, while the ACC expanded across the country to welcome Stanford and Cal. Meanwhile, other conferences have been left scrambling, with the Mountain West and what remains of the Pac-12 battling to find schools to fill out their leagues. In the fallout of college football's shifting landscape, there are just as many losers as there are winners.
There must be a reason for all these realignments, so who actually benefits from them? In short, the rich conferences have only gotten richer. For the SEC and the Big Ten, adding new teams and expanding their reach has only strengthened their dominance over college football. By adding the University of Washington and the University of Oregon to the conference, the Big Ten claims football markets across the nation. With the conference now stretching all the way from the East Coast to the Pacific Northwest, the Big Ten reaches audiences in nearly every time zone.
Their coast-to-coast presence allows them to schedule matchups that will draw national audiences, a major selling point for their broadcast partners. In 2022, the Big Ten signed a seven-year media rights deal with Fox, CBS, and NBC worth more than $7 billion, with the original spanning from July 1, 2023 through the end of the 2029-30 athletic year. According to ESPN, the agreement was projected to distribute between $80 million and $100 million per year to each of its schools. That payout and exposure were major draws for the four Pac-12 teams that eventually joined the Big Ten: USC, UCLA, Oregon, and Washington. New deals are still being ironed out with the possibility of larger programs earning more than $150 million annually in the future.
At the same time, the SEC has continued to expand its empire in the South by adding Texas and Oklahoma—two of the largest football markets in the country. This move strengthened the SEC brand and ensured that the conference would continue to dominate the national title conversation, largely by controlling the most dominant recruiting pipeline. Amidst this realignment, smaller-market teams have finally been able to move into the mainstream. Last summer, SMU joined the ACC and gained access to a Power Four conference. The stronger competition and increased national exposure far outweigh any potential drawbacks for SMU. After the collapse of the Pac-12 conference, Cal and Stanford quickly followed SMU to stay relevant and secure the stability of their programs. While joining the ACC allows them to reach new markets and maintain national visibility, it has also dramatically increased their travel schedules. With conference games stretching across multiple time zones, Stanford is expected to travel 23,562 miles (boosted by a game in Honolulu), while Cal will accumulate 15,780 miles over the course of the 2025 season. For teams like Stanford and Cal, what used to be short trips to nearby opponents have turned into logistical nightmares of cross-country flights.
While cross-country matchups are great for broadcast opportunities and help programs reach national audiences, they also come with a cost. Traveling to away games as a fan has become increasingly difficult and expensive. What used to be a fun weekend road trip has turned into long and costly flights. Loyal supporters who once followed their teams across state lines now find themselves unable to afford the trip. For student-athletes, the challenges only continue as constant travel across time zones adds pressure to an already demanding schedule. Football programs receive the most attention when discussing realignment, but the travel may burden other sports even more, as they play multiple times each week. This leads to missed classes, extended time away from campus, and long road trips that pull athletes away from the place and friends they've come to call home. This new reality of college sports takes a toll on mental health that can't be ignored. While realignment hasn't created these challenges, it has amplified them—adding new layers of stress to the already demanding balance of being both a college athlete and a student.
For every program cashing in on realignment, there are just as many left behind. A prime example of this is Oregon State. The collapse of the Pac-12 left the Beavers scrambling for stability and staying relevant. In the 2025-2026 athletic season, Oregon State and Washington State are the only remaining members of the once proud Pac-12. Next year, the conference will gain seven more schools —six with football programs. But for now, the Beavers and Cougars are essentially acting as independent programs. As the conference focuses on looking ahead to next year, the two lone teams have had to construct their own schedules aside from a home-and-away series with each other.
In their effort to rebuild, the Pac-12 moved to add new members and caught the Mountain West Conference in the crossfire, with five programs jumping at the chance to join a former Power Five conference. Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State, and Utah State all accepted invitations to leave the Mountain West, which sparked immediate backlash from the conference as they attempted to sue the Pac-12 for poaching fees. The Pac-12 rebuked the claim and began its own lawsuit, claiming the poaching clause was invalid. The lawsuit remains ongoing and is expected to continue into next summer at the earliest. This legal battle shows that realignment affects everyone, as large programs chase brighter stages and smaller schools fight to survive. What was once a sport built on tradition and regional rivalries has become a business-driven league that focuses solely on market reach. As conferences continue to shift and expand around the Power Four, college football risks losing what made it so special: a sense of community born out of local pride.
The heart of college football has always been its rivalries, with the games that divided states and split households being what made being a fan so special. Rivalries stretch all across the country, with the Iron Bowl between Alabama and Auburn dominating the SEC each fall. Every season, Texas and Oklahoma capture the nation's attention when they battle it out in the Red River Rivalry. In the Big Ten, the storied showdown between Michigan and Ohio State defines the end of every regular season. During rivalry week, Ohio State students and fans famously go around campus crossing out every "M" they can find. Some of these rivalries have existed for more than a century, serving as reminders of what has long made college football so special. Even realignment can't take that away. You had a sense of pride that was passed down through generations of families and local communities. For fans, athletes, and coaches alike, rivalries weren't just about wins and losses—they were about tradition and belonging to an identity bigger than yourself. In the new era of super conferences, many of these rivalries are being erased.
A central victim of realignment is the Oregon vs Oregon State rivalry, which played its first game in 1894 and was only canceled once during World War II. From iconic clashes to quirky matchups like the infamous "Toilet Bowl", these matchups were the highlight of the year for many Oregonians. Paul Swangard, a Eugene local, told The New York Times, "That game was the only thing to really look forward to in most seasons,” he said. “It was for the right to live in the state of Oregon. It was the way in which we defined the rest of the year." With Oregon's move to the Big Ten, this historic rivalry is in jeopardy, leaving the hunt for the Platypus Trophy at risk of becoming a thing of the past. Both schools hope to continue playing the series, but its future is uncertain. For the first time, there will be no rivalry matchup in 2026, but fans remain hopeful for the future. Oregon has made the first move in continuing this rivalry, telling local media, "We do have an opening in our football schedule each year from 2027-32.” At this point, the responsibility falls on Oregon State to make room in its football schedule for the 2027 season and beyond.
The uncertainty surrounding the Oregon vs Oregon State matchup illustrates a larger trend within college football of historic rivalries being disrupted and, in some cases, lost entirely. As conferences continue to expand and stretch across the country, many have asked what other traditions may be at risk of disappearing. While the goal is always to preserve these rivalries, realignment has made them increasingly difficult to maintain, marking a shift from tradition and legacy toward reach and revenue.
With the rise of super conferences, college football is no longer just about regional pride. While major programs reap the benefits of competing in a national media spotlight, smaller schools are left navigating the uncertainty left in their wake. As the sport continues to prioritize reach and revenue, fans must grapple with what will remain at the heart of college football.
Edited by: Kelly Cassette
Comments