Football is becoming bigger and bigger in the US each year. More young boys are inspired to play it and go to the big leagues, and more families gather around for a night of watching football. With this growth of popularity comes the changing of the conference lines. Various colleges are looking to realign the lines that define who the schools play against during the next few years.
Certain teams are leaving their former conferences to join better ones, or a conference where they will have more competition. Clemson, who is in the ACC presently, is trying to figure out a way to enter the SEC by changing the conference laws.
Publicity also plays a role in the wanting of new conferences. The more publicity, the more popular the teams might get, therefore the more funding for their football program that they can get. It is all about the money and gaining popularity, because this will bring more students who enjoy watching sports and having successful teams to their college.
Colleges like Oregon and Washington have joined the Big 10, and Oklahoma and Texas are going to be in the SEC in 2024. Even though the Big 12 lost these, they are gaining a bunch of other teams, including Houston, Cincinnati, BYU, and UCF, according to The Sporting News. It is the same for most of the conferences, some teams are leaving, but then others are joining.
No teams are really leaving the SEC conference. It seems to be the conference that everyone wants to be a part of. It is very popular because of Alabama and Clemson, and it is known for having top tier teams, as well as great football games.
All in all, the future conference realignment is a big one. With teams going here, there, and everywhere, it’ll be interesting to see how the season goes, and how the teams end up doing in the new conferences.
