The past few days have brought a whirlwind of discussion about conference realignment in college athletics. This frenzy of activity has rendered the names of most conferences absurd, and it has sadly destroyed one storied conference, the Pac-12.
I love college sports, particularly the Southeastern Conference (SEC), which is why I’ve written the digital equivalent of reams about this subject since last weekend. It’s fascinating watching the college athletics landscape change so drastically and so quickly.
Mark Etheridge of D1 Baseball likens what has happened in the past several days to musical chairs, with the Pac-12 ending up as losers.
Many have railed regarding the proximity (or lack thereof) in several of these conference realignments. Conferences were once region-based. That’s no longer a factor, as the impetus has shifted to football brands and ratings potential. Ironically, the one conference that eschewed conference expansion to maintain geographic and cultural fit is the one that sits with skeletal remains. The Pac-12 stood pat while the music played, then found itself without a chair (or a television deal) as the music stopped leading to a raid on eight of its members.
It’s not surprising at all that college football is driving most, if not all, of the movement of schools from one conference to another. But where does that leave other sports? Most other college sports teams aren’t as high-profile as football, and Etheridge refers to those teams as sitting “voiceless in the backseat” as football drives the realignment conversation.
College baseball is one of those less-influential sports, but it’s telling to see how realignment affects that landscape. Etheridge reports that the Pac-12 teams that are moving will move all sports to their new conference homes, and those West Coast teams will wind up with more exposure on the ESPN networks once they play more games in earlier time zones.
Related: Conference Realignment Is Getting Even Crazier and Making Less Sense
But the most significant change, at least for college baseball, will happen in the post-season. Etheridge explains:
The bigger impact for the rest of the country is on the NCAA regional picture. The conference consolidation means the leagues are larger than ever, leading to more teams with mediocre conference records making the field. And honestly, those will be the programs with the bigger budgets, the best facilities and coaching staffs, and all the other advantages that lead to wins. They will be more talented than most teams that win smaller conferences, and one could successfully argue it will be more challenging to go .500 in the new SEC or Big 12 than to win a seventh or eighth-rated conference.
He points out that one of the biggest advantages to new teams in new conferences is exciting matchups. The SEC, Big Ten, and Big 12 will have even more opportunities for explosive and exciting conference series, but there’s a potentially big drawback.
“The downside is that fewer teams will compete for conference titles,” Etheridge writes. “In a 10-team league, you have a much better chance to stay in contention late in the season and play high-stakes series. In the new era, most teams’ high-stakes, late-season matchups will be for NCAA bubble status or to qualify for a conference tournament. That’s a more challenging ticket to market than playing for a regular-season crown.”
It’ll be harder for a less stellar team in a massive conference to shine, and that could mean that many deserving teams won’t get the chance to prove themselves. At-large playoff berths will come at a premium, but how many teams from each conference will get a chance?
And that’s just the landscape of college baseball. Sports like softball, men’s and women’s basketball, track and field, tennis, and so many others will have their own conference-realignment minefields to navigate. It just goes to show how crazy the world of college sports has gotten lately, and the football concerns are only scratching the surface.
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