The Big Ten, Atlantic Coast Conference and Pac-12 are forming an alliance to work together on the future of college athletics and scheduling.
Conference officials have been discussing the idea for weeks. The move comes less than a month after the Southeastern Conference invited Texas and Oklahoma to join and create a 16-school league by 2025.
The move sent shockwaves through college athletics.
The ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12 hope an alliance of 41 schools that span from Miami to Seattle leads to stability at the top of big-time college sports. The move also comes as the college football playoffs could likely expand from its initial four-team structure.
Little details were announced by the three conference commissioners on Tuesday.
The football scheduling alliance will begin as soon as practical while honoring current contractual obligations, according to a news release from the three conferences.
A group of athletic directors for the three conferences will oversee the scheduling component, including determining the criteria upon which scheduling decisions will be made.
For both women’s and men’s basketball, the three conferences will add early and mid-season games as well as annual events that feature premier matchups between the three leagues.
From the announcement, the alliance will also allow the conferences and schools to work together on various opportunities and challenges facing college athletics, including:
- Student-athlete mental and physical health, safety, wellness and support
- Strong academic experience and support
- Diversity, equity and inclusion
- Social justice
- Gender equity
- Future structure of the NCAA
- Federal legislative efforts
- Postseason championships and future formats
