College football is extremely popular in the United States. This is especially true in states that do not have many or any professional sports teams. Teams play college football all over the country. It is important to mention the fact that there was a college football realignment that happened recently. This was the major news from college football last year, just as the outcome of Super Bowl 59 is the major news in NFL football.

This realignment is somewhat complicated. As a result, it is crucial to discuss and explain the realignment so that everyone understands exactly what happened in this realignment. The realignment has affected college football quite a bit, including all of the major teams. Without further ado, here is an explanation of the recent realignment in college football.

College Football Realignment: The Basics

It is important to start with the basics and explain what realignment means in this context. Thankfully, the concept of realignment in the context of college football is fairly simple. In a college football context, the term realignment refers to a team leaving one college football conference and joining another one.

There are a variety of reasons why a college might decide to do this. The most recent realignment was a major one, which is why it garnered many headlines. Even though realignments happen all the time in college football, this major realignment was different than the norm.

Why Do College Football Teams Change Conferences?

Before getting into the specifics of what happened in the most recent realignment, it is important to discuss why college football teams change conferences in the first place. As previously mentioned, there can be several reasons. However, the most common reason is that schools want to earn more money and get more resources for their athletic programs. Not all conferences are equally lucrative, so teams might leave a conference and go to another one to earn more money. The primary method that college football teams make revenue is from their television rights deals.

Playing in a conference with more popular teams means that more people are likely to watch the games on TV. As a result, teams can leverage this in order to negotiate more lucrative television rights deals. However, this is not the only reason why college football teams change conferences. College football teams might leave one conference and join another because their current conference doesn’t give them much competition. Playing in a more competitive conference helps teams improve and increases their chances of making the College Football Playoff.

College Football Realignment: Which Teams Changed Conferences?

Now that we’ve covered what realignment means and what teams do it, it is time to examine which teams changed conferences. Arizona and their rivals Arizona State both left the Pac-12 and joined the Big 12. Army was previously an independent team (not part of any conference) but they have now joined the American conference. Bryant went from the Big South-OVC conference to the CAA conference. Cal departed from the Pac-12 and instead became a member of the ACC.

Colorado left the Pac-12 and joined the Big 12. Kennesaw State was formerly independent but has now become a member of the Conference USA. Mercyhurst was previously part of the Division Three conference PSAC but has moved to the NEC. Conversely, Merrimack left the NEC to become independent. Oklahoma exited the Big 12 to join the SEC and Oregon left the Pac-12 to join the Big Ten.

Robert Morris exited the Big South-OVC to join the NEC while Sacred Heart left the NEC to become independent. SMU left the American Conference and Stanford left the Pac-12, with both schools joining the ACC. A smaller school, Stephen F. Austin, departed from the United Athletic Conference to join the Southland conference. Texas left the Big 12 to join the SEC. UCLA, Utah, and Washington all left the Pac-12.

UCLA and Washington joined the Big Ten while Utah joined the Big 12. West Georgia departed from the Division Three Gulf South conference to become part of the United Athletic Conference. Finally, Western Illinois departed from the MVFC to join the Big South-OVC. As one can tell, the most recent college football realignment was quite significant and involved many teams changing conferences.

How Does This Affect College Football?

The ACC Expanded Westward

As one might expect, this realignment had a number of effects on college football as a whole. One of the most significant effects of this realignment is that the ACC added a number of teams from the western part of the United States. The ACC previously included many teams from the East Coast of the United States, so this is a major shift. The three teams from the western United States that joined the ACC are Stanford, SMU, and California. As a result, the ACC now has 18 members, which is the joint-most tied with the Big Ten.

The Big Ten Expanded

Additionally, the Big Ten conference expanded, as well. Four teams left other conferences and joined the Big Ten. These four teams are Washington, UCLA, USC, and Oregon. The addition of these teams strengthens the Big Ten, especially the addition of Washington, who lost the 2023 college football national championship game.

The Big 12 Added New Teams

The Big 12 also benefited from this realignment. Four new teams joined the Big 12 conference. The following teams made the move from other conferences to join the Big 12: Utah, Colorado, Arizona State, and Arizona. Colorado had previously left the Big 12 to join the Pac-12 in 2011 but is now part of the Big 12 once again.

The SEC Strengthened

Additionally, it is fair to say that the most recent college football realignment strengthened the SEC. College football mainstays Oklahoma and Texas joined the SEC. As a result, the SEC now includes 16 teams in total. The addition of Texas and Oklahoma reaffirms the SEC’s status as the strongest conference in college football. Texas and Oklahoma have both made the College Football Playoff many times and both have won multiple college football national championships. However, both schools now face a tough path in order to win more championships, due to the many strong teams in the SEC.

That wraps up the explanation of the most recent college football realignment.