Mike Farrell Sports

College Football Recruiting, Opinion, and Analysis

B1G-SEC Alliance Exposes Immediate Worries, Programs at Risk, But Delayed Change

Friday’s bombshell of an SEC and Big Ten advisory alliance won’t change much for now but is a foreboding long-term development.

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By Rock Westfall

Friday’s bombshell of an SEC and Big Ten advisory alliance won’t change much for now but is a foreboding long-term development.

A B1G Step to a Super Division With the SEC? 

The announcement of a Big Ten and SEC alliance to study and propose solutions to college football’s current crisis and future deliberately and disrespectfully leaves out the other two power leagues (Big 12 and ACC). Thus, it is reasonable for fans in the “lesser” two leagues to worry about their obvious second-class status. The announcement of the alliance had political gibberish about taking advisement of other interested and outside groups. Gee, thanks, guys!

But the future of the Big 12 and ACC is not all that is at stake. Mid-level and weak-link members of the Big Ten and SEC could also be at risk. 

Delays for Immediate Change are Probable, But Fear is Immediate  

As the alliance begins, the four power conferences have TV contracts already in place for this decade. While the networks could always tear up those deals for something mutually better, that would take time. Also, the new 12-team College Football Playoff begins this year and includes the Power Four leagues with a chance at Group of Five participation. The current CFP Playoff contract runs through 2025-26, so there is potential for early changes to the postseason format.

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The alliance will focus on NIL, the Transfer Portal, recruiting periods, and similar issues that have made college football lawless with an unmanageable calendar. Such issues aren’t specifically related to TV contracts and could be easier to implement soon.

Still, those with a long-range vision have every right to be worried. 

Long Time Weak-Links Could be Most at Risk 

I’ll be the first to admit to questioning why Vanderbilt, Northwestern, Duke, Cal, and now even Stanford will be carried by big-time leagues in the future. If a reformed college football league were formed today, those programs would not be desirable candidates.

There is virtually no interest or passion for these programs in their locales. Attendance is abysmal for these schools; furthermore, when these programs do draw large crowds, it’s because of the visiting fans taking over the venues. Even when times are good, home support usually isn’t.

Northwestern, Cal, and Duke went to bowl games in the 2023 season but played in front of large sections of empty seats. It is not unnoticed. And there may be discussions about cutting off the charity. Such programs do not put in more than they take out. It is fair to ask why Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, and even Nebraska should carry Northwestern.

It is true that Big Ten bylaws protect Northwestern from being kicked out because it was a charter member. But if the Big Ten ceases to exist and becomes something bigger by way of merger, etc., all bets could be off. 

And yet, Northwestern and Duke made strong contributions to the 2023 season that are emblematic of why they can matter in the sport. The Wildcats began the campaign with interim head coach David Braun after firing long-time coach and favorite son Pat Fitzgerald over a hazing scandal. Despite being written off for dead, Northwestern went 8-5, beat Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl, and inspired CFB Nation.

In addition, Duke beat Clemson on national TV, causing a field storm that the Blue Devils basketball program would envy, and went to a bowl for the second consecutive season. These success stories remind us of how even small-brand programs are part of the fabric of the sport and what makes it the best.

What Good is a TV Market of Millions if Nobody Cares or Watches?

Additionally, The real men of genius at TV networks will talk with the alliance about market size and eyeballs. Oh really?

Poor Northwestern has long tried to brand itself as “Chicago’s Big Ten Team.” Apparently, nobody in the Windy City has gotten word yet. Frankly, Chicago fans don’t care, not with five major league franchises in the four major pro sports. And then there is the leprechaun in the room. Traditionally, Notre Dame has always been Chicago’s college football team. But TV execs are obsessed with Chicago’s standing as the #3 ranked TV market, oblivious to its lack of interest in Northwestern. There is no logic to how that works.

Stanford and Cal play in the coveted San Francisco Bay Area TV market, the 10th largest in America. But the millions of TV sets in that market are tuned elsewhere. The Bay Area could not care less about college football. Even when Stanford was top-10 good, it was a tough sell and an afterthought.

And then there is the Big Ten fallacy of gaining the #1 New York City market by adding Rutgers. The Real Men of Genius at the Big Ten Network actually thought the Big Apple would turn off the Yankees, Mets, Rangers, Islanders, Devils, Knicks, and Nets on Saturdays for last-place Rutgers football or Big Ten games between schools in the Midwest that nobody ever related to.

A powerful argument can be made that smaller markets such as Kansas City (Missouri, Kansas, Kansas State, Big 12, SEC), Milwaukee (Wisconsin and Big Ten), Omaha/Lincoln (Nebraska, Big Ten), Oklahoma City (Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Arkansas, Texas, Big 12, SEC), New Orleans (LSU and SEC), Cincinnati (Ohio State, Cincinnati, Big Ten, Big 12), and related are much more valuable to college football than the pro sports obsessed mega markets. And let’s not forget Birmingham, Alabama, the national champion of college football TV ratings which only has the 45th largest Media Market. 

Fewer Teams for More Money is Not College Football – It’s an Assault on the Game’s Soul

Why is college football God’s Game? It begins with College Football Saturday. For three months each year, those autumn Saturdays are like waking up to Christmas. Multiple games run from late morning until midnight. The possibilities are endless, as is the variety. There are always shockers, heartbreaks, and bizarre plays that leave viewers awestruck and thrilled.  These days, the new “thing” is for fans to stay home and watch multiple games on different devices morning through night.

Even the “lesser” programs contribute with exciting games and landmark upsets. College football could not possibly be more different from the NFL. And that uniqueness is the draw. It’s the ultimate sports all-you-can-eat buffet. If you end that Christmas Day joy of college football, you kill the essence of the sport and destroy its soul. A Saturday of 16 games with 32 teams sounds as NFL-antiseptic as it most definitely would be.

If college football fans wanted the NFL, they would gravitate to the NFL. If you turn college football into the NFL, you’ll drive away fans who will say, “I can get a higher quality of this on Sunday.”

When this alliance meets, they would be well advised to take all of the schools into account. Not out of benevolence or charity but out of wisdom, self-interest, unabashed greed through growth, and full knowledge of what college football is and why it is the number two sport in the land.

Otherwise, the alliance can give NASCAR a call. NASCAR was the fastest-growing sport in America in the 2000s until it decided to try and be something it was never meant to be. And then it destroyed itself. 

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