The Big Ten and SEC create an advisory group

It’s no secret that the Big Ten and the SEC are the two most powerful conferences in college athletics. Those are the two conferences where the biggest concentration of college football talent lies and we know that college football runs college athletics. Revenue from football programs runs whole athletic departments.

After the Big Ten grabbed USC, UCLA, Washington, and Oregon, there was no doubt it was them and the SEC at the top of the food chain. Both of these conferences are pretty darn good in basketball too. It’s been speculated that college football could eventually just move into these two conferences having 24 teams each and that’s the D1 college football model.

The Big Ten and the SEC have created a group to address college athletic challenges

News dropped today that the Big Ten and the SEC have created an advisory group. That group is made up of university presidents, chancellors, and athletic directors. Apparently, the group was created to address challenges in collegiate athletics. No one knows what that means right now, but we might be moving closer to two superconferences.

People have rushed to social media to say this is the end of the NCAA. I’m not so sure. The NCAA still helps run non-revenue sports. I’m not sure that’s something the conferences want to do all by themselves. The NCAA Tournament is also put on strictly by the NCAA, not college basketball conferences. This alliance signals something different to me.

This signals that we are closer to a schism in college football. We very well could see the top 60 or so colleges play in one league and all of the other universities play in a smaller league. There could be two different national champions because it’s a different sport. That, to me, is where I see this alliance headed towards.

We are very early in the stages of this announcement, but it shouldn’t affect Ohio State football or basketball that much. The football program is still in a great spot to succeed with its embrace of NIL. The basketball program still has some caché even if they stink right now. I’m more interested to see how this affects the smaller schools.