Big Ten, PAC-12 and ACC Announce Alliance

The ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12 announced on Tuesday an alliance among the three conferences to tackle legislative, scheduling and other opportunities within the college athletics landscape.

During an afternoon press conference the trio of conference commissioners confirmed that there is no signed agreement between the three conferences as part of the arrangement. According to a press release, the alliance was unanimously supported by the presidents, chancellors and athletics directors at all 41 institutions. 

“It’s about trust. We looked each other in the eye and made an agreement,” ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips said. “Binding contracts serve a purpose but that to us wasn’t a critical element.”

While the conferences remain competitors on the field of play and the alliance does not represent any form of conference realignment, the three are – in their own words – committed to tackling issues across college athletics in a like-minded fashion in addition to forging marquee scheduling agreements in the future.

As far as the scheduling component, a press release states:

“The alliance includes a scheduling component for football and women’s and men’s basketball designed to create new inter-conference games, enhance opportunities for student-athletes, and optimize the college athletics experience for both student-athletes and fans across the country. The scheduling alliance will begin as soon as practical while honoring current contractual obligations.”

Penn State football has one out of conference opening in 2025 and 2027 among its currently scheduled and partially scheduled upcoming seasons.

The impetus for such an arrangement is multifaceted between media rights soon to be up for renewal, the expansion of the SEC to include Oklahoma and Texas in addition to Name Image and Likeness legislation that allows student-athletes to earn money and create branding opportunities unlike ever before.

“The ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12 recognize the unique environment and challenges currently facing intercollegiate athletics, and we are proud and confident in this timely and necessary alliance that brings together like-minded institutions and conferences focused on the overall educational missions of our preeminent institutions,” said ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips. “The alliance will ensure that the educational outcomes and experiences for student-athletes participating at the highest level of collegiate athletics will remain the driving factor in all decisions moving forward.”

How this alliance truly comes to fruition, and what it ultimately means for Penn State’s future schedules remains to be seen. All three commissioners supported the idea of expanding the college football playoffs, although none supported it without the caveat of needing the further study what the best expansion model might look like.