Big Ten and SEC form advice group as ties between conferences get stronger
The Big Ten and SEC announced Friday that they have put together a group of institution presidents, chancellors, and athletic directors to “take on the major obstacles facing college athletics” as well as figure out how to make the experience of student-athletes better.
The move is important because it shows that the two biggest and richest conferences and their commissioners are getting closer. This is because the balance of power in college sports is shifting in their favor.
ESPN has heard from sources that Big Ten commissioner Toni Petitti and SEC commissioner Greg Sankey are working together more than their predecessors did.
This is happening at a time when conference expansion has made their leagues even more different from the other FBS conferences.
This summer, the Big Ten will get Oregon, Washington, USC, and UCLA from the Pac-12, which is almost extinct. The SEC will get Oklahoma and Texas.
The advisory group was created because of “recent court decisions, pending litigation, an array of state laws and intricate governance proposals,” as stated in the Big Ten’s news release.
“The Big Ten and the SEC have substantial investment with the NCAA and there is no question that the voices from our two conferences are integral for governance and other reform efforts,” Petitti stated in a statement.
“We recognize the similarity of our circumstances, as well as the need for action to address the similar obstacles we face.”
The Big Ten and SEC advisory group will advise the leagues but won’t be able to make changes. It is still not clear what it will be made up of when it will meet, and what issues it will specifically address. But what it has done is make the two huge things even more connected.
“There are similar cultural and social consequences on our college athletes, our institutions, or our communities due to the new college sporting environment,” Sankey stated in a statement.
“We don’t know the answers to all the questions we have to answer.” We won’t always agree, but making it easier for people to talk to each other between conferences will help us focus on solutions that make sense.
Different news sources say that the Big Ten or SEC are joining forces to create a joint advice committee “to deal with the major problems that college athletics are facing.”
For those who remember before realignment shook college football, this new structure is a true “Alliance.”
That’s what former Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren did with the Pac 12 and the ACC, making the famous “Alliance,” before adding USC, UCLA, Oregon, and Washington to the Big Ten and breaking up the Pac 12.
This plan for the Big Ten or SEC to work together does make sense. University presidents as well as athletic directors will work together on this advisory group, whose only goal is to help college football have a bright future.
The Big Ten along with the SEC are the two clear sports powers, so what they say and do should be taken more seriously than what the NCAA seeks to do to fix the mess it made.
This is a big step toward real sports governing in college football, but not in all sports in college. College football demands clear rules, direction, and leadership, as we’ve seen over the last few decades and especially in the last few years. Even though this news doesn’t bring that, at least it’s a step in the right direction.
When the SEC announced in 2021 that they were inviting the Universities in Texas and Oklahoma, it shook the college football world to the core.
Each conference has been in a dead sprint ever since to get as much power and strength as they can. You’re gone if you don’t keep up.
In terms of new teams, only the Big Ten while the SEC has added more. After the SEC bought Texas and Oklahoma, the Big Ten went along and bought UCLA, USC, Washington, and Oregon, which meant that the Pac-12 was no longer around.
The two most important people in the sport are now working together to “address the significant challenges confronting college athletics and present possibilities for the betterment of the player experience.”