Here's the Realignment Happening This Season
ahem, testing, 1, 2, 3 - is this still on?
We've slowed our roll on the newsletter and the podcast will return for football season - the Discord is busier than ever, join us if you haven't yet. But with July 1 starting the new NCAA calendar year, let's take a look at all the realignment occurring across CFB.
FBS
ACC - SMU joins from the American, Stanford and Cal join from the Pac-12.
American - Army joins from being Indy. With UMass joining the MAC in all sports next year, UConn and ND will be the only FBS Indy schools starting next season.
Big 12 - Arizona, Arizona State, Utah and Colorado will join in August because as part of the Pac-12's complete ineptitude, they managed to sign the only GOR that doesn't expire on July 1 to match the NCAA calendar.
Big Ten - USC, UCLA, Washington and Oregon join from the Pac-12
Conference USA - Kennesaw State moves up from the FCS Atlantic Sun. With Delaware and Missouri State joining next year, the conference will have gone from 5 schools back to 12 on the backs of Liberty, NMSU, and 5 FCS call ups. Woof.
SEC - Texas and Oklahoma officially join - the ones that started this whole thing that has led to changes for 35 FBS teams.
Mountain West & WCC - Oregon State and Wazzu officially join the WCC as affiliate members on all sports that the league supports to go along with their football scheduling agreement with the MW. They still have not announced an outright MW merger, so something may be in the works be it a new best of the rest G5 conglomerate attempt or holding out hope the Big 12 goes to 18 or something else.
The WAC
I'm including this just because it affects a few Utah state schools. And it's both funny and sad.
Yes, football exists again there. Sort of. In 2021 they announced reviving football by adding 4 Texas schools from the Southland (Lamar, Sam Houston, Stephen F Austin, Abilene Christian) along with SUU (Utah Tech had already joined). Tarleton State and UT Rio Grand Valley had also already joined. They also announced a scheduling alliance with the ASUN to play Jacksonville State, Central Arkansas and Eastern Kentucky. Later they added Incarnate Word also from the Southland.
And then it all came hilariously crashing down.
Incarnate Word changed their mind a week before the move was supposed to go into effect and went back to the Southland.
Lamar followed them a week later after playing 1 year.
Jacksonville State and Sam Houston State move to CUSA.
Kennesaw State joined the ASUN putting them in the alliance then took a CUSA invite also.
Stephen F Austin also went back to the Southland effective today with UTRGV also joining the hyper regional league.
The alliance turned into the football only United Athletic Conference and now consists of SUU, Utah Tech, Central Arkansas, Eastern Kentucky, Abilene Christian, Autstin Peay, North Alabama, Tarleton State and West Georgia is joining from D2 this year. Woof.
For non football - Grand Canyon and Seattle are leaving the WAC for the WCC next year. I don't know about you, but this is a hard sale to make for a league:
