College Football Conference Realignment: Every Move Since 1990

In this Jan. 1, 2001, file photo, Virginia Tech quarterback Michael Vick (7) eludes Clemson's Keith Adams for a short gain in the first quarter of the Gator Bowl NCAA college football game in Jacksonville, Fla. Public opposition is growing against the planned induction of former football star Michael Vick into the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame. The Roanoke Times reported that two online petitions at change.org had received more than 90,000 combined signatures against the September induction.
(AP Photo/Steve Helber)
  • College football conference realignment has been going on unchecked since 1990.
  • The Pac-12 is now raiding the Mountain West in a fresh cycle of realignment.

In 1984, the U.S. Supreme Court decided NCAA vs. Board of Regents, declaring that the NCAA was in violation of American antitrust laws by dictating individual school television rights deals.ย 

According to the high court, schools and conferences should be free to negotiate their own media deals. That was the free market at work, after all.

Nobody knew it at the time, but the Supreme Courtโ€™s decision had unleashed the winds of change on modern college football. Less than 10 years later, the wheels of college football conference realignment started to turn.ย 

They havenโ€™t stopped since.ย  ย 

Conference Realignment History: Every Power Football Move Since 1990

YearTeamOld ConferenceNew Conference
1991Miami (FL)Ind.Big East (formation)
1991West VirginiaInd.Big East (formation)
1991Virginia TechInd. Big East (formation)
1991PittsburghInd. Big East (formation)
1991SyracuseInd.Big East (formation)
1991Boston CollegeInd.Big East (formation)
1991TempleInd.Big East (formation)
1991RutgersInd. Big East (formation)
1992ArkansasSouthwestSEC
1992South CarolinaInd. SEC
1992Florida StateInd. ACC
1993Penn StateInd. Big Ten
1996TexasSouthwestBig 12 (formation)
1996Texas A&MSouthwestBig 12 (formation)
1996Texas TechSouthwestBig 12 (formation)
1996BaylorSouthwestBig 12 (formation)
2004Miami (FL)Big EastACC
2004Virginia TechBig EastACC
2004UConnInd. Big East
2005Boston CollegeBig EastACC
2005LouisvilleConference USABig East
2005CincinnatiConference USABig East
2005South FloridaConference USABig East
2011NebraskaBig 12Big Ten
2011ColoradoBig 12Pac-12
2011UtahMountain WestPac-12
2012Texas A&MBig 12SEC
2012West VirginiaBig EastBig 12
2012TCUMountain WestBig 12
2013PittsburghBig East/AmericanACC
2013SyracuseBig East/AmericanACC
2014LouisvilleBig East/AmericanACC
2014RutgersBig East/AmericanBig Ten
2014MarylandACCBig Ten
2023BYUInd. Big 12
2023UCFAmericanBig 12
2023CincinnatiAmericanBig 12
2023HoustonAmericanBig 12
2024TexasBig 12SEC
2024Oklahoma Big 12SEC
2024ColoradoPac-12Big 12
2024ArizonaPac-12Big 12
2024Arizona StatePac-12Big 12
2024UtahPac-12Big 12
2024USCPac-12Big Ten
2024UCLAPac-12Big Ten
2024OregonPac-12Big Ten
2024WashingtonPac-12Big Ten
2024CalPac-12ACC
2024StanfordPac-12ACC
2024SMUAmericanACC
2026Boise StateMountain WestPac-12
2026Colorado StateMountain WestPac-12
2026San Diego StateMountain WestPac-12
2026Fresno StateMountain WestPac-12
2026Utah StateMountain WestPac-12
2026UTEPConference USAPac-12

Conference Realignment Is Driven By College Football

Long gone are the days when conferences had any semblance of geographic sensibility. A conference with origins in Texas and Oklahoma โ€“ the heart of central time โ€“ now shares its standings with three EST teams and five MST teams.

Itโ€™s hard to say whether or not this model is smart, or well-reasoned, or good for collegiate athletics.ย 

But that all went out the door long ago anyway. Conference realignment is driven these days by college football. There are explicit media rights deals and implicit inter-conference rivalries to live by.ย 

Conference Realignment Predictions: Where Do We Go Next?

When it comes to the current cycle of conference realignment, the only thing we can be absolutely sure of is that we havenโ€™t heard the end of it.ย 

The Pac-12 couldn’t exist as a power conference in a two-team format, which meant it had to either grow or be destroyed. Oregon State and Washington State have now raided the Mountain West, redirecting realignment pain down to the G5 and FCS levels as we have seen so many times before.ย 

The SEC and Big Ten may consider even more additions in order to power yet another growth cycle.ย 

The SEC could add Clemson, Florida State, or Miami. The Big Ten could addโ€ฆ the northeastern schools? The remainder of the ACC could merge with the Sun Belt.

I mean, this all sounds completely ludicrous, but when did any of this make sense ahead of time?

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