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SEC and Big Ten leaders are scheduled to meet this week as two of the most powerful conferences in the NCAA consider joining forces to gain even more control as the college sports landscape continues to shift.
An advisory group made up of members of the two conferences is slated to meet on Thursday in Nashville, with the key talking points including the future of the expanded college football playoffs and how reaching a scheduling agreement could be beneficial for both conferences.
If the SEC and Big Ten were to align in creating their football schedules, it would indirectly make it more difficult for the rest of college football to compete for the 12 or potentially 14 spots available in the postseason.
The new 12-team playoff format debuts this season, and it’s likely that two more will be added to the format beginning in 2026—when ESPN’s six-year $7.8 billion deal to televise the playoffs starts. The SEC and Big Ten have reportedly made proposals to get three or four automatic spots in the new playoff.
With the new playoff format and more automatic bids, the conferences aim to reduce the influence of the selection committee, which currently selects which at-large teams make the playoffs outside of the five conference winners.
However, if the two were to reach a scheduling agreement, it would likely include a weekly SEC/Big Ten matchup, which would improve their strength of schedule and give them an edge in the selection committee polls.
The possibility of an SEC/Big Ten partnership could also be beneficial in terms of financial gain, as with the impending NCAA v. House settlement, schools can pay $20-23 million annually to student-athletes under the new revenue-sharing agreement.
If the conferences were to get more postseason football games, and other highly anticipated SEC/Big Ten games during the regular season, it would financially benefit both and thus help them recoup some of the money they’ll now be spending on student-athletes that they had previously allocated elsewhere.
“There’s two ways to get there,” Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman said at the Big Ten’s media basketball day, according to The Associated Press. “You can either make more money or you can spend your money differently, and we’re working very aggressively on both of those fronts to put ourselves in a position to fully participate in the revenue share when it opens up next year.”
There’s also talk of the potential of a new football super league called Project Rudy involving the Power Four conferences, which could infuse up to $9 billion of private capital into the system, though that’s not on the agenda for Thursday’s meeting.
HOUSE SETTLEMENT – SCHOOLS CAN OPT OUT
The Power Four conferences, along with the Pac-12, issued a statement indicating they’re fully onboard with the House settlement and the future revenue-sharing model coming to the NCAA.
Joint statement from @SEC, @theACC, @bigten, @Big12Conference, and @pac12: pic.twitter.com/H0JtS28b5H
— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) October 7, 2024
However, it is important to note that schools have the choice to opt out of the settlement, which would prohibit them from sharing revenue with their student-athletes. Yahoo Sports‘ Ross Dellenger reports that many FCS schools (the lower rung of college football behind the FBS) are considering opting out, as are basketball-playing programs.
Some schools opting out of the settlement would likely result in an even greater discrepancy of talent between the power conferences and the mid-majors, and competition between those who opt in and those who don’t could be eliminated.