With 130 teams in 10 conferences, NCAA Division 1 Football can be a handful to follow, know the 2022-2023 conference realignment news and update
Schools moving from conference to conference create new rivalries, and when a conference powerhouse decides to move, it could shift the power in the conference. This doesn’t make it easier to make successful college football picks.
NCAA Football (NCAAF) Conference Realignment 2022-2023 News, Update, Conference, Big 12, Prediction, Map And History
We’re going to get you prepped for the upcoming NCAAF season by recapping the conference moves, so you can be prepared to make college football predictions for the 2023 season and beyond.
What is NCAAF?
Simply put, NCAAF is American Collegiate/University football. The initialism NCAA stands for the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Obviously, the “f” stands for American football.
According to the NCAA, there are 1098 colleges and universities as members across 102 athletic conferences and three divisions. There are almost half a million student-athletes in 19,886 teams competing for NCAA’s 90 championships in 24 sports. Fortunately for us, we are only focusing on one sport and one division in this article: NCAA Division 1 Football.
A Quick History of NCAA Football Conference Realignment
For a long time, the NCAA football conferences remained the same. A major watermark for Conference expansion and realignment was in 1950 when Michigan State joined the Big Ten Conference. This was the first change to the Big Ten in 38 years. Current conference powerhouse the SEC went 60 years before expanding. However, in more recent history, conference realignment has ramped up, with Football programs chasing more money and Conferences chasing better television contracts and national visibility.
Beginning in the 1990s, NCAA Division 1 football began experiencing increasingly regular conference realignments. Long time Independent teams searched for conference homes, while major programs decided to leave (or were poached from) long-time conference homes, bringing their power and prestige to conferences looking for a boost.
As a consequence, the balance of power shifted across the NCAAF. Throughout the 90s and 00s, the SEC rose from an average Conference to the most powerful and dominant conference in NCAAF. The Big East created a football conference, while the SWC ceased operations in 1996, having been in operation since 1914.
NCAAF football (and American football in general) continued to rise in popularity and profitability throughout the 90s and 00s, leading major names to move to new conferences. The University of Miami (The U) joined the newly formed Big East in 1991, winning the National Championship in the conference’s inaugural year. Florida State joining the ACC in 1992 began to shift the perception of the conference from a basketball conference to a formidable football conference.
The U and Virginia Tech joined the ACC in 2004, followed by Boston College in 2005.
In 1996, four Texas schools left the SWC for the Big 8 (renamed the Big 12) and ended the historical legacy of the SWC. As teams moved conferences throughout the 00s and 10s, the SEC, Big Ten, and ACC expanded their ranks with major programs while the Big East closed up football operations.
The Covid-19 pandemic created global uncertainty, and the NCAA was not immune to pandemic issues. Legendary independent NCAAF program Norte Dame found itself in a very precarious position, with most conferences opting for in-conference play only in 2020. The ACC came to Norte Dame’s rescue, signing Norte Dame to the ACC for the 2020 season only. The ACC is the conference home for all of Norte Dame’s sports programs, except for football and hockey.
NCAA Conference Realignment in 2022 and Beyond.
If you are looking to make college football picks against the spread and win or find a conference to follow, you may want to know of the upcoming major conference realignments across NCAA football.
The Big 12 is preparing to impede potential losses by adding BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF to the conference in 2023. Impending big losses? Rumors have Oklahoma and Texas set to join the mighty SEC in 2025. Losing powerhouse programs like Texas and Oklahoma will have the Big 12 looking to convince another powerhouse program into their ranks.
The ACC has continued its trend since the 90s of adding to its ranks, adding six schools from Conference USA for 2023. The ACC’s expansion to 14 teams has focused on adding schools in major American television markets to boost the conference’s visibility and financial prospects.
The Pac-12 is losing two major programs – both in the Los Angeles area – from their ranks in 2024. Both USC and UCLA are leaving the Pac-12 and joining the Big Ten in 2024. With both Los Angeles area teams prepared to join, the Big Ten is positioning itself as a second power conference dominating the college football landscape alongside the SEC.
Undoubtedly, NCAA conference alignments will continue to change and affect your college football picks as teams and conferences position themselves for the most financial gain, aiming to the atop of NCAA Division 1 Football.
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