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A month after the SEC reset the college football landscape by adding Oklahoma and Texas as future members, three more Power 5 conferences this week announced a “historic alliance.”
The arrangement between the Big Ten, the ACC and the Pac-12 does not involve any signed agreement, but will include an increase in inter-conference programming between the three football and men’s basketball leagues.
And while Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren has said the alliance is not a reaction to the expansion of the SEC, the move comes against the backdrop of an increasingly powerful SEC and the whole evolving varsity athletics model.
“Listen, I understand that collaboration is an important part of anything you do to have the healthiest environment you can have,” Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne told Paul Finebaum on Wednesday. Show. “So I can understand where the conferences want to work together. The SEC has always been good about it.
“So when I looked [Tuesday’s joint news conference], I understand the purpose and have thought about it. At the same time, too, schools switching from one conference to another have occurred in the SEC. It happened in the ACC, the Big 12, the Pac-12 and the Big Ten. It is not a new phenomenon which is occurring. It’s reality. Schools will look after their own interests.
RELATED: Greg Sankey on “Turbulence”, Planning, PSC and Alliance Collaboration: “My Cell Phone Has Not Changed”
Byrne also expressed support for a continued model of “broad-based” college athletics, citing recent national championships won by SEC schools in unpaid sports.
“We believe in the model of college athletics and we’re proud of it,” he said. “Obviously, we come from a strong position in the Southeastern Conference. … I am excited about the future and excited about the future of our league and how we fit into long term varsity athletics.
Alabama coach Nick Saban, who expressed reservations about some of the changes to college football in an ESPN interview released last week, was asked on Wednesday evening about the latest developments and how the alliance would affect college football.
“Really, I have no idea,” he said. “I mean, my focus is on trying to get our team ready to play a game. I do not know. I can’t answer any questions about any of this stuff we’re doing right now.
“No matter what affects us, we’ll have to adapt, and that’s what we’re going to focus on and try to help our guys have a better chance of being successful. And I don’t think what they’re doing in the Pac-10s has anything to do with it.
RELATED: SEC’s Greg Sankey Responds to ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12 Alliance: “Look forward to future collaborations”
Mike Rodak is an Alabama beat reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on twitter @mikerodak.
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