A look at 2016 college football conference changes

The 2016 college football season is nearly upon us. Back are the rivalries, the pageantry, the sights, the sounds and the crisp air where anything can happen on any Saturday.

While a lot of the traditions stay the same, there are some changes in each conference to take note of heading into the season. Coaches get replaced and players graduate or head into the NFL. There are new bowl games and rules changes, plus different ways to absorb the games. Let's take a look at each of the Power 5 conferences and examine a few of the major changes:

ACC

There is a lot changing for the ACC on the horizon. A network is in the works which has helped solidify the league. Add in the possibility of the ACC becoming the first conference to nab two playoff berths, and things are certainly looking up. But that is down the road. The biggest change in the ACC is happening with two of their better football programs plus a non-traditional power making a high profile hire.

For the first time in 29 years, Frank Beamer will not be roaming the Virginia Tech sidelines as the head coach. Beamer retired after last season as one of the most accomplished coaches in ACC history. Since Virginia Tech joined the ACC in 2004, his Hokies won four conference championships (four in their first seven years in the league). Former Memphis head coach Justin Fuente takes over with some huge shoes to fill.

Another former Big East power, Miami, will also have a new head coach. Mark Richt, who was fired after 15 years at Georgia, heads to his alma mater to turn a once feared program around from the Al Golden era. Even though Richt was labeled an underachiever at Georgia, if he could duplicate that at Miami he could get the Hurricanes back atop the ACC standings.

One of the more shocking hires this offseason was Virginia wooing Bronco Mendenhall away from BYU. Mendenhall trails only LaVell Edwards among BYU coaching accolades and now heads to Charlottesville to revive a program that has fallen on tough times during Mike London's six seasons. Dino Babers also takes over at Syracuse.

The ACC will also have a collaborative replay where there will be a centralized command center that will assist officials with any replays at member stadiums and Notre Dame Stadium. That will allow the league to be more efficient in the replay system as well as, to be blunt about it, get things right. Last season saw the controversial ending to the Miami-Duke game when the Hurricanes brought a kick return back for a touchdown to win the game with no time left. Replays showed that one Miami player's knee was down, but the touchdown wasn't overturned when officials took a second look at it. If the ACC's new system succeeds, it could be the blueprint for other conferences or the NCAA to adopt it around the country.

SEC

The SEC also has a few high profile head coaching positions being filled. Mark Richt is out at Georgia after failing to reach that program's lofty expectations. Despite some major talent pouring into Athens, Richt hadn't won an SEC title since 2005. New head coach Kirby Smart comes from Nick Saban's coaching staff and should bring in a strong defensive mindset and instant respect.

Steve Spurrier, the ol' ball coach, retired mid-season last year, so South Carolina has hired former Florida head coach Will Muschamp to run the Gamecocks program. Muschamp, who took over for Urban Meyer at Florida, knows what it is like to replace a retiring legend.

Missouri's new head coach is Barry Odom, who replaces the Tigers' most successful coach, Gary Pinkel, who revealed he has non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and retired after last season. Odom served as an assistant to Pinkel for most of the last 13 years.

There are also the issues that Ole Miss is going through. The Rebels' program has proposed some self-sanctions including loss of scholarships and fines but that may not be enough to please the NCAA for their wide-ranging list of infractions. A postseason ban is possible.

The SEC has also demanded that members play at least one non-conference game against another Power 5 team. Typically, the SEC doesn't shy from playing games against top competition, so this isn't that big a deal. Plus four members (Florida, Georgia, Kentucky and South Carolina) already have an ACC opponent as their rival.

One of those games will be Tennessee hosting Virginia Tech at Bristol Motor Speedway and has the potential to break records for the highest attendance at a college football game.

BIG TEN

The biggest news this season will be the new Big Ten schedule. The league will go to a nine-game schedule which will have each school play the other schools in their division once and three teams in the other division (Indiana and Purdue have a protected cross-division rivalry). It is a big move, especially since the SEC and ACC both shot down a nine-game schedule in order to have flexibility to schedule non-conference opponents. In those leagues, some schools have geographical rivals as well as the ACC's deal with Notre Dame keeping them from wanting to stick with the eight-game season.

There are some new coaches in the Big Ten. It isn't often when you have a Super Bowl coach helming a college football program. But that's what they now have in Illinois now that Lovie Smith has taken over. Smith, who took the Chicago Bears to Super Bowl XLI, will try to recreate that success down the road in Champaign.

Maryland hired Michigan defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin to replace Randy Edsall, who was fired midseason. Durkin has worked under both Jim Harbaugh and Urban Meyer, so he should have some tricks up his sleeve. Minnesota also replaced Jerry Kill, who retired due to medical concerns, with his longtime assistant Tracy Claeys. Rutgers hired Ohio State co-defensive coordinator Chris Ash for their head gig.

Wisconsin will host LSU in the first-ever FBS game at famed Lambeau Field.

PACIFIC 12

The Pac-12 is pretty boring compared to the rest of the college football landscape. The biggest change resides at USC, where Pat Hayden was replaced as athletic director by Lynn Swann. Swann takes over a program that has been on probation and been cycling through coaches this decade. The current coach, Clay Helton, was retained by Hayden after he took over for Steve Sarkisian last year. Helton is not Swann's guy, so it will be interesting to see how USC handles all of this with a tough schedule.

There is also California replacing Jared Goff. The No. 1 overall NFL draft pick will be tough to replace. Davis Webb, a graduate transfer from Texas Tech, has been named the starter and should be a decent replacement who can come in and win games while their young group gets some experience.

The Pac-12 was shut out of the College Football Playoff last year but has a slew of teams that look to win this league and take that top spot. The problem is that much of the Pac-12 elite have brutal schedules. It will be interesting to see if the South Division can actually win the Pac-12. Stanford or Oregon have won each of the previous five Pac-12 Championship games and both are primed for another run. However, USC, Utah and UCLA could finally break through and win the conference.

BIG 12

One of the major changes in the Big 12 is Art Briles' dismissal at Baylor. Under Briles, the Bears had unprecedented success. However, there was a culture of privilege and a lack of accountability for some major allegations, namely sexual assault. Not only did Briles take a lot of the heat for Baylor's troubling condition, but the university bears the brunt of the blame. Jim Grobe takes over a tough situation, though he once took Wake Forest to a BCS game.

Iowa State also made a coaching change, hiring 36-year old Matt Campbell to replace Paul Rhoads. The Cyclones hope Campbell's youth and personality can put a fire into a rather stagnant program.

The changes most people will be discussing about the Big 12 this year regards the possible addition of new members to the league. This has been a much debated topic within conference members and it has become a rather sensational quest. Unlike other conferences' attempts for realignment, the Big 12 is having to go after schools in 'lesser' leagues. That has created a free-for-all of schools who want a seat at the big table and all the trappings that go with it. Schools like BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, Memphis, Colorado State, UConn and many others will be doing their best to impress the movers and shakers in the Big 12.