Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham was right on the money with his prediction that college football would undergo another major change regarding conference realignment.
Back in August 2023, while news that Utah had joined the Big 12 was still fresh, Whittingham took to ESPN to explain his opinions surrounding the impermanence of college football’s modern landscape.
“Well first of all, you use the word permanently, and I can say it’s far from that,” Whittingham said in an interview with ESPN’s Spence Checketts.
“I think in 2-3, maybe 5 years on the outside, everything is gonna change again. And so this may be just a quick couple years of the game [Utah v. BYU] returning, and then everything is blown up again and people go their separate ways.”
Fast forward about six months and things are clearly falling into place with Whittingham’s prediction.
Multiple sports news organizations have reported that changes are already being proposed to the CFP’s new 12-team format. Most of these changes on account of certain conferences' revenue greed surrounding ESPN’s six-year, $7.8 billion extension to televise the CFP.
As Andrew Marchand, Nicole Auerbach, Stewart Mandel, and Chris Vannini of The Athletic reported concerning the CFP’s new revenue debacle:
“Commissioners have said that they’re treating the Playoff for the 2026-27 season as a blank slate, with no special allegiance to any formats or decisions made over the past decade. But that approach means there’s a lot to settle, from automatic berths to revenue distribution, and outside onlookers are eager to see progress.”
“One source involved in the discussions said they expect the Big Ten and SEC to push for revenue shares larger than those given to the Big 12 and ACC, creating further separation between the two groups. The differentiation could be in the form of a larger percentage of revenue for the Big Ten and SEC on a per-league basis or on a per-school basis."
Josh Pate, host of the Late Kick Podcast, added to the discussion, explaining that coupled with their desire for greater revenue, the Big Ten and SEC are actively looking to expand. In a post on X, Pate wrote:
“One or both [Big Ten & SEC] will restructure into 4 divisions & look to construct internal conference title mechanisms that either ARE part of the CFP (I.E conference semifinals + conference title games) or will produce a conference champ to compete in a CFP possibly reduced in size.”
The future of college football is far from settled.
Florida State’s negotiations with the ACC will certainly set a precedent for what is to occur in the coming months and years. Regardless, conferences like the Big Ten and SEC will stop at nothing to grow their brand, expand, and increase profits.
A “Power Two” super conference system might be closer than some fans realize. Moreover, Kyle Whittingham’s comments on the impermanence of the college football landscape seem to be a foreboding of what is to come regarding the future of America's favorite collegiate sport.
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