With conference realignment always in the background of the college football conversation, Utah‘s head coach, Kyle Whittingham, was the latest to comment on the never-ending drama.
In a recent interview with John Canzano, Whittingham mentioned that there’s a new wave of realignment coming.
“I think there is a major realignment coming, and it’ll be a big one,” Whittingham said. “I think it will create even more of a divide and exclusivity for the teams that are on the right side of that line. 20 months to four years? How about that for a time frame? In my opinion, it’s going to look very much like an NFL minor league.”
Whittingham references the idea of Super Conferences consisting of countless teams. With leagues across the country continuing to expand, the writing on the wall appears to be that college football is heading down that path soon.
“I see an expansion of the playoff with that to 16 teams,” Whittingham continued. “The short version is Super Conferences. I think it’s going to boil down to 40-60, maybe teams in the Super Conference. I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t play anybody but other Super Conference teams. Make that a division as far as who you play. Like I said, a full-blown playoff. Whether or not the players will be employees, officially, remains to be seen, but I think that’s very likely. I think that’s where it’s heading.”
While Whittingham’s timeline of 20 months to four years still leaves a bit of a window to straighten out the details, it’s not a far-fetched idea to assume the direction of college athletics is heading that way.
Big 12 fans have seen eight new teams come into the league, with the departure of original members Oklahoma and Texas this summer. Last year, the Big 12 added Cincinnati, BYU, Central Florida and Houston. And just this month, the Big 12 officially welcomed Utah, Colorado, Arizona and Arizona State.
Now, the rumors are beginning that the ACC could be the next major conference to be in trouble, given the legal challenges the conference is facing from Clemson and Florida State.
But in the meantime, there’s still football to be played and a season just weeks away from kicking off. Utah kicks off its first season as a member of the Big 12 Conference on Thursday, August 29th vs. Southern Utah.
