The Big Ten, Big XII, Atlantic Coast Conference, and Southeastern Conference are all welcoming new member schools this year in advance of the 2024 college football season.
To recap the changes: UCLA, USC, Oregon, and Washington are joining the Big Ten. Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah are joining the Big XII. Stanford and Cal are joining the ACC. Oklahoma and Texas are joining the SEC.
The diaspora of the former Pac-12 member schools radically realigns the NCAA landscape, creates a couple of oddly misnumbered conferences (there are 16 schools in the Big XII now), and reduces the number of “power conferences” from five to four.
As of Friday, the Pac-12 will officially consist of two teams — Oregon State and Washington State — for baseball, football, track and field, women’s gymnastics, and wrestling. The Pac-12 network has already shuttered its doors, ceasing programming on July 1.
Now, the networks for the SEC and Big XII are cranking up the propaganda machine to welcome their new fanbases who aren’t accustomed to rooting for these conferences.
The Big Ten Network (BTN) announced Thursday it will debut new original programming dedicated to each of its four new member schools – UCLA, USC, Oregon, and Washington. In addition, a special one-hour edition of “B1G Today” debuts at noon ET Friday on the Big Ten Network. Dave Revsine, Rick Pizzo, and Jake Butt will discuss the four new programs joining the Big Ten.
The goal, it seems, is to get fans of the new schools to tune into their new cable home. Unlike the defunct Pac-12 Network, visibility and distribution shouldn’t present an issue.
The Big Ten Network is carried by all major video distributors across the United States and Canada (DirecTV, DISH, Verizon Fios, Spectrum, Xfinity, etc.) and approximately 300 additional video providers across North America. Big Ten Network is also available through streaming providers, including DIRECTV Stream, Fubo, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, and YouTube TV.
For some, this will be a welcome change. The Pac-12 Network was never carried by DirecTV, Charter Communications (in some regions) and Verizon FiOS, effectively crippling its distribution — and the conference’s revenues.
In the SEC, meanwhile, ESPN announced a new documentary, “Decade of Dominance,” that will air on the SEC Network on Aug. 14. Unlike the Big Ten Network’s attempt to look forward, the SEC Network is using the occasion of realignment to look backward.
According to ESPN:
Led by Emmy Award-winning director Rory Karpf and narrated by country music star Luke Bryan, “Decade of Dominance” was created to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of the College Football Playoff and highlight the success the SEC has had across the last decade.
“Decade of Dominance” will relive one of the most exceptional eras in SEC football, with behind-the-scenes moments, mic’d up sound and interviews with those who played pivotal roles in the greatness
Fans of Texas and Oklahoma are accustomed to viewing the SEC’s unapologetic pride with disdain. Now that they’re part of the family, perhaps they can learn to revel in the same attitude too.
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