Two Richest College Conferences Dominated the First Round of the NFL Draft

Diarchy—rule by two—is the order of the day in college football.

Future Packers wide receiver Matthew Golden makes a catch against Michigan. / Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

It seems hard to believe, but there was a time when college football's top conferences maintained a rough equality.

Thanks to consolidation, those days have ended in dramatic fashion. The implosion of the Pac-12 (and the addition of Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC that encouraged it) remains one of the most shocking sports stories of the 2020s, and its ripple effects were felt in the first round of the NFL draft Thursday.

As noted by ESPN's Adam Schefter, an astounding 26 of the first 32 draft picks came from college football's two richest leagues—the SEC (15) and Big Ten (11). The SEC's total tied a five-year-old first-round record for any conference, while the Big Ten's was a conference first-round record.

The SEC (15 picks) and Big Ten (11) accounted for 26 of the 32 picks Thursday night. It’s the first time that multiple conferences each produced double-digit first-round picks. No other conference produced more than 2 picks in the 1st round.

The 15 picks for the SEC matches the…

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 25, 2025

Who was the main victim of this diarchy? That would be the ACC, which took another lick after a year of terrible press in its flagship sport of basketball.

As ESPN's David Hale pointed out Friday morning, the conference's two first-round picks were its fewest in 21 years. In 2004, the league had nine teams. In 2025, the league has 17 teams.

The ACC had just 2 selections in the first round of the NFL draft last night. That's the fewest for the league since 2004 -- the last year with just 9 teams (and future member Miami had SIX first-rounders that year)

Noted in Monday's newsletter...https://t.co/4zANJdaI4e

— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) April 25, 2025

Barring more robust revenue-sharing measures between conferences, it seems unlikely this arrangement will abate in the near future.

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