Nick Saban and Greg Byrne Aren't Concerned about 'The Alliance', and You Shouldn't Be Either

Earlier this week, the Pac-12, Big 10 and ACC announced that it was forming a pact called 'The Alliance', an unsigned agreement to promote inter-conference scheduling between the conference's football and basketball programs. The effort was a clear response to the growing influence of the SEC, which added two more powerhouse programs in Texas and Oklahoma over the summer.

While the three conferences intended the announcement to be taken more seriously by the college football world, SEC fans saw it as more of a laughingstock than a serious declaration. With no formal agreements or papers signed by the three conference commissioners, the announcement looked like a desperate scramble by the Alliance to remain relevant.

The fact that the first scheduling announcement from any of the three conferences was a 2024 meeting in Las Vegas between LSU and USC didn't help the general public take the announcement any more seriously.

On Wednesday evening, Alabama coach Nick Saban made his thoughts on the Alliance known. And just like the majority of college football fans, Saban didn't seem like he'd lost much sleep over the announcement.

"Really, I have no idea," Saban said. "I mean, I'm focused on trying to get our team ready to play a game. I don't know. I can't answer any questions about any of this stuff that we're doing right now. Whatever affects us, we'll have to adapt to, and that's what we'll be focused on and trying to help our guys have a better chance to be successful.

"And I don't think what they do in the Pac-10's got anything to do with that."

Just because the three conference's execution and formation of the Alliance might ultimately not do much in the near future, it does have the potential to shape the structure of college football down the road. For years now, a movement has slowly begun that involves either the formation of super conferences or the abolishment of conference altogether in favor of having teams be able to freely compete with whoever they wish year in and year out.

Like it or not, the Alliance is one step closer to that particular future of college football. The migration of Texas and Oklahoma was the starting point of the SEC forming a super conference, and the other conferences had to respond in kind.

On Wednesday afternoon during a segment on The Paul Finebaum Show, Alabama director of athletics Greg Byrne noted that programs relocating to different conferences is nothing new.

“Listen, I understand that collaboration is an important part of anything that you do to have the healthiest environment that you can have,” Byrne said. “So I can understand where the conferences want to work together. The SEC has always been good about that.

“So when I was watching [Tuesday’s Alliance press conference], I understand the purpose and thought of it. At the same time, too, schools moving from one conference to another has happened in the SEC. It’s happened in the ACC, the Big 12, the Pac-12 and the Big Ten. This is not a new phenomenon that is taking place. This is the reality. Schools are going to look after their own interests.”

Sounds like Byrne, just like Saban, isn't taking the Alliance too seriously.

So at the end of the day, does the Alliance warrant any attention from fans outside of those three conferences? At the moment, no. However, the formation of the Alliance and the expansion of the SEC could radically change the landscape of the sport years down the road.

The Alliance might not be what changes things, but it could certainly serve as a reference point a decade from now for when super conferences began to take shape.

Has anyone checked in on the Big 12 to see how they're doing?