Dare to Dream, Pac-12, Others Prepare to Land Counterpunch to SEC

The SEC made the first move, cutting back-room deals with Texas and Oklahoma to become members, and daring the rest of the Power 5 football conferences to respond.

Rather than get swallowed up by the SEC and all of its impertinence, the Pac-12, Big Ten and ACC, each with relatively new leaders trying to make a splash on the job, reportedly will answer force with its own show of force, which will come in the form of some sort of scheduling consolidation.

With name, image and licensing allowances paying players nationwide and evening the playing field some — and you can take that to mean however you'd like — the next obvious play is securing the richest TV rights contracts.

An alliance is the only alternative that can make that happen and force the SEC to share the landscape rather than run it.

Imagine some sort of sporting agreement involving Washington, Oregon, USC, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Clemson, North Carolina, Notre Dame and other schools.

For that matter, a Pac-12 and Big Ten football agreement is nothing new. These two have had one in place for nearly three quarters of a century.

On and off since the 1947 Rose Bowl, while making allowances for the college playoff system, these conferences have sent their winners or representatives to Pasadena, California, to play every New Year's Day. The result has been the most watched and best attended bowl game in the postseason.

An alliance between the Pac-12, Big Ten and ACC, promoting exclusive scheduling, would enable these conferences to avoid a messy realignment but build a power base that can combat the influence of the all-powerful SEC.

Currently, there are 41 schools in the three conferences, which together would more than double the current SEC membership.

This could delay or eliminate the supposed need for a so-called "super conference," which would assuredly bury a lot of college football's traditions and create an insurmountable gap between the haves and have-nots.

The biggest loser in all of this most likely will be the Big 12 and most of its members.

OK, Kansas and Baylor probably will find homes for their powerhouse basketball programs in the alliance or even in the SEC, but the Big 12 as it exists will disappear as a Power 5 entry.

An alliance announcement, first reported by The Athletic, could come as early as next week, according to the Los Angeles Times.

This counterpunch is partly the brainchild of new Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff, on the job for less than two months. Being proactive, he's listened to schools showing an interest in joining his conference, met with Big 12 officials and heard their concerns and he's entered the alliance discussion.

In a short amount of time, Kliavkoff has been the leader that his predecessor Larry Scott never was. The conference could have used the new guy when navigating last year's pandemic season, which resulted in a start later than the rest of the Power 5s and teams playing as few as four games.

When and if the Pac-12 and the other leagues make their countermove, it will be interesting to see what the SEC does next.

Meanwhile, tickets will go on sale soon for the Clemson-Washington football season opener in Husky Stadium in 2025.

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