ACC, Big Ten, Pac-12 ‘Alliance’ Looks Even More Funny on Today’s Two-Year Anniversary

In the summer of 2021, Texas and Oklahoma announced their intentions to leave the Big 12 for the SEC.

That move, which will go into effect in 2024, was the beginning of this latest stage of conference realignment, which has taken hold of the sport in full force this summer.

But today is a day to reflect on the two-year anniversary of “The Alliance” that featured the ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12. Of course, The Alliance meant nothing. There was nothing binding about it. It was simply a handshake agreement among the three conferences that they would stick together and try to align on College Football Playoff expansion and matters involving non-conference scheduling.

College football fans know what happened next. USC and UCLA spurned the Pac-12 for another alliance member, the Big Ten, last summer. Those two schools will join the Big Ten beginning in 2024, along with Oregon and Washington, who announced their intention to leave the Pac-12 for greener pastures this summer after the conference couldn’t secure a viable television contract.

Colorado is heading to the Big 12, as is Utah, Arizona and Arizona State. A move by Cal and Stanford to the ACC, another member of the alliance, is gaining traction as well, Sports Illustrated‘s Richard Johnson reported on Thursday.

So all that’s left of the vaunted Alliance two years after its inception? Jokes, and a lot of them. Here are some of the best reactions from social media on the two year anniversary of the partnership that meant absolutely nothing.

Remember when the ACC, Big Ten, and Pac-12 formed "the alliance". Keep your friends close and your enemies closer
— Matt Liberman (@Matt_Liberman) August 4, 2023