Nick Saban's concern about college football realignment 'based on money'
College football realignment has once again changed the sport, and you can add Alabama head coach Nick Saban to the list of people who aren't completely thrilled by it.
Saban, who holds college football's record with seven national championships, believes that schools have to make the best decisions based on what fans want, not just do things "based on money."
“I think traditions of college football are very important and something that we definitely should try to respect every way that we can,” Saban said at SEC Media Days.
“Now I know a lot of these decisions get based on money. Like my old guy in West Virginia used to say, ‘It ain’t about the money, it’s about how much.’
“And I think sometimes he’s right, and that’s why some of the things that we’re doing is happening the way it’s happening.
“But I think for fans, which we need to respect the fans in terms of competitive balance, quality of games, how many good games get played and the traditional rivalries that fans look forward to, I mean each and every year.
“Those things are important, because if you really want to talk about the financial aspects of the game, the fans coming to the games is the most important part of that. And the things that we can do to protect that I think are very, very important.”
The SEC helped kick off the latest phase of college football realignment when it voted to add Texas and Oklahoma sometime ahead of the 2025 season.
That bombshell move forced the Big 12 to act, adding BYU, Houston, Cincinnati, and UCF to offset losing the two football blue-bloods.
And this summer, USC and UCLA stirred the pot by announcing a move to the Big Ten ahead of the 2024 college football season.
All decisions "based on money," but will forever change the face of the sport.
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