Do the SEC and Big Ten have a football rivalry? One analyst weighs in
Amid the historic phase of recent conference expansion and realignment that becomes official this summer, and often in the years before then, there has always seemed to be a little animosity between the SEC and the Big Ten, or at least between their most vocal football fans.
Now, as they emerge as the nation's two "super-conferences" in the middle of that realignment, that rivalry is expected to amp up, as the Big Ten and SEC compete for spots in the expanded playoff and in the national championship race going forward.
But are they really rivals in the traditional sense? Veteran college football broadcaster, and former Penn State quarterback, Todd Blackledge scoffed at the idea when speaking with Greg McElroy.
"I don't know if I see it as a rivalry," he said on ESPN's Always College Football program. "I think there's mutual respect. Greg Sankey [the SEC commissioner] and Tony Petitti [the Big Ten's] are both really smart guys who have made some really shrewd decisions."
Those decisions include some bombshell realignment moves: football super-powers Texas and Oklahoma will join the SEC officially in July; and the Big Ten will welcome USC, Oregon, Washington, and UCLA into its ranks in time for this fall's kickoff.
Both leagues have sought to use their leverage when it comes to the expanded College Football Playoff, including an attempt to get more automatic bids for their members, a plan that was apparently shot down when other leagues voiced their outrage at the idea.
But whatever the expanded playoff looks like in 2026 and beyond, the SEC and Big Ten are expected to cash in around $21 million per year, each.
"They both realize, we together have a good thing going," Blackledge said. "And it may appear like a rivalry, but I think they see they help each other, as well. I think the fact that they are kind of moving in lockstep ahead of the pack, I think they benefit from each other."
While the SEC and Big Ten may be happy to work hand in hand when it comes to business, their teams, and especially their fans, will be only too happy to embrace a rivalry on the field in the years to come.
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JAMES PARKS