ACC, Big Ten, Pac-12 'competitors' bond to form 'groundbreaking alliance'

The joint news release from the ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12 said the three power conferences will “remain competitors.”

Nonetheless, their three commissioners Tuesday announced what the ACC’s Jim Phillips described as a “groundbreaking alliance” that will allow all 41 schools from the three leagues to work together while dealing with the hodgepodge of issues confronting college athletics.

Included in the agreement is a scheduling element that will send teams coast to coast – from Miami to Seattle — and create what Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren said will be “epic matchups.”

All the while, keeping an eye on the growth of the SEC, which has invited Big 12 powers Texas and Oklahoma to join and form a 16-team league no later than 2025.

Conference officials have been discussing the idea for weeks, but Warren, Phillips and George Kliavkoff of the Pac-12 — all relatively new to their positions — acknowledged the plan publicly for the first time.

“Today is a special day,” Warren said. “It signifies there is a lot of goodness in college athletics. There is turbulence right now. We need to have strong leadership and work together. There is a lot of work to be done.”

The hope is the alliance leads to stability at the top of big-time college sports and thwarts future realignment.

“In the history of college athletics, one expansion of a conference has usually led to another, to another and to another,” Phillips said. “To the three of us, we felt that the stabilization of the current environment across Division I and FBS and Power 5 in particular, this was a chance for new direction, a new initiative that I don’t think has ever been done before. We’re proud of it. We really are.”

What’s unique about the collaboration is there is no signed contract.

“It’s about trust. It’s about we looked each other in the eye. We made an agreement,” Phillips said.

“There is an agreement among three gentlemen, and there is commitment from 41 presidents and chancellors and 41 athletic directors to do what we say we’re going to do,” Kliavkoff said.

One of the crucial elements of the alliance is scheduling contests, although Warren said existing contracts will be honored. It could lead to multiple nonconference football games every season and create new and valuable television inventory.

“We are bullish on the scheduling alignment,” Phillips said.

There was no timeline set forth Tuesday, but a working group of athletic directors will oversee the scheduling component. The group includes ADs from the ACC (Clemson’s Dan Radakovich, North Carolina’s Bubba Cunningham, Syracuse’s John Wildhack and Virginia’s Carla Williams), the Big Ten (Iowa’s Gary Barta, Ohio State’s Gene Smith and Penn State’s Sandy Barbour) and the Pac-12 (Cal’s Jim Knowlton, Oregon’s Rob Mullens, Washington State’s Pat Chun and USC’s Mike Bohn).

“If there’s any lack of specificity in the press release,” Kliavkoff said, “it’s that we want to make sure we can deliver 100% of what we promised.”

Among other issues the conferences plan to tackle together are possible playoff expansion, an emphasis on diversity and inclusion, social justice and the future structure of the NCAA.

Warren said he supports playoff expansion in football, but he added, “I’m a big believer in being methodical.”

“We need to think through the length of the season, health and wellness issues, not only physical, but also mental. How does this impact final exams? We have to make sure our stadiums are winterized. Effect on TV. We’re still unpacking this information.”

Taking into account the issues, Kliavkoff said, “These matters, while challenging, present once-in-a-generation opportunities for the leaders in college sports to re-evaluate long-standing ways of conducting our business.

“Today is a historic moment, but it is the very beginning of a long journey of collaboration.”

Concluded Phillips: “We’re all better together than we are separate.”

The Associated Press contributed to this story.