The landscape of college football has undergone seismic change recently and suddenly. Alabama football head coach Nick Saban is not a fan.
Saban bemoaned what conference realignment would mean for the sport. At his annual Media Day press conference, he remarked that celebrated college football traditions are going to “get sort of pushed by the wayside, I think, and it’s sad,” per on3.com's Grant Grubbs.
In recent days, the Pac-12 conference has been completely upended. Within hours on Friday, five schools announced intentions to leave: Oregon and Washington are Big Ten-bound, joining former Pac-12 members UCLA and USC. Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah, meanwhile, will join to the Big 12, joining Colorado, also formerly of the Pac-12. These changes won't occur until 2024.
Curiously, Saban didn't seem so concerned when it was Alabama football's own conference, the SEC, welcoming schools defecting from other conferences.
When it was announced that Oklahoma and Texas would be leaving the Big 12 for the SEC in 2024, Saban called it a “great addition”. In contrast to his recent remarks, Saban lauded the “two great programs that have great traditions.”
The legendary Alabama football coach did make a point of addressing the negative effect upheaval can have on the student-athletes. Referring to education and helping to develop careers for students both on and off the field, Saban said he hoped college coaches could “keep that as a priority.”
Nick Saban's counterpart at Missouri, Eli Drinkwitz, was even stronger in his condemnation of the recent flurry of moves. Drinkwitz pointed out that while coaches and administrators orchestrated the moves between conferences, the players were given no say.
Drinkwitz summed up the issue succinctly: “Did we consider the student-athlete?”
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