Impacts of Conference Realignment

Stanford University is located in the beautiful Palo Alto, California which is just outside of San Francisco. Stanford is a destination for surfers as it’s only 40 minutes from the crashing waves of the Pacific Ocean. The water is pretty cold, however, so folks who want to enjoy a nice balmy day in the water have to travel roughly 2800 miles to the Atlantic Ocean. This may seem outrageous but this is exactly what it takes to participate in an athletic contest as a Stanford athlete.

Last year, Stanford joined the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), leaving the Pacific-12 (Pac-12). The ACC includes schools such as Boston College, North Carolina, and Florida State; all fittingly located in close proximity to the Atlantic Coast. Teams must travel regularly to play teams in their conference. Stanford should not be playing in the ACC. 

Stanford made the decision to leave the Pac-12 after the conference failed to attain a longterm TV rights deal. Their hubris factored in greatly to this development. Pac-12 leadership countered a $30 million offer from ESPN with a $50 million offer which resulted in the end of negotiations. While the Pac-12 faltered, the other power five conferences all secured long-term TV deals.

In the wake of this, USC and UCLA left the Pac-12. This was the first of many dominos to drop. Stanford was the ninth school to depart the conference which is why they were left with the short end of the stick with the ACC. Stanford watched as their conference collapsed around them and had no choice but to do the same. Why did they have no choice though? 

The culture of college sports has changed tremendously in the last five years. It is more financially driven than ever. Stanford was in the Pac-12 for over 100 years and it took a TV deal to chase them out. This comes at the heels of athletes now being allowed to collect royalties off their name and likeness. This might do something to justify the amount of travel Stanford athletes now need to endure, but not enough.

According to Dylan Sanders from Sports Illustrated, the median NIL earning is $480 across all Division I athletes and more than 50% of all earnings are from basketball and football. Football is truly the driving force behind Stanford’s move to the ACC. All the top articles discussing the move speak about it in terms of the football team.

The Stanford football coach, Troy Taylor justified the travel by saying, “I don’t see it as being an issue,” Taylor said. “Obviously, it’s a newer thing in terms of going [to the East Coast] three times in a season, but it’s been done before. NFL teams do it, so we’re not the first to broach this.”

However, NFL teams do not have Stanford classes they need to excel in. The Cardinal football team had a GPA of 3.80 in 2023. Additionally, they have not proven ready for the challenge. They find themselves in the bottom 25 this season with only one ACC win. Even if Stanford football is considered on the same plane as an NFL team, the same cannot be said about other Stanford sports. 

What Stanford has historically excelled in is Olympic-centered sports such as track and swimming. Katie Ledecky, owner of 12 NCAA swimming records, is a product of Stanford. They are ranked first by NCSA in both sports on the mens’ and womens’ side. Had the Pac-12 prioritized their most successful sports, they would not have wasted their time trying to keep up with the elites of college football. 

Since the Pac-12 was drained of its historic programs, they have added new blood from the selection of West Coast schools. Boise State University, Colorado State University, Fresno State University, San Diego State University, and Utah State have joined the new look Pac-12, similar to the 2014 new look Big East.

Stanford, in tandem with Cal Berkley, should return to the new look Pac-12 for the sake of their athletes. Stanford has an endowment of over $38 billion. They can afford the financial hit for the sake of changing the industry. The Pac-12 collapsed because of the big names leaving. With the Pac-12 showing signs of recovery, Stanford has the opportunity to be part of a bigger project and push college sports in the direction of student centering.