Navigating the Ever-Shifting Landscape: Conference Realignment in College Football Explained

College football is once again undergoing a transformation, with another wave of conference realignments set to take effect for the 2025 season. These realignments, while seemingly chaotic, have historically played a crucial role in shaping the sport, particularly within the top-tier conferences. Conference structures have been fundamental to every major change in college football, from the formation of the NCAA in 1906 to the creation of subdivisions in 1978.

The Power Structure: Power Four and Group of Five

As of 2025, the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) consists of 10 conferences. These conferences can be categorized into two tiers: the "Power Four" and the "Group of Five." The Power Four includes the Big Ten Conference, Big 12 Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), and Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Group of Five features the American Athletic Conference (AAC), Conference USA (CUSA), Mid-American Conference (MAC), Mountain West Conference (MW), and Sun Belt Conference (SBC), in addition to the transitional Pac-12 Conference. The Power Four conferences are distinguished by their higher prominence and viewership compared to the Group of Five. This top tier of college conferences was previously known as the “Power Five” from 2014 to 2023 before the Pac-12 was relegated to “Group of Five” status following a mass exodus of member universities.

The Western Conference, later renamed the Big Ten, became the first of its kind in 1896, followed by current Power Four members the SEC in 1932 and the ACC in 1953.

The Driving Forces Behind Realignment

Conference realignment, at its core, involves colleges and universities switching between athletic conferences to increase revenue and resources for their athletic programs. Over the years, college football conference realignments have been used to manage the expanding field of talent and eligible sports programs, while keeping gameplay competitive amongst the various divisions across the country. These decisions are influenced by various factors, including location, popularity, sports offered, and, most importantly, financial considerations.

The pursuit of lucrative media deals is a primary driver of conference realignment. For example, the Big Ten negotiated a contract for a $7 billion agreement over seven years with media stations Fox, CBS and NBC. In contrast, the Pac-12 offered its schools an estimated $23 million per year for five seasons with an athletics package through the streaming service Apple TV. The contract that the Pac-12 offered would not give Pac-12 athletes the popularity and media coverage that other conferences would, considering that Apple TV is a streaming service that citizens across the nation must pay for in order to watch, in addition to more accessible platforms like CBS, Fox and NBC.

University of Washington President Ana Mari Cauce told ABC News, “This was about national visibility for our players, being on linear TV so they can be seen, so they could have the national exposure. It was about stability. It was about having a future that we could count on and build towards."

Conference-by-Conference Breakdown (2024-2026)

Here's a look at the conference changes that have occurred and are slated for the coming seasons:

ACC: The ACC stays the same at 17 teams, with the University of California, Berkeley and Stanford University coming from the Pac-12 and Southern Methodist University (SMU) from the AAC.
Big Ten: The Big Ten remains at 18 members following the 2024 addition of four former members of the Pac-12: the University of California, Los Angeles, the University of Oregon, University of Southern California and University of Washington.
Big 12: The Big 12 remains at 16 teams after losing Texas and Oklahoma in 2024, and gaining the University of Arizona, Arizona State University, University of Colorado Boulder and University of Utah. This continued the Big 12’s expansion after adding BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF as members in 2023.

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SEC: The SEC remains at 16 members, after adding the University of Oklahoma and the University of Texas in 2024, while also eliminating divisions within the conference.
AAC: After losing SMU to the ACC, the AAC maintained its 14-school membership with the 2024 addition of the Army Black Knights.
Pac-12: In 2026, the Pac-12 will return with an additional five schools from the Mountain West Conference: the Boise State Broncos, the Fresno State Bulldogs, the Colorado State Rams, the San Diego State University Aztecs and the Utah State University Aggies.

FCS Conference Realignment

It's been a wild offseason in FCS football, with teams and conferences changing more than ever. More conference realignments are on the way with several moves already confirmed for the 2025 and 2026 seasons.

Teams Moving Up to FBS:

In 2023, both Sam Houston and Jacksonville State will be FBS programs.
In 2024, Kennesaw State will be leaving for the FBS.
In 2025, Missouri State University and Delaware will be leaving for the FBS. The Bears will be eligible to compete in the Missouri Valley Conference regular and post-season championships for the 2024 season, according to Missouri State officials.

Teams Joining FCS:

East Texas A&M moves up from Division II to the Southland. The former DII power won the DII title in 2017.
Lindenwood joined the NCAA in 2012 at the Division II level and makes the move to the FCS a decade later.

Conference Shifts and Changes

Before we get into the shifts within the conferences, let's first look at what the FCS conferences are. Conferences are important at the FCS level because conference winners* receive automatic bids to the 24-team FCS playoffs.

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CAA and Patriot League: Richmond, a full-time member of the A-10 conference, will leave the CAA for football, instead playing football in the Patriot League starting in 2025. William & Mary will leave the CAA for football and join the Patriot League for football in 2026. Villanova became the third school to announce that it will leave the CAA for football and join the Patriot League for football in 2026.
Big Sky: Sacramento State leaves the Big Sky, goes independent… Sacramento State announced in June of 2025 that it will go independent for FCS football in 2026 if it doesn't receive approval from the D1 Council to move up to the FBS as an independent. Southern Utah left the Big Sky to join the WAC in 2022. In 2026, Southern Utah will return to the conference it once left and become a Big Sky member. It'll be joined by an in-state companion in Utah Tech, which will also leave the WAC to join the Big Sky in 2026.
WAC/UAC: The WAC is no more (again). The conference will officially become the UAC after a rebrand. The WAC schools joining the UAC will be Tarleton State, Abilene Christian and UT Arlington. The ASUN will still exist, just without its football playing schools. The former ASUN football schools will join the UAC, making the ASUN a basketball focused conference. Stephen F. Austin announced it would be leaving the WAC for the Southland Conference on May 29, 2024. The Lumberjacks will join the Southland on July 1, 2024, bringing the conference to 10 FCS teams and the WAC with four FCS team.
CAA: The CAA responded to a trio of teams leaving from 2025-26 by adding a new team, Sacred Heart in 2026. The Pioneers previously left the NEC in 2024 and played as an independent for two years from 2024-25. Sacred Heart will join the CAA in 2026 as a football-only member and will be a member of the MAAC in other sports. Bryant announced on August 10, 2023 that it will be joining the CAA in the 2024 season as a football member. The move comes two years after Bryant left the NEC to join the Big South as an associate football member (see below). Campbell announced on August 3, 2022 that it would be leaving the Big South to join the CAA in 2023. The move becomes official July 1, 2023 and will bring the CAA to 14 member schools and 15 football schools. Hampton departs its former conference for the CAA in 2022. Yes, Stony Brook was already a member of the CAA for football. North Carolina A&T has changed conferences, after joining the Big South in 2021, the Aggies are leaving for the CAA.
Southern Conference (SoCon): For the first time since 2014 the Southern Conference (SoCon) got involved in conference realignment. The SoCon will add Tennessee Tech in all sports starting in 2026, giving the conference 10 football playing members and 11 members overall.
NEC: Sacred Heart left the NEC for the MAAC conference. Merrimack left the NEC for the MAAC conference. Robert Morris announced on November 28, 2023 that it will return to the NEC - a conference it left in 2019 - in 2024 as a football associate member. Bryant leaves the NEC to join the Big South as an associate football member.
Ohio Valley Conference (OVC): Western Illinois announced on May 12, 2023 that it will be leaving the Missouri Valley Football Conference to join the Ohio Valley Conference in 2024. Murray State has announced it's leaving the OVC for the Missouri Valley in all sports.
Big South: Entering the 2021 season, we knew that Kennesaw State and North Alabama would be playing their final seasons in the conference. They'll head to the ASUN in 2022, with Kennesaw State taking the 2021 Big South title with it. The Big South has gone through a gauntlet of departures recently, with eight schools departing in a three year period. In 2022, the Big South will have six teams thanks to Bryant's addition, just enough for an auto-bid. However, that number drops to four teams in 2023 when North Carolina A&T and Campbell depart and two teams in 2024 when Bryant and Robert Morris depart.
Southland: Lamar leaves WAC, joins Southland… Lamar will be rejoining the Southland in 2022, a move coming a year earlier than previously announced. Lamar, a founding member of the Southland, originally announced its decision to rejoin the conference in 2023 on April 8, 2022.
Missouri Valley: Murray State has announced it's leaving the OVC for the Missouri Valley in all sports. However, the Missouri Valley doesn't sponsor football. Western Illinois announced on May 12, 2023 that it will be leaving the Missouri Valley Football Conference to join the Ohio Valley Conference in 2024.

Maintaining Automatic Qualifying Bids

Given the NCAA rule requiring six eligible teams to qualify for an automatic bid to the FCS playoffs, a few conferences are teetering the line.

The MEAC doesn't send its conference champion to the FCS playoffs - instead playing in the Celebration Bowl - so it doesn't have to worry about falling below the auto-bid mark.
The NEC will drop to six playoff eligible teams in 2026 after the departure of Saint Francis (PA) and Stonehill becoming playoff eligible. The eligible teams in 2026 will be Central Connecticut State, Duquesne, LIU, Robert Morris, Stonehill and Wagner.
The loss of Austin Peay and Murray State will drop the OVC to six teams in 2023 - UT Martin, Southeast Missouri State, Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech and Eastern Illinois are the holdovers, while FCS newcomer Lindenwood joins. However, the conference will have five playoff-eligible teams during the 2023 season since Lindenwood won't be postseason eligible until 2026. That number will rise to six playoff-eligible teams during the 2024 season once Western Illinois joins, with Lindenwood soon to come.

To maintain automatic-qualifying bids, conferences have initiated associations between each other to remain eligible. We saw the ASUN and WAC merge to form the AQ7 in 2021, but that was only a one-year partnership at the time. The Big South and OVC have an association set for 2023. The two conferences will share one bid among the two conferences. The association between the two conference has an initial term of at least four years, going through the 2026 season. The ASUN and WAC announced on April 17, 2023 that the two conferences will make their partnership official as a new football-only conference called the United Athletic Conference (UAC). The UAC will begin play in 2023 as the ASUN and WAC will play a combined schedule with inter-conference play between ASUN and WAC schools. In 2023 the UAC will have nine football-playing members but only seven playoff-eligible members.

The conferences then renewed their football alliance for the 2022 season. The two conferences played schedules and championships among their own members. The ASUN and WAC shared one automatic qualifying bid, going to one of the two conference champions. If the regular season champion is a reclassifying team, the conference shall nominate the team finishing highest in the regular season standings that is eligible for an FCS AQ. If item No. The FCS is ever-changing as more teams are making moves in the wave of conference realignment. No. Presbyterian, San Diego, St. Northwestern State, Stephen F.

The Ripple Effects of Realignment

The impact of conference realignment extends beyond the conferences themselves. It affects everything from media deals and revenue distribution to team rivalries and student-athlete experiences.

Media Exposure and Revenue: Increased media exposure is a major goal for universities undergoing realignment. The hope is that increased visibility will lead to greater revenue through more lucrative media rights deals.
Competitive Balance: Realignment can disrupt established rivalries and create new competitive landscapes. Some moves may strengthen a conference's overall competitiveness, while others may create imbalances.
Student-Athlete Experience: Travel distances and academic considerations are important factors in realignment decisions. Longer travel distances can impact student-athletes' academic performance and overall well-being.

Looking Ahead

As Texas athletic director Chris del Conte said, "Teams have been leaving college athletics since the dawn of time." The threat of realignment can be bitter for some and a windfall for others. Over 130 years of conference alignments, schools have moved around for so many reasons -- too many rules, not enough rules, better competition, easier competition, more money, more exposure.

The college sports world has been scrambling over the past couple years as most of the Pac-12 teams decided to leave the conference. And now, after those programs decided to move on, the Group of Five leagues have been affected.

The 2021-2026 NCAA conference realignment is an ongoing set of extensive changes occurring in NCAA conference membership, primarily at the Division I level, that began in the 2021-22 academic year. Most of these changes have involved conferences in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of Division I.

The landscape of college football is constantly evolving, and conference realignment is a recurring phenomenon. While the motivations and consequences of realignment are complex, understanding the underlying factors helps to make sense of the ever-shifting allegiances in this dynamic sport. The ultimate question, as has been the case with basically all conference realignment, has been if moving to a new conference would lead to more money. Travel has to be considered as well.

The changes ahead of the 2025 college football season are not as drastic as they were a year ago. The 12-team College Football Playoff format is still in place, but the seeding of the teams will be different compared to 2024.

There's no major conference realignment to talk about (for once) ahead of a new college football season. Delaware and Missouri State moved up from the FCS to FBS and will play in Conference USA. But doesn't mean realignment is over. There's more to come for the 2026 season with the rebirth of the Pac-12 and a new-look Mountain West.

12-Team Playoff Format

The 12-team CFB Playoff format is still in place, but the format of the playoff is different. The 12 playoff qualifiers will now be seeded by the selection committee with no first-round byes for power-four conference champions.

That means the top four seeds could all be from the Big Ten and the SEC and that the ACC and Big 12 champions might have to win four playoff games to win a title. The qualification process is still the same, though, as the power-four conference champions, the best Group of Five team and seven at-large squads will make up the field.

CFP executives unanimously voted to move to straight seeding for the 2025 College Football Playoff. The five highest-ranked conference champions and the next-highest ranked seven teams will still make the College Football Playoff field. Proponents of this rule change argue the highest-ranked teams should be rewarded. However, some argue for more incentive for teams to win their respective conferences.

It may be difficult for G5 teams to climb up to the fourth-highest spot. Generally teams from the Group of Five don’t start the season ranked very highly, and if any of those teams lose even once during conference play, they drop further in those rankings than if a P4 team were to lose in October.

Rule Changes

A few rule tweaks were made for the 2025 season. Most notably, there are more rules in place to combat the faking of injuries. If a player is injured on the field after the ball is spotted, a timeout will be charged to that team. If that team has no timeouts remaining, a five-yard delay of game penalty will be issued. A small alteration was made to timeouts in overtime. Teams now have one timeout for the remainder of the game following the second overtime.

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