Paul Finebaum questions whether other conferences can catch SEC after adding Texas, Oklahoma
College football radio host Paul Finebaum says other conferences likely won’t be able to catch up to the SEC after they add Texas and Oklahoma in the coming years.
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The two Big 12 programs made their exit official last week and are set to join the Southeastern Conference in July of 2025 (or quicker than that, depending on a potential buyout).
But when that move officially happens, Finebaum says he doesn’t see how conferences like the Big Ten, ACC and Pac-12 will have a path to growing their power.
“I think we’re paying so much attention to this but we really don’t know what’s around the corner or behind the curtain,” Finebaum said on his show Monday morning. “What is everyone else going to look like? We know how powerful the SEC is going to be, but I don’t know what the Big 12 or the Big Ten (will look like). There’s almost a dismissive attitude, because the smartest minds of college athletics cannot look at any of these other leagues and come up with a formula that equals or betters the SEC. So, that’s why things are going to be so much different across college athletics.
“(The SEC) is a great league and now it’s significantly better.”
The Big Ten has made more total revenue than the SEC in recent years, but addition of the Sooners and Longhorns could change that. As could the SEC’s new game-of-the-week deal with ESPN, which reportedly amounts to $3 Billion over the next 10 years.
It’s currently unclear if the Big Ten will make any moves during this cycle of realignment. Kansas and Iowa State could potentially seek an invitation because of their AAU membership, but the Big Ten might not be as eager to add them.
Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren discussed this realignment’s impact on college football as a whole at Big Ten Media Days last month, but didn’t comment on how his league would proceed.
