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B1G, Pac-12 considering cutting down number of conference football games
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Cutting down on the number of conference games played during the college football season is something the B1G and Pac-12 are considering for the future. Both B1G commissioner Kevin Warren and Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff talked about that possibility on Tuesday during a press conference.
Warren and Kliavkoff, along with ACC commissioner Jim Phillips, held a press conference via Zoom on Tuesday to announce the joining of the three leagues in an alliance. The three conferences will work together on scheduling, governance of college sports, College Football Playoff expansion and other things.
Both the B1G and Pac-12 currently play 9 league games, while the ACC plays 8. When asked if they’re willing to drop down to a lower number of conference contests, both Warren and Kliavkoff said it’s under consideration.
B1G’s Kevin Warren & Pac-12 commish George Kliavkoff each said their leagues will have to address whether to drop from 9 to 8 conference games because of the scheduling Alliance
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) August 24, 2021
The B1G’s 9-game conference schedule has been a benefit in terms of television contracts with FOX and ESPN, however it has stood in the way at times of College Football Playoff appearances.
A big gripe has been that different conferences play a different number of league games. With the formation of The Alliance, it sounds like at least the three leagues included will have some sort of agreement on the number of conference games played.
If the B1G and Pac-12 do drop down to 8, that would probably open the door for more non-conference games between the three leagues.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB