Alabama Athletic Director Greg Byrne has voiced his concerns over the rapid changes in the college football landscape, particularly the disintegration of the Pac-12 Conference.
Byrne, a strong advocate for stability in college sports, lamented the loss of the Pac-12 and expressed worries about the impact on the broader collegiate athletic community.
“I’m hopeful that at some point we can get to some stability,” Byrne told 247 Sports. “I think having the Pac-12 no longer be there is not good for college sports. I grew up in that league.
“Greg Sankey [SEC Commissioner] and I talk about the importance of college sports being healthy from one coast to the other; that’s good for fan interest, it’s good for young people participating, all those things. So I’m hopeful it will settle down.”
The Pac-12, once a powerhouse in college athletics, has been effectively dismantled through recent conference realignments.
Of the original members, only Oregon State and Washington State remain unaligned, with the other schools scattering across the country.
Stanford and California have joined the ACC, while USC, UCLA, Oregon, and Washington have moved to the Big Ten. Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah have all found a new home in the Big 12.
Byrne emphasized that he doesn’t blame any institutions for making decisions that best serve their interests but expressed concern about the broader implications of these moves.
“I’m not critical of anybody or any one that has left their conference. Each institution has to look after themselves. At the same time, I do think one of the things that has worked well with the SEC – not to say there’s never disagreement within the room or between institutions, because that will happen from time to time – but we’ve done a pretty good job of keeping those challenges from always being public,” Byrne said.
“It’s a unified voice, and that’s healthy for the enterprise of the SEC and college sports. So when I see conferences kind of throwing rocks at one another, institutions, that’s concerning.”
In the midst of the tumultuous environment, Alabama football is entering a new era. Legendary head coach Nick Saban retired after guiding the Crimson Tide to the College Football Playoff in 2023.
Former Washington coach Kalen DeBoer has been named as his successor, with expectations sky-high in Tuscaloosa as he attempts to continue the program’s tradition of excellence.
Alabama is ranked No. 5 in the preseason Associated Press poll, but the road to the College Football Playoff will be anything but easy.
The Tide faces five ranked opponents in conference play this season, a daunting schedule that will test DeBoer’s leadership right out of the gate.
This season, the SEC officially welcomes Texas and Oklahoma, two of the most storied programs in college football history. Their inclusion only bolsters the SEC’s standing as the most dominant conference in the country.
Whether Byrne likes it or not, there will surely be more dominoes to fall. After all, it’s only a matter of time before schools like Clemson and Florida State find a new home – and their only two of the many.
What are your thoughts on Byrne’s comments? … How do you feel about all of the realignment that’s happened to this point – and will continue to happen???