Conference realignment seems to be all the craze these days. With colleges leaving and joining different conferences right and left, it has become quite the hot topic. 

In June 2022, USC announced its departure from the Pac-12 and its plans to join the Big Ten starting August 2024. UCLA, Oregon and Washington will also join the Big Ten’s ranks. Meanwhile, Arizona, Arizona State, Utah and Colorado are leaving for the Big 12 and Stanford and UC Berkeley are leaving for the ACC. (Yes, this does, in turn, leave only two schools in the Pac-12: Oregon State and Washingston State.)

In her communitywide email announcing USC’s plan to switch conferences, President Carol Folt shared priorities and commitments made in relation to college athletes at the University. Folt explained the reason for the switch and how they aligned with those commitments.  

“Our move to the Big Ten positions USC for long-term success and stability amidst the rapidly changing sports media and collegiate athletic landscapes,” Folt wrote. “The enhanced resources from this move will enable additional support for our student-athletes as well as benefit initiatives surrounding academics, accessibility and affordability.”

Clearly, the decision to switch was taken after much deliberation. It might seem silly, at first, for a West Coast school like USC to switch to a heavily Midwestern conference. Ultimately, it all comes down to business, though. What will help generate the most money? What will bring in the most fans? What will make the school most successful?

A lot of components change when conferences change: media rights, television deals, and even name, image and likeness rules for collegiate athletes. For these things, the Pac-12 simply was not up to par to the University’s athletic goals.

The Big Ten fills that gap; the conference has a seven-year media rights contract they made in 2022 with CBS, NBC and Fox. The new agreement is predicted to bring in more than $7 billion. 

Mike Bohn, who was the University’s athletic director at the time, also wrote in a community statement that USC Athletics aims to be the most student athlete-centered program in the country.

“Central to that mission is the responsibility to provide the necessary resources for our student-athletes to be successful on and off the playing field and ensure our student-athletes compete for championships at the highest levels and on the grandest stages,” Bohn wrote. “By joining the Big Ten, we are confident we will continue to deliver on this promise.”

With a conference like the Big Ten, USC athletes will be playing for a greater audience of fans spanning a much larger geographical area of the country. The exposure will undoubtedly help, especially considering USC’s known for its football program that’s seen a winning streak so far this season. 

The advantages that accompany switching conferences — though abundant — are still ambiguous and not guaranteed. All of this makes one wonder, though: Where does it end? What is the ultimate future of conference realignments? What is the likelihood of a “superconference” forming in collegiate sports?

While only time will tell on that one, there is one thing I am sure about: money will, sadly, always outweigh tradition in this day and age of college sports. Certain regional rivalries will come to an end and fans cheering on their favorite teams may slowly fade as away games become further than just a drive away. So while switching conferences may mark new beginnings and financial opportunities for the school, it also marks the end of a lot else.

Anjali Patel is a senior writing about the expanding landscape of business and legality of sports in her column, “Money Plays,” which runs every other Thursday. She is also an associate managing editor at the Daily Trojan.