“Okay,” Nell Fortner said. “You want to go?”
Fortner – the Georgia Tech women’s basketball coach – was ready to answer the question. She has thought a lot about how the changing landscape of college athletics could impact sports beyond football.
Tuesday was women’s basketball media day for the ACC. Three months ago, the conference held a similar football event at the same venue, the Westin Hotel in Charlotte. The much-discussed topic at the time was conference realignment — which involves, in short, overhauling membership in college athletic conferences, as schools seek higher salaries through football television contracts . This is something that can radically change the competition and revenues of major programs. That Annual Gathering of ACC Football Coaches sitting in front of microphones followed the announcement that the University of Southern California and UCLA were leaving the Pac-12 join the Big Ten.
This decision was motivated by money. Specifically, money from TV revenue from college football contracts.
And so were those who preceded him — like in the summer of 2021, when Texas and Oklahoma revealed plans to leave the Big 12 and join the Southeastern Conference, toppling a series of dominoes as schools sought more exposure , bigger platforms and bigger shares of the TV revenue pie.
Conference realignment has the power to change the look of college sports. Consider that, in the year since Texas and Oklahoma announced they were moving to the SEC, 18 other schools have changed their conference affiliation.
The Big 12 went out and attacked the American Athletic Conference, taking three of its teams. And then the AAC reloaded with six Conference USA teams, and then a few remaining Conference USA schools jumped off what looked like a sinking ship in the Sun Belt. And then, a handful of openings paved the way for schools like James Madison, Sam Houston State and Jacksonville State to advance to the Football Bowl Subdivision. For a while, it seemed like the fallout would never end.
Many have predicted a future with a “Power Two” conference system, where – Againbecause of football TV revenue – the Big Ten and SEC are the haves, and all other conferences, including the ACC, are the have-nots.
“I don’t know what the end result will be. But things will be different than they are now,” Fortner said Tuesday. “And I don’t think we should be afraid of it.”
How Football Realignment Affects Other Sports
When most people talk about realignment, the only sport they talk about is football. The reality is that when a team changes conferences, it doesn’t impact a single sport.
Let’s be selfish: how are we going to take care of men’s and women’s basketball? Do we have to have all these conferences? Should this be the case?
Nell Fortner, Georgia Tech women’s basketball coach
When USC and UCLA begin play in the Big Ten, all of their teams — not just football — will have to play games against other Big Ten members in Piscataway, New Jersey and College Park, Maryland. That means the UCLA and USC volleyball, football and softball teams — as well as every other sport the Bruins and Trojans play — will have to make those trips across multiple time zones.
That’s a lot of air miles and time away from class for the people we’re supposed to call “student-athletes.”
For football, it doesn’t matter. College football teams typically play a 12-game regular season, one game per week, usually on a Saturday. Women’s college basketball teams play between 27 and 29 regular season games per year, several nights of the week.
This is how women’s sports can be neglected and become a secondary concern when football-related decisions force conference realignment.
Fortner believes football should not determine choices for other sports.
“For me, football is football. And they just have to do what’s best for football,” Fortner said. “(Football is) a very, very, big business. (Football) shouldn’t decide whether the swim team flies across the country; it should not be part of their decision.
But it’s football that brings in the money. Reports indicate that the Big Ten will bring in approximately $71.8 million per school each year from football television revenue starting in 2024. That money could help build new school buildings and athletic facilities for Big Ten schools.
The ACC is pretty far behind. They are bound by a television contract with ESPN which lasts until 2036. During the 2020-21 financial year, it paid around $36.1 million per school.
UNC women’s basketball coach Courtney Banghart identified this “arms race” as a “challenge.”
“It’s a concern,” said Banghart, who is also vice president of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association. “You have to do your job well and let others do theirs. So, the people making these decisions need to recognize that, like anything else, money is a part of it. And the more money, the more likely you are to win recruiting battles, have facilities or experience a student-athlete experience in a different way. So it’s smart people who are making these decisions for us and I’m just going to focus on building a good team and making it work.
Still, Fortner worries about his sport. And she’s been interested in the sport – and college athletics – for quite a while.
The 63-year-old is entering her fourth season as coach of the Yellow Jackets, but she has also coached at Auburn and Purdue and led the United States women’s national team to an Olympic gold medal in Sydney in 2000. During his 12 seasons as a college basketball coach, Fortner took his teams to the NCAA Tournament six times. She also worked for ESPN, where she was part of volleyball and basketball broadcast teams.
“How are we going to take care of basketball? Let’s be selfish: how are we going to take care of men’s and women’s basketball? Do we have to have all these conferences? Should this be the case? I don’t know. I don’t have the answer,” Fortner said. “I’m just saying it seems like at some point the discussion has to be: football has to take care of football. Let them do that.
She added: “And then now let’s see how the rest works.” And we don’t need to transport teams from coast to coast to participate in a conference. It doesn’t make any sense to me.”
Fortner ultimately suggests a split between football and the rest of college athletics.
“Because for basketball, listen man, March Madness is the real thing. We have something to sell,” Fortner said. “We have something viable, huge, that we need to take care of – and not let it be driven by what football decides for football.”
Women’s basketball can also make money
Indeed, the NCAA women’s basketball tournament is underrated. Currently, its television rights are part of a package with 28 other collegiate sports tournaments that earns only $34 million per year. But a report in 2021 from Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP found that the women’s college basketball tournament should be able to land a television deal bringing in $81 million to $112 million per year – on its own. This contract, which currently includes women’s college basketball, expires in 2024.
Another veteran ACC coach, Miami’s Katie Meier — who was hired in 2005, a year after the Hurricanes joined the conference from the Big East — is also a little worried about the implications of realignment on the women’s basketball.
“I’m really worried,” Meier said. “My eyes are glued to it…I don’t know what’s going to happen.” So, there is just one problem, because I have just benefited from a great model.
Banghart also didn’t have a solution for conference realignment, but the Tar Heels coach admitted fear that could come from further movement.
“I think losing the rivalries would be a problem,” Banghart said Tuesday. “I know we could build some more…The Carolina brand, fortunately, I think we’ll be fine no matter where we go.”
When many people think of the ACC, they think of UNC vs. Duke basketball. And, as Banghart says, “to part with all that would be really disappointing.”
