November 28, 2022; Omaha, Nebraska, United States; Nebraska Cornhuskers athletic director Trev Alberts speaks during the introductory press conference at the Hawks Championship Center on the campus of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports
Nebraska Cornhuskers athletic director Trev Alberts has issued a big warning to college football fans and the college football world as a whole.
Alberts spoke with the Amie Just of Lincoln Journal star for 2-hour interview. The Journal Star published an article Sunday based on Alberts’ comments.
Alberts spoke about the big topic in college sports: realignment. He said there are problems with conferences that don’t want to expand. He also warned that next year’s realignment could be more disruptive than this year’s.
“I don’t think it’s done. This has never been done. It is more than likely that there will be ongoing periods of anxiety. I believe the next go-around — that’s my basic conclusion — will be far more disruptive than anything we’re currently engaged in. We need to mentally prepare for it. Alberts told Just.
Oklahoma and Texas will leave the Big 12 for the SEC next year, while Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington will leave the Pac-12 for the Big Ten. Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah are all leaving the Pac-12 for the Big 12. All of this is expected to take place in 2024. Some of these moves we heard about last year or the previous year, while many of the other movements were recently determined. Alberts suggests that even more surprising measures could take place next year.
Alberts also believes college football is heading toward something completely new.
Alberts believes a college football super conference is imminent and that the super conference will be separate from other sports.
“We’re growing to 35 to 40 big brands that are part of something. If we look at football in isolation, the conferences will end up having less importance in one sense. If we can find a way to take football and make it this entity here, I think then you can start thinking much more intelligently about the rest of the sports, which should be regionally based,” Alberts told Just .
Alberts isn’t the only one who feels this way. Many other people felt that this was the way the sport was evolving, and that coaching every other sport didn’t make sense. If football is bifurcating, it doesn’t make sense to destroy the regional conferences that schools are tied to for all other sports.
