3 best conferences after Pac-12 Realignment in 2024

2023 is the last season we’re seeing the Pac-12 conference the way we’ve known it for years. Already, 10 out of the 12 members of the conference are set to join other conferences before the start of the 2024 season. The two remaining members, Oregon State University and Washington State University, have also been on the lookout for a new home.

The Pac-12 is one of the highest-rated Power 5 conferences. The conference earned the nickname “Conference of Champions” because its members have won more NCAA team championships than any other conference. But the conference has crumbled right before our eyes, and it will no doubt leave a vacuum in college sports.

The question is, who are the conferences poised to fill the vacuum that will be left after the Pac-12’s demise? To answer this, we look at the top three conferences after it would have ceased to exist.

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Top 3 best conferences after Pac-12

The Big 12

The Big 12 spent years being regarded as the least-ranked conference in the Power 5. And for a while, it seemed things could only get worse for the Big 12. This was after two of its best members, Texas and Oklahoma, announced their departure. However, the conference was quickly able to turn the situation around by inviting new members.

Things got even better with the appointment of Brett Yormark as the conference commissioner. Yormark brought along his business acumen, acquired over years of boardroom experience in different organizations. It became one of the biggest beneficiaries of the Pac-12’s woes and is set to absorb four of the latter’s members in 2024.

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The Big Ten

The Big Ten has been around longer than any NCAA Division I conference. It was the Big Ten that put the first dent in the armor of the “Conference of Champions.” It approved the addition of USC and UCLA in the summer of 2022.

The Big Ten added two more schools from the crumbling “Conference of Champions” in Aug. 2023: Oregon and Washington. These additions not only increased the conference’s membership, but it is also set to boost its TV revenue courtesy of the football powerhouses it added.

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The SEC

The SEC remains the strongest conference in college sports, especially in football. Alabama and Georgia have ensured its dominance over other conferences for years. Now it is set to welcome Texas and Oklahoma, two southern football powerhouses, in 2024.

The addition will bring the conference’s membership to 16 and position it for more lucrative media deals. Better deals mean more money, and that in turn means its members can develop their programs and maintain their dominance.