Utah HC Kyle Whittingham warns fans of a 'major' conference realignment havoc: “It’ll be a big one”

Utah coach Kyle Whittingham is the latest to give his honest takes on the never-ending waves of conference realignment in the world of collegiate athletics. The movement of teams from one league to the other has led to a lot of disruption within the landscape over the years.

In a recent interview with sports columnist John Cazano, Kyle Whittingham predicted that a new wave of conference realignment is on the way. The coach, whose Utah Utes will be competing in the Big 12 next season, sees a more groundbreaking realignment wave.

“I think there is a major realignment coming, and it’ll be a big one,” Whittingham said. “I think it will create even more of a divide and exclusivity for the teams that are on the right side of that line. 20 months to four years? How about that for a time frame? In my opinion, it’s going to look very much like an NFL minor league.”

Kyle Whittingham talks Super Conference and playoffs expansion

The idea of a super conference has been muted in the college football landscape in the last few years. Kyle Whittingham sees it becoming a reality in the next couple of years. This will be a conference consisting of countless teams with significant pedigree within the realm.

Having a super conference is obviously going to lead to a 16-team playoff. The College Football Playoff is set to feature 12 teams in the upcoming season after featuring only four since its inception in 2014. But Whittingham doesn't see that as the stopping point for the idea of a super conference.

“I see an expansion of the playoff with that to 16 teams,” Whittingham continued. “The short version is Super Conferences. I think it’s going to boil down to 40-60, maybe teams in the Super Conference. I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t play anybody but other Super Conference teams.”

“Make that a division as far as who you play. Like I said, a full-blown playoff. Whether or not the players will be employees, officially, remains to be seen, but I think that’s very likely. I think that’s where it’s heading.”

While college football has always been about ensuring equality and balance between the teams, the disparity between them has grown significantly over the years. With the contributing factors getting stronger, there's little confidence that the landscape can be salvaged from the rot.

Many enthusiasts within the college football world like Kyle Whittingham continue to voice their concern on the significant changes in the landscape. Nonetheless, this has amounted to alterations as the radical change intensifies.