College football realignment recap: Who’s switching conferences this summer?

Three years after Texas and Oklahoma announced their move to the SEC and heralded a tectonic shift in college sports, the Longhorns and Sooners are indeed joining the SEC.

On July 1, the departure of the two Blue Bloods from the Big 12 became official, as did several other conference realignment moves that have reached every corner of Division I. The 10-school exodus from the Pac-12 to other conferences will become official on August 1.

In total, 15 FBS schools will change conferences this summer. When you include four Sun Belt changes in 2022 and 14 more FBS changes in 2023, a total of 33 FBS teams have changed conferences since Texas and Oklahoma announced their moves. That’s nearly a quarter of the FBS, which has grown from 130 teams to 134 in that time. And that doesn’t include three additional steps planned for summer 2025.

To help you keep track of all the goings-on, here’s a refresher on the changes taking effect now (or that will take effect soon) and which schools belong to which FBS conference in 2024.

Big Ten (18 teams)

• USC and UCLA will be added to the Pac-12 on August 1 (to be announced in 2022)
• Oregon and Washington will be added to the Pac-12 on August 1 (announced in 2023)

Full members as of 1 August 2024:

When Texas and Oklahoma announced their moves in 2021, the Big Ten helped form “The Alliance” with the ACC and Pac-12 to slow realignment and prevent the conferences from destroying each other. Or so it seemed. A year later, the Big Ten announced the addition of USC and UCLA, as well as a new TV deal. The league opted to add Oregon and Washington at that time. But last summer, as the Pac-12 struggled to land a TV deal, Oregon and Washington jumped at the last-minute discount for Big Ten membership, revealing the West Coast’s power conference. Went.

The Big Ten eliminated divisions and now has 18 teams, surpassing the WAC in the late 1990s as the largest FBS conference since the Southern Conference had 23 teams in the early 1930s.

SEC (16 teams)

• Added Texas and Oklahoma to the Big 12 (announced in 2021)

Full members as of July 1, 2024:

The step that starts this realignment wave may be the easiest to understand. The SEC was already based in Texas, and the addition of the historic programs of the Longhorns and Sooners keeps the conference in adjacent states. Football divisions have also been abolished here.

Big 12 (16 teams)

Full members as of 1 August 2024:

The Big 12 was on the verge of collapse in 2021 when the exits of Texas and Oklahoma left it in trouble. Not only did it survive last season by officially adding four schools, but it has now grown to 16 teams with the addition of the “Four Corners” Pac-12 schools that arrived after more than a year of courtship.

ACC (17 football teams)

• SMU added from the American Athletic Conference (announced in 2023)
• Cal and Stanford will be added to the Pac-12 on August 1 (announced in 2023)

Full members as of July 1, 2024:

(Notre Dame is a non-football member)

After the Pac-12 disbanded, the ACC took an active realignment move to add Cal, Stanford, and SMU, although doing so required NC State to change its starting position. Clemson, Florida State and North Carolina voted against the move. Clemson and FSU have since filed suit against the league in hopes of rejecting the league’s grant of rights and potentially leaving the conference. The restructuring may not be done yet, but the ACC hopes to have stabilized itself on the back end in that event.

Pac-12 (two teams)

• USC and UCLA will lose to the Big Ten on August 1 (announced in 2022)
• Will lose to Oregon and Washington in the Big Ten on August 1 (announced in 2023)
• Will lose to Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah in the Big 12 on August 1 (to be announced in 2023)
• Cal and Stanford will lose to ACC on August 1 (announced in 2023)

Full members as of 1 August 2024:

There will be no Pac-12 championship this year with only two teams. Oregon State and Washington State will each play at least six Mountain West football games but will essentially operate as independents. The Mountain West made room for games by reducing its schedule to seven conference games this season. A potential merger between the sides is possible, but OSU and WSU have until 2026 to figure out their plans.

American Athletic Conference (14 football teams)

• SMU lost to ACC (announced in 2023)
• Army added as football-only member from independence (announced in 2023)

Member till July. 1, 2024:

The AAC has lost four schools to power conferences over the past two years, but Army’s addition will keep the league down to 14 teams. Army and Navy will continue their post-championship weekend matchup, but it will be a non-conference game and will not take into account potential College Football Playoff scenarios.

Conference USA (10 teams)

Full members as of July 1, 2024:

CUSA was narrowed down to only five future schools at one point in 2021. But the league held together, added four schools for 2023 and is now in the 10th round for 2024 with the addition of Kennesaw State. The Owls only started playing football in 2015, but the suburban Atlanta school has been a solid FCS program.

no changes: MAC, Mountain West, Sun Belt.

Coming in 2025: UMass joins the MAC; Delaware and Missouri State joined Conference USA.

(Photo: Daniel Dunn/USA TODAY)