Conference Realignment

Super conferences have become the boon and fear of college football fans around the country. Many fans see this as the first step towards a playoff system and hope that having their team move, or having top tier teams move to their conference, will increase their teams ability to make money and compete for BCS Bowl Games.

What a lot of people are not taking into consideration is how these conference changes are going to affect the student athletes. The biggest example of a detrimental affect on the student athletes is travel time and time zone changes. Large travel times and changing time zones will play a large role in hindering student athletes ability to keep up in their studies. Missouri traveling to Florida, Alabama, South Carolina and other SEC states is literally traveling halfway across the country. It is rumored that Boise State was at one point considering a position in the Big East and would have been an even more drastic example. Not all moves have a negative effect on this (Nebraska to the Big 10 and TCU to the Big 12) but most that are being considered need to be rethought.

Athletic Departments need to take a step back and consider their student athletes and not just their bottom lines when the consider moving from conference to conference.