BY COLIN BISH, STAFF WRITER
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
The introductions of name, image, and likeness (NIL), the transfer portal and new conferences have shaken college football to its core. The norm we have been accustomed to for decades has changed completely.
Oklahoma and Texas are leaving the Big 12, and the PAC-12 hangs on by a thread. Players entering the transfer portal become free agents, swayed by lucrative NIL deals.
Many fans argue that the new state of college football will destroy the sport as we know it. The upsets and rivalries, like the Bedlam Bowl and Oregon-Oregon State Civil War, will cease to exist.
Many believe college football will turn into a mini version of the NFL.
But these worries could not be further from the truth.
Granted, things can change even further. We could see more teams leave their conferences or a super-conference of the best schools in the nation.
While those scenarios are likely, I doubt it will happen. Schools and media companies will always do anything for more monetary gain, but I believe college football will stay relatively the same.
The only thing that could change is the Mountain West’s reshaping. While they lost schools including Boise State and Fresno State to the rebuilding PAC-12, they could also bring in prestigious FCS programs, like North Dakota State and South Dakota State.
Therefore, more programs could get a shot at FBS football, leading to greater parity, attention and funding for the new schools.
Even if conferences stay the same, NIL and the transfer portal throw a massive wrench into the sport.
Elite players from smaller programs have more to gain when transferring to a bigger school, both in brand exposure and professional opportunities.
This leaves many small schools high and dry, with less talent to compete with the big schools and little brand exposure to gain more attention for their programs.
However, these statements fail to account for one outlier: the small programs.
On Sept. 7, Northern Illinois went into South Bend, Indiana to take on Notre Dame. The fifth-ranked Fighting Irish were nearly 30-point favorites against the visiting Huskies.
Northern Illinois pulled off the massive upset 16-14, defying the odds. They overcame the talent, financial and exposure disparity to beat one of the nation’s most popular college football programs.
This 2024 season has had more examples outside the Huskies, many coming this past Saturday.
The UNLV Rebels beat the Big 12’s Kansas. The Memphis Tigers defeated Florida State on the road. Toledo thrashed an SEC team, Mississippi State, 41-17.
These small schools aren’t going anywhere. As they have in decades past, they have shown that they can compete with the “big boys.”
Additionally, new conferences have the chance to build new rivalries and consistently give us exciting matchups. Who wouldn’t want to see powerhouses like Oregon and Ohio State battle it out every year? Or Alabama and Texas duking it out?
So far, this season has been fantastic, with a fair share of smaller schools making their mark in winning or losing efforts.
Teams that switched conferences have played great as well; Texas has gone to the SEC and rose to #1 in the recent Associated Press poll. California has started 3-0 as a member of the ACC with a chance to remain undefeated when they face Florida State this weekend.
So, the idea that college football is changing for the worse baffles me. I say that these changes make the sport more exciting than ever.
