In college football they are called the Power 5. The power conferences and teams with power broker athletic directors who control the purse strings through TV contracts.
They are the ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac-12 and the SEC, and for the record, not one of them has distinguished itself during postseason bowl play, although, the title for best football conference will be on the line Monday when Alabama takes on Clemson for the national championship.
Currently the ACC, Clemson's conference, is 5-5 in bowl games and 1-1 against the SEC. The SEC, the league Alabama rules, is 6-5.