Decades of tradition were tossed aside in a matter of days. Two conferences, the Big Ten and Big 12, expanded. Another, the Pac-12, stands on the verge of collapse.
There is a sense of unease in college sports over what may come next. Is there another round, two rounds, three rounds of conference expansion and realignment in the near future?
There are also feelings of disappointment and resentment over the way television partners have inserted themselves into this debate. Driven in part by these media partners, conference and university administrators have abandoned common-sense arguments against realignment and left serious questions unanswered about the future of high-level college athletics.