Nick Saban reveals thoughts on ‘megaconferences’ now and in the future

Alabama football head coach Nick Saban accepts that “megaconferences” are here to stay but he’s mourning the loss of traditional rivalries.

Nick Saban had a lot of complaining to do about the state of college football during a recent appearance on the “Always College Football” podcast with former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy.

From college football realignment to NIL, Saban has his say on a number of topics.

The topic of “megaconferences” is particularly timely considering USC and UCLA’s move to the Big Ten on the heels of Texas and Oklahoma jumping to the SEC.

How does Saban feel about the major shifts?

Nick Saban reveals thoughts on ‘megaconferences’ now and in the future

“I think we’re going to deal with it in a greater capacity than ever before because I think megaconferences are probably here to stay,” Saban said, per ESPN.

That bums him out because it means seeing traditional regional rivalries go by the wayside. Sabban pointed out the Oklahoma-Nebraska rivalry, which disappeared when the Cornhuskers joined the Big Ten in 2010.

More than a decade later, the Sooners will be the ones cutting off rivalries with the Big 12.

Out west, the Trojans and Bruins are forsaking their Pacific coast roots to cash in on significantly greater revenue in the Big Ten. The reasons behind their move are obvious. The consequence is losing rivalries with Stanford and Cal that have stretched back more than a hundred years.

Saban chalked it all up to “market share.”

“There’s a lot of that involved in why we’re doing what we’re doing,” Saban said.

Money rules and market share brings money when it comes to lucrative TV deals. The Alabama head coach is absolutely right to say this path to megaconferences isn’t going to be reversed.

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