The Big Ten, Pac-12 and Atlantic Coast Conference announced Tuesday they would join together in an alliance, according to a press release.
The alliance formed with collegiate athletes in mind and in response to multiple factors including calls for social justice, gender equity, the future structure of the NCAA, federal legislation and academic concerns, according to the release.
The alliance will include a scheduling component for inter-conference matchups between the three conferences in sports such as men’s and women’s basketball and football, which will begin as soon as it is practical with current game contracts in mind.
“Student-athletes have been and will remain the focal point of the Big Ten, ACC and PAC-12 Conferences,” Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren said in the release. “Today, through this alliance, we furthered our commitment to our student-athletes by prioritizing our academics and athletics value systems.”
Schools in the three conferences believe they are like-minded and want to prioritize a broader range of sports while emphasizing academics, according to reporting from The Athletic.
The formation of the alliance was unanimously supported by presidents, chancellors and athletics directors at all 41 institutions making up the three conferences, according to the release
The three conferences have new or second-year commissioners. The Big Ten’s Kevin Warren began his tenure in 2020, while the Pac-12’s George Kliavkoff and the ACC’s James J. Phillips both began their tenures in 2021.
The alliance comes after the Southeastern Conference accepted applications for admission from the University of Texas and the University of Oklahoma, who will officially leave the Big XII for the SEC in 2025.
Pre-existing links exist between the three conferences, including the Rose Bowl, traditionally a matchup between the champions of the Big Ten and Pac-12. James J. Phillips previously served as athletics director at Northwestern, a Big Ten school.
