Having coached in the collegiate ranks for decades, Alabama’s Nick Saban has a soft spot for the tradition in college football.
And with the recent shuffle of several of the sport’s biggest teams and conferences, Saban finds himself disappointed that a lot of history will be tossed to the side over the next several years.
“There’s a lot of traditions that we’ve had for a long time in college football,” Saban said. “… And some of those traditions are going to get sort of pushed by the wayside.”
“It’s sad.”
Given that the Pac-12 has been dismantled over the last few days due to the agreements of Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Oregon, Utah, and Washington to leave for other conferences, Saban’s nostalgia is understandable.
While Oregon and Washington will be joining USC and UCLA in the Big 10 starting in the 2024 season, Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah are all headed toward joining the Big 12.
Classic rivalries like the Apple Cup between Washington and Washington State and the Civil War between Oregon and Oregon State may be put on hold for a few years as a result of those actions.
But that’s really the tip of the iceberg.
Although the recent changes will primarily affect the Pac-12, Saban and Alabama will also be impacted because Oklahoma and Texas are scheduled to join the SEC in the upcoming season.
Motivated by the financial gains of the programs involved, Saban hopes that none of these decisions will have a detrimental effect on the experiences of collegiate athletes.
“Whether it’s good, bad or indifferent for college football—I guess you have to define what is good and bad for college football,” Saban commented on the moves. “So, I think one thing I would just hope that we would keep in mind in all the choices and decisions we make relative to what we do in college athletics is the student-athlete,” he said.
