The history of The Alliance as told in Reddit threads

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/cfb by /u/luis1972 on 2026-03-30 15:49:00+00:00.

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Introduction

A few days ago, I was asked to explain my second flair. We apparently have CFB fans unfamiliar with the Alliance. This history is for them…

Four years ago, a curious and seemingly monumental development happened in the world of college football. The story of the Alliance is told by three separate but equally important groups: the conference commissioners who lust after money, the sports journalists who cover the sport, and the Redditors who meme the actions of the first two. These are their stories.

The Precondition: All is not well in BXII land (2017)

• It’s always Texas’ fault — How Texas Turned The Big 12 Into A Disaster

The Precipitant: OUT (July 2021)

• [McMurphy] Oklahoma & Texas make it official: they’re leaving conference & expected to apply for SEC membership

The Catalyst: The Alliance is born! (August 2021)

• The B1G, ACC, and Pac-12 strikes back — [Olson] The ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12 are engaging in high-level discussions about an alliance, sources tell @TheAthletic. Not just scheduling but potentially broader cooperation going forward.
• The mods do something useful — Announcement: Hateful 8 and The Alliance Flair
• Why is this really happening? — Staples: Why would the Big Ten form an alliance with the ACC and Pac-12? It’s all about TV’s 'Four Million Club’
• The Pac-12 commissioner was suspiciously the one most enthused about The Alliance — Asked about the new Alliance (Pac, ACC, Big 10), Kliavkoff said the goal "is to get to a place where every single school in the conference is playing eight conference games, one home game and one away game against the other two conferences."
• Reaction from SEC-land — [Hayes] Re: The “Alliance”. #SEC source tells me for this week’s #Firstand10 at @SatDownSouth: “You’re building an alliance to limit the number of #CFP games, thereby limiting the amount of revenue you can generate — out of spite. Brilliant.”

The Contingency: The signs were always there! (2021)

• [The Athletic] Big Ten considered expansion before alliance with ACC, Pac-12

The Immediate Aftermath: Almost gone as soon as it started. (2022)

• B1G AD makes clear the ACC and the Pac-12 needs the B1G more than the B1G needs the other two — [Gerdeman] Gene Smith said the scheduling portion of The Alliance is essentially over. The Big Ten will likely stick with nine conference games.
• Fuck yo’ Alliance — [Wilner] Source: USC and UCLA are planning to leave for the Big Ten as early as 2024. Move has not been finalized at the highest levels of power.
• B1G: Wanna see me do it again? — Big Ten officially announces Washington and Oregon will join for 2024.
• Former OSU AD Gene Smith was one cold motherfucker — [Bill Rabinowitz] Ohio State AD Gene Smith said the Alliance between the Big Ten, Pac-12 and ACC is still alive. (He might want to check with the Pac-12 about that.)

The Legacy (2023-Present)

• One year ago today, the Big Ten, the ACC and the Pac-12 announced a historic alliance that would bring 41 world-class institutions together on a collaborative approach surrounding the future evolution of college athletics.
• Happy 2 Year Anniversary to the ACC-B1G-PAC12 Alliance 🥳
• CONSPIRACY: The alliance is still alive as a shadow organization, and Kevin Warren is creating college football’s new world order with the help of Jimbo Fisher, DJ Uiagalelei, and Connor Stalions.

TLDR: It’s Texas’s fault.