College Football’s Conference Realignment And What The Future Of College Football Looks Like

College football is going to look a little different in 2024.  Over the last two years, college sports has seen dramatic changes with conference realignment.

The AAC, Conference USA and Big 12 will see changes in 2023 (and for the Big 12, once again in 2024), while the Big Ten and SEC will see big changes in 2024 – which will also be the first season of a 12-team College Football Playoff.

FBS Conference Additions – By Year

Big 12------Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Utah 2024
SEC---------Texas, Oklahoma 2024
Big Ten-----UCLA, USC, Oregon, Washington 2024
Big 12-------BYU, UCF, Cincinnati, Houston 2023
AAC---------Charlotte, FAU, North Texas, Rice, UAB, UTSA 2023
Conference USA---Jacksonville State, Liberty, New Mexico State, Sam Houston 2023
Sun Belt-----James Madison, Marshall, Old Dominion, Southern Miss 2022
Pac-12 None —
ACC None —
MAC None —
Mountain West None

SEC(16teams)
Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia,
Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State, Missouri, Ole Miss,
Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Texas
A&M, Vanderbilt

Big 12(16teams)
Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, BYU, Cincinnati,
Colorado, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State,
Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas Tech, UCF, Utah, West
Virginia

Big Ten(18teams)
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan
State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio State,
Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers, Wisconsin, UCLA, USC,
Oregon, Washington

ACC(14teams)
Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia
Tech, Louisville, Miami, NC State, North Carolina,
Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake
Forest

Pac-12(4 teams)
California, Oregon State, Stanford, Washington State

Several of the other departing programs have also made an impact in very recent Pac-12 history. With Oregon, Utah & Washington also exiting, there is only one school remaining who has won the Pac-12 title game since it’s inception in 2011, Stanford.

All of this will be discussed all next week on Shemon and Sheppard, 2-6pm.

On Saturday Aug. 5, the Pro Football Hall of Fame will welcome its 9 newest members in the Class of 2023 induction. This year’s class includes five Modern-Era inductees, three Seniors Committee selections and one Coach/Contributor selection.

After zero first-ballot inductees in 2022, there were two players selected in their first year of eligibility for this year’s class.

Year of Eligibility
CB Darrelle Revis 1st
OT Joe Thomas 1st
OLB DeMarcus Ware 2nd
*Seniors Committee Selection
**Coach/Contributors Selection
CB Rondé Barber 6th
LB Zach Thomas 10th
DL Joe Klecko* 30th
CB Ken Riley* 35th
Coach Don Coryell** 36th
LB Chuck Howley* 45th
*Seniors Committee Selection
**Coach/Contributors Selection

Tonight at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio, the New York Jets will take on the Cleveland Browns at 8pm on NBC.  Pat yourselves on the  back kids, YOU made it!  There will now be be some sort of NFL or CFB game every week starting tonight until February!  What's better than that?

I know that exhibition football can be a bit boring at times because lets face it, starters rarely play and if they do, it's probably only for one series.  However, I don't care.  Zach Wilson vs. Kellen Mond are your starting quarterbacks tonight.  I'm sure we would all prefer to see Aaron Rogers vs. Deshaun Watson but that's not going to happen.

We will have more on this game and preview a couple of divisions today and the rest of the week on Shemon and Sheppard. Below you will find some fun facts for all of Saturday's inductees.

Cornerback/safety
College: Virginia
1997-2012 Buccaneers

Born April 7, 1975 in Montgomery County, Virginia
– 6th year of eligibility, 3rd year as finalist
– Drafted in 3rd round (66th overall) by Buccaneers in 1997 NFL Draft
– Won Super Bowl XXXVII with Buccaneers
– Can become 4th member of 2002 Buccaneers Super Bowl-winning defense in Hall of Fame joining Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks and John Lynch

14 seasons as NFL head coach (1973-77 St. Louis Cardinals, 1978-86 Chargers)
– Career record (including playoffs): 114-89-1
– 1974 AP Coach of the Year (led Cardinals to 10-4 record and their first playoff appearance since 1948)
– With future Hall of Famers in QB Dan Fouts, TE Kellen Winslow and WR Charlie Joiner, Coryell
became known for his innovations to football’s passing offense, commonly known as “Air Coryell”
– In his 9 seasons with the Chargers (1978-1986), the team led the NFL in passing yards 7 times, total offense (yards per game) 5 times and scoring (PPG) 3 times
– Reached AFC Championship Game in 1980 and 1981

Outside Linebacker
College: West Virginia
1958-59 Bears, 1961-73 Cowboys

Born June 28, 1936 in Wheeling, West Virginia
– Drafted 7th overall by Cowboys in 1958 NFL Draft
– 5-time 1st Team All-Pro
– 6-time Pro Bowl selection
– Recognized as an original member of the Cowboys “Doomsday Defense”
– Won Super Bowl VI with Cowboys (defeated Dolphins 24-3); had an interception and a fumble recovery in that game
– Only player to be Super Bowl MVP for team that lost the game (Cowboys lost to Baltimore Colts, 16-13 in Super Bowl V); Howley had 2 interceptions in that game
– Inducted to Cowboys Ring of Honor in 1977

Defensive Lineman
College: Temple
1977-87 Jets, 1988 Colts

Born October 15, 1953 in Chester, Pennsylvania
– Drafted in 6th round (144th overall) by Jets in 1977 NFL Draft
– 2-time 1st Team All-Pro selection
– 4-time Pro Bowl selection
– Unofficially led NFL with 20.5 sacks in 1981 (that season, he was runner-up to Lawrence Taylor for Defensive Player of the Year); individual sacks did not become official until 1982
– Played every position along the defensive line (defensive end, defensive tackle and nose guard) and was selected to at least one Pro Bowl at each spot
– Member of the Jets defensive line that was known as the “New York Sack Exchange”

Cornerback
College: Pittsburgh
2007-12 Jets, 2013 Buccaneers, 2014 Patriots, 2015-16 Jets, 2017 Chiefs

– Born July 14, 1985 in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania
– 1st year of eligibility
– Drafted 14th overall by Jets in 2007 NFL Draft
– 4 1st Team All-Pro selections at cornerback, tied with Rod Woodson for 2nd-most at cornerback since 1970 Merger (Deion Sanders, 5)
– 7-time Pro Bowl selection
– Runner-up for 2009 Defensive Player of the Year (led NFL with 31 passes defended)
– Named to NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 2010s
– His coverage skills launched the “Revis Island” nickname
– Won Super Bowl 49 with Patriots (his only season with the Patriots)
– Had 100-yard interception return for TD on Monday Night Football (Oct. 17, 2011 vs Dolphins)

Defensive Back
College: Florida A&M
1969-83 Bengals

– Born August 6, 1947 in Bartow, Florida (died on June 7, 2020)
– Drafted in 6th round (135th overall) by Bengals in 1969 NFL Draft
– 65 career interceptions, tied for 5th-most in NFL history; that’s also the 2nd-most interceptions by a player who played exclusively at cornerback, trailing only Dick “Night Train” Lane (68)
– In his 15th and final season in 1983, at the age of 36, he earned a 1st Team All-Pro selection after recording 8 interceptions (returned 2 of them for touchdowns); those 8 interceptions are tied with Rod Woodson (2002) for the most by any player in his 15th season or later

Offensive Tackle
College: Wisconsin
2007-17 Browns

– Born Dec. 4, 1984 in Brookfield, Wisconsin
– 1st year of eligibility
– Drafted 3rd overall by Browns in 2007 NFL Draft
– 1st offensive lineman in NFL history to be selected to Pro Bowl in each of his first 10 seasons
– 6-time 1st Team All-Pro
– Played 10,363 consecutive snaps, an unofficial NFL record (snap data isn’t available all-time)
– Runner-up for 2007 AP Offensive Rookie of the Year (Adrian Peterson)
– Named to NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 2010s
– Selected as the Browns’ Walter Payton Man of the Year three times

Linebacker
College: Texas Tech
1996-2007 Dolphins, 2008 Cowboys

– Born: Sept. 1, 1973 in Pampa, Texas
– Drafted: 5th Round (154th overall), 1996
– 10th year of eligibility, 4th as a finalist
– 7-time Pro Bowler (1999-2003, 2005-06)
– 5-time 1st Team All-Pro (1998-99, 2002-03, 2006)
– Led NFL in tackles during his career (1996-2008)

Linebacker
College: Troy
Cowboys 2005-13, Broncos 2014-16

– Born: July 31, 1982 in Auburn, Alabama
– 2nd year of eligibility, 2nd year as finalist
– Drafted 11th overall by Cowboys in 2005 NFL Draft
– 138.5 sacks are the 9th most since individual sacks became official in 1982; Cowboys all-time sacks leader (117.0)
– 7 straight seasons with 10.0 or more sacks, tied for 3rd-longest streak since 1982 (only Reggie White and John Randle have longer streaks)
– 1 of 8 players to finish as the NFL leader in sacks in multiple seasons since 1982 (led NFL in 2008 and 2010)
– 9 Pro Bowl selections from 2005 to 2016 were the most by any defensive player over that span
– Earned 1st-team All-Pro honors 4 times (2007-09, 2011)
– Won Super Bowl 50 as a member of the 2015 Broncos
– Named to NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 2000s