Jan 2, 2020; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators former head coach Steve Spurrier is honored prior to the game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Indiana Hoosiers at TIAA Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY Sports
The landscape of college football has been significantly altered in recent years with conference realignment, and former head coach Steve Spurrier is among those who have concerns about the changes.
Spurrier shared some of his thoughts on conference realignment during an interview with “Inside the Gators” that was published on Friday. He said he does not think the massive shift is good for college football, though he understands the business aspect of it.
“I don’t think it’s real smart,” Spurrier said, as transcribed by Griffin McVeigh of On3. “It’s all about money and so forth. If they continue to play their in-state rivals and all that, it might make a little more sense.”
Spurrier, who coached at Florida and South Carolina, was likely referring to in-state rivalries among teams that play in different conferences, such as Florida and Florida State. Some of those annual games are in danger of extinction.
One concern Spurrier has with realignment is that it will force student-athletes in other sports to travel great distances just so football programs can generate more revenue. The 78-year-old wonders why football programs — and perhaps some basketball programs — can’t change conferences without other sports having to do the same.
“If Arizona and Arizona State want to go with the Big (12) and leave all the other sports to play the people close by,” Spurrier said. “I wish they would do that and that would keep it a little more in the common sense area than traveling across the country for a tennis match or a swim meet.”
Oklahoma and Texas are leaving the Big 12 for the SEC next year, while Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington are leaving the Pac-12 for the Big Ten. Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah are all leaving the Pac-12 for the Big 12. That all is scheduled to take place in 2024. One athletic director believes this is only the beginning.
Spurrier is not the only one who thinks college football should break off from other sports. As of now, there has been no indication that schools are exploring that option.
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