Skip to main content
Join Now
Get a profile. Be recruited.

Bruce Feldman explains how Big Ten, SEC could form historic connection

Barkley-Truaxby: Barkley Truax07/04/22BarkleyTruax
joel-klatt-compares-big-ten-sec-tv-contract-ohio-state-michigan-alabama-georgia
Jamie Schwaberow/Getty Images

Amid the great conference realignment that will ensue over the next several seasons in college athletics, Fox Sports’ Bruce Feldman proposed an idea that could turn college football on its head forever.

“The thing to to keep an eye on is when Greg Sankey, the SEC Commissioner, a couple of weeks back, kind of made some rumblings about how maybe they could have their own playoff just among SEC schools,” Feldman said on a recent episode of The Rich Eisen Show. “Now, the idea that maybe the Big Ten and the SEC – the expanded Big Ten, the expanded SEC – could have their own playoff would have a lot more credibility now that you’re basically looking to 30 to 35 schools.”

One interesting concept for this proposal by Feldman could see the respective winners of the SEC East and West divisions take on the winners of the Big Ten East and West divisions in a four-team bracketed, single-elimination format similar to the College Football Playoff.

For example, Georgia (SEC East) could battle Ohio State (Big Ten East), while Alabama (SEC West) battles Iowa (Big Ten West) for the right to play for the super-conference’s championship. The SEC West winner could even find themselves taking on USC or UCLA as well, along with any other combination of block-buster matchups the two conferences will be able to produce.

Of course, that also means that other teams are going to want to join the party.

“If you’re a Clemson – if you’re like the school that traditionally wins a lot of championships – Clemson, Miami, Florida State, they would be on the outside unless they either get brought in to one of the other two – the SEC or Big Ten,” Feldman said.

What Feldman is wondering is whether or not Notre Dame will decide whether or not it would want to join either conference in the coming years. Having a seat at the College Football Playoff table – either league would be fools to miss out on Notre Dame’s financial upside.

“But that would be a driver to [the SEC and Big Ten to] say that again we know [Notre Dame] has a lot of TV pull – we know you have a huge brand – we’d love to have you part of [the SEC of Big Ten],” Feldman said.