Lane Kiffin on conference realignment: ‘It just doesn’t seem right’

Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin has remained outspoken on the issues of NIL and conference realignment throughout the offseason as he compares the model to a professional league with no rules. With the recent addition of USC and UCLA to the Big Ten and last summers move by Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC, something feels off for the coach who has spent time from coast to coast.

During an appearance on ESPN’s First Take, Lane Kiffin addressed the current state of conference realignment and how it has impacted college football as a whole.

“It is a mess,” said Kiffin. “A lot of these decisions, obviously, are made for money. I just don’t – I got asked a lot last week at the league meetings about especially USC, UCLA moving and Texas, Oklahoma. It just doesn’t seem right. I said, “Texas, Oklahoma, that doesn’t feel right and USC, UCLA going to the Big Ten doesn’t feel right or sound right. Nothing about it. Especially when you look at scheduling – how that would work out – the travel and [time] away from classes.

“I’m sure, maybe something went into it more than money. But I don’t know what could’ve possibly – besides money – went into that decision and tearing those conferences apart like they are now.”

As money dominates the headlines as the primary reason for the Big Ten and SEC race to add more valuable schools, it leaves a trail of conferences behind which used to be known as the Power Five.