I chose to read The Changing Landscape of College Sports: The Power 5, SMU, and Conference Realignment and College Football Never Made Sense. Nick Saban Was the Exception. The first was about conference realignment, specifically Southern Methodist University’s reintroduction into the ACC. By following the specific story of SMU, the author (Andrew McGregor) expanded the conversation and talked about the ramifications of conference realignments.
The other article focuses on Nick Saban’s recent retirement. In it, Brian Phillips tells his story and what set Saban apart from other coaches. What he talks about is the chaos of College Football. It’s a sport that doesn’t quite make sense. The norms of the marching band and mascots, tailgating, chants, uniforms, halftime shows, etc. Phillips is arguing that there is just so much that is loud and distracting about College Football; once you start watching, you get sucked into the insanity. Nick Saban was the opposite; he almost seemed bored with what he was watching.
So, how do these two connect? For me, it signifies a shift in almost all sports. This shift towards focusing on sports as a product. It is about the show and the characters involved. Nick Saban is the perfect example; being boring and cold made him one of the most exciting men in college football. Is the aim of this conference realignment to add more rivalries? Have bigger teams play each other more often? Are we moving away from the past to have bigger characters and more chaos?
Is Nick Saban’s departure a good thing, a passing of the baton, so to speak? As a semi-interested college football fan, I know I have been spoiled by the Clemson and Alabama games I grew up watching, but was it starting to fade? Is it time for new blood? College football is changing rapidly in terms of personnel and conferences. Introducing new teams playing each other could be healthy, but there are also drawbacks.
Regardless of whether you support it or not, things change and evolve. They have to. People get old and have no choice but to retire. With the money in the game, the conferences are going to continue to change. I’ll include a soccer tangent: Is college football shifting towards some Super League? Is the aim to have the biggest teams play the biggest teams more frequently? Is there not much more money in having the entire season be the caliber of the college football playoffs?
