Nick Saban has seen drastic changes to the sport of college football as a coach who took his first job in 1973.

At Alabama’s Media Day, Saban was asked for his thoughts on the latest round of conference realignment. The Big Ten, Saban’s former conference, will have 18 members starting in 2024 with Oregon, USC, UCLA and Washington making the move from the Pac-12. The Big 12 is adding 4 other members of the current Pac-12 (Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah). Five of the programs made their decisions on Friday.

Saban is concerned about maintaining college football’s traditions and keeping the interest of student-athletes in mind.

“There’s a lot of traditions that we’ve had for a long time in college football,” Saban told reporters Sunday. “I think we’re in a time of evolution for whatever reasons. Some of those traditions are going to get, sort of, pushed by the wayside, I think. It’s sad. Whether it’s good, bad or indifferent for college football — I guess you have to define what is good and bad for college football.

“I would just hope that we would keep in mind in all the choices and decisions we make relative to what we do in college athletics, is the student-athlete. They’re here to get an education. (We) want to try to help them develop careers on and off the field, and hopefully, some of the choices and decisions that we make for college athletics in the future will impact them in a positive way. I hope that we can keep that a priority in terms of whatever we decide to do in the future of college football and college athletics.”

[H/T Mike Rodak]