The Alliance between the ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12 is now official.

On Tuesday afternoon, the 3 conferences announced the alliance via a press release. A virtual press conference followed.

So, what does the alliance mean? Per the release, the conferences are going to continue competing against each other, but will align on various issues:

The three conferences remain competitors in every sense but are committed to collaborating and providing thought leadership on various opportunities and challenges facing college athletics, including:

  • Student-athlete mental and physical health, safety, wellness and support
  • Strong academic experience and support
  • Diversity, equity and inclusion
  • Social justice
  • Gender equity
  • Future structure of the NCAA
  • Federal legislative efforts
  • Postseason championships and future formats

The keys there with regards to on-field football issues are “future structure of the NCAA” and “postseason championships and future formats.”

That certainly seems to indicate the 3 conferences will band together with any future College Football Playoff discussions. Additionally, this was mentioned in the release:

The football scheduling alliance will feature additional attractive matchups across the three conferences while continuing to honor historic rivalries and the best traditions of college football.

We’ll see what this means for the SEC moving forward, but the landscape of college athletics has certainly shifted once again with this news.