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The 2023 season will be the final year of college football as we’ve grown to know it. Conference realignment will soon change the landscape of the sport, ending traditional rivalries, storied leagues, and regionalism we’ve become accustomed to.
Teams are finding new homes as they move from conference to conference, driven by media rights deals and the almighty dollar. The internet is begging fans to cherish this final college football season before change overtakes the sport.
This coming season will mark the last for a number of major items.
The PAC-12 has all but fallen apart with eight of the 12 members moving to either the Big Ten or Big XII. It’s not yet known if the “Conference of Champions” will survive as it will soon have to choose whether to expand or dissolve.
With that being said, annual rivalries like the Apple Cup between Washington and Washington State are at risk of being discontinued.
The same can be said for Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, with the Sooners making their way to the SEC in ’24 alongside Texas.
For those that love college football because of tradition and local bragging rights, the moves are devastating.
We’ll soon see contests between Oregon and Rutgers, schools nearly 3,000 miles apart. And who can’t wait for UCLA’s season slate to include Indiana instead of Cal?
The money grabs and nationwide travel will soon make college football feel more like the NFL, and an expanded playoff field will only add to that outlook in 2024.
With all the change expected after the conclusion of this season, the internet is reminding us to cherish college football in its final year of “normal.”
Make sure to cherish this college football season, folks, b/c it’s the end of an era.
This is the last year of:
– Texas & Oklahoma in Big 12
– Arizona, Arizona St., Utah, Colorado, USC, UCLA, Oregon & Washington in Pac-12
– Bedlam Rivalry
– 4-team playoff
– SEC on CBS
– Pac-12 pic.twitter.com/bBqm0WKHix— Jim Weber (@JimMWeber) August 21, 2023
We’re really going to have to cherish this college football season. It will never look like this again
— Corey (@Koogs242) August 5, 2023
Those that follow the PAC-12 might be the most impacted by the recent shift in college football’s structure.
BTW, I have to admit that seeing the Pac 12 go away brings with it a little sadness. College football is changing so rapidly and those of us who remember and cherish the past are sad. My childhood memories of some of the greatest games between rivals may not longer exist. #NCAA
— BravesFan72 (@fanofmurph3) August 4, 2023
It was already true before today and should probably be said again amid the latest developments:
If you cherish the regionalism of college football, savor every single ounce of the 2023 season.
It’s never going to be quite the same come 2024.
— Dean Straka (@DWStraka49) August 4, 2023
The 2023 college football season starts in just a few short days. Remember these messages while tuning in on Saturdays this fall.