Heavy realigment hit college football in the offseason and was the talk of the sport weeks before games kicked off.
The Pac-12 Conference was decimated before the season started. Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah announced their move to the Big 12, while Oregon and Washington announced they would join USC and UCLA in the Big Ten Conference. The ACC is also reportedly set to add new member schools.
Oklahoma and Texas already decided they were going to move to the SEC.
Jesse Palmer, the former Florida Gators quarterback who is now a college football analyst and host of “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette,” told Fox News Digital he wasn’t a fan of what was happening in the sport.
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The Pac-12 logo at the Washington Huskies’ spring game April 22, 2023, at Husky Stadium in Seattle. (Jeff Halstead/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
“As a fan of college football, I don’t like it. To me, it’s the rivalries and the traditions that are one of things that’s most special about the sport and, of course, we’re losing a lot of that as we go to conference realignment,” Palmer said. “But this is the new reality. It’s not gonna change.
“TV deals, revenue — that matters. Just like it is in recruiting, NIL money now for players, all that stuff matters. The landscape has completely changed. I expect expansion to continue to happen. Revenue is going to drive the process. Teams don’t want to get left behind.
“Teams in the SEC, in the Big Ten right now, their revenue deals far, far exceeds anybody else’s. And the more years that go by, the more it’s going to separate them from schools and other conferences.”
Palmer downplayed the notion of a potential super league or college football splitting off from the NCAA altogether.
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Jesse Palmer (7) quarterback of the Florida Gators, calls a play at the line of scrimmage in September 2000 at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn. (Craig Jones/Getty Images)
“I hear everybody talking about a super league. Kind of like the Premier League in soccer,” he said. “I have a hard time seeing that happen just because of TV contracts and TV deals and exclusivity rights and how that all gets reworked and whether or not these networks are going to want to play in the sandbox to get that done.
“But, you know, as a purist and a traditionalist, I’m not a fan of realignment.”
Palmer talked to Fox News Digital on behalf of the 19th annual College Colors Day and its “Fan Out Loud” campaign. The day is being celebrated Friday, and Palmer is encouraging fans to celebrate by wearing apparel from their current schools or alma maters and sharing it on social media.
“It really gives us all a chance to fan out loud,” the former Gators quarterback explained. “That’s the biggest thing. This is the best sport in the world. It’s the best time of year. College Colors Day comes right in time for fans to show all this support and love for their school right in time for the college football season.”
Jesse Palmer is the host of “The Bachelor.” (Craig Sjodin via Getty Images)
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Palmer also said fans can visit the College Colors Day website for a chance to win tickets to the national championship game in Houston.
