View source for Power conferences

{{short description|Group of top-level American college football conferences}}
{{redirect|Power five|other uses|Power five (disambiguation)}}
{{Use American English|date = October 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2017}}
[[File:2022 UM vs OSU 0090.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Michigan Wolverines football|Michigan]] (in white) and [[Ohio State Buckeyes football|Ohio State]], members of the [[Big Ten Conference|Big Ten]] power conference, playing in November 2022]]

The '''power conferences''' are the most prominent [[athletic conference]]s in [[college football]] in the United States. They are part of the [[NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision|Football Bowl Subdivision]] (FBS) of the [[National Collegiate Athletic Association]]'s [[NCAA Division I|Division I]], the highest level of collegiate football in the nation, and are considered the most elite conferences within that tier. Power conferences have provided most of the participants in the [[College Football Playoff]] (CFP) and its predecessors, and generally have larger revenue, budgets, and television viewership than other college athletic programs. The [[Atlantic Coast Conference]] (ACC), [[Big Ten Conference]] (B1G), [[Big 12 Conference]], and [[Southeastern Conference]] (SEC) are currently recognised as power conferences. 

For decades, the most prominent conferences sent their teams to postseason [[Bowl game|bowl games]], but the season frequently ended with multiple teams claiming the national championship. After the [[1990 NCAA Division I-A football season|1990]] and [[1991 NCAA Division I-A football season|1991]] seasons ended with consecutive split championships, several of the most prominent conferences and bowl games formed the [[Bowl Coalition]] (1992–1994), and later the [[Bowl Alliance]] (1995–1997), to provide a definitive national champion. In 1998, the six largest conferences—the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, [[Big East Conference (1979–2013)|Big East]], SEC, and [[Pac-12 Conference|Pac-12]]—and the four most prominent bowl games—the [[Fiesta Bowl|Fiesta]], [[Orange Bowl|Orange]], [[Rose Bowl Game|Rose]] and [[Sugar Bowl|Sugar]] Bowls—formed the [[Bowl Championship Series]] (BCS), with conference champions awarded '''Automatic Qualifying''' ('''AQ''') status to the bowl games and, provisionally, the [[BCS National Championship Game|National Championship Game]].

The defection of three Big East members to the ACC after the [[2005 NCAA conference realignment|2005 conference realignment]] saw its stature gradually diminish, and it eventually split into two following a [[2010–2014 NCAA conference realignment|realignment in the early 2010s]]; at the same time, the BCS was reorganised into the College Football Playoff, and the remaining AQ conferences were collectively referred to as the '''Power Five'''. A [[2021–2026 NCAA conference realignment|further realignment in the early 2020s]] saw the Pac-12 left with only two members after the [[2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season|2023 season]]; the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, and SEC now form the '''Power Four''', with further suggestions that the Big Ten and SEC, the two conferences with the largest media contracts and many of the most prestigious programs, currently form a "Power Two" tier above the ACC and Big 12.

As of the upcoming 2025 season, the [[List of NCAA Division I FBS football programs|FBS has 136 members]], divided between the Power Four, five other conferences known as the [[Group of Five conferences|Group of Five]] (G5), the Pac-12, and two [[NCAA Division I FBS independent schools|independent]] schools. The term ''power conference'' is not defined by the NCAA, but the conferences are identified individually under NCAA rules as "autonomy conferences", which grants them some independence from standard NCAA rules. The power conferences also compete in other collegiate sports, but are not necessarily the most prominent in each sport; for example, in men's college basketball, the [[Big East Conference|modern Big East]], which does not sponsor football, is also considered to be a power conference.

==List of conferences and teams==
{{For|a full list of FBS football programs|List of NCAA Division I FBS football programs}}
The ten FBS conferences as of the 2025–26 [[academic year]] are listed. For the Power Four, the members of each conference are also listed:

{{col-begin|width=95%}}
{{col-2}}
{|class="wikitable"
|+|Power Four conferences and member universities
|-
! scope="col" |[[Atlantic Coast Conference|ACC]]<small>{{efn|group=conf|The [[University of Notre Dame]] is a full voting member of the ACC, and although its [[Notre Dame Fighting Irish football|football team]] does not participate in ACC football and competes as a [[NCAA Division I FBS independent schools|football independent]], it is obligated to play an average of five football games a year against ACC opponents.<ref name="ndfootball">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/13/sports/ncaafootball/notre-dame-to-join-acc-in-all-sports-but-football.html|title=A.C.C. to Add Notre Dame, but Not Its Football Team|first=Greg|last=Bishop|newspaper=The New York Times|date=September 12, 2012|access-date=September 19, 2020}}</ref> In 2020, during the [[COVID-19 pandemic in the United States|COVID-19 pandemic]], Notre Dame entered into a full ACC football schedule and was eligible for the conference's championship.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-07-30|title=ACC sets 11-game slate, includes Notre Dame|url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/29559987/acc-sets-fall-football-plans-includes-notre-dame|access-date=2020-08-08|website=ESPN.com|language=en}}</ref> Notre Dame fields 24 other varsity sports that compete in the ACC, as well as men's [[ice hockey]] which competes in the Big Ten Conference.|name=Notre Dame}}</small>
! scope="col" |[[Big Ten Conference|Big Ten]]
! scope="col" |[[Big 12 Conference|Big 12]]
! scope="col" |[[Southeastern Conference|SEC]]

|-
|[[Boston College Eagles football|Boston College]]
|[[Illinois Fighting Illini football|Illinois]]
|[[Arizona Wildcats football|Arizona]]
|[[Alabama Crimson Tide football|Alabama]]

|-
|[[California Golden Bears football|California]] 
|[[Indiana Hoosiers football|Indiana]]
|[[Arizona State Sun Devils football|Arizona State]]
|[[Arkansas Razorbacks football|Arkansas]]

|-
|[[Clemson Tigers football|Clemson]]
|[[Iowa Hawkeyes football|Iowa]]
|[[Baylor Bears football|Baylor]]
|[[Auburn Tigers football|Auburn]]

|-
|[[Duke Blue Devils football|Duke]] 
|[[Maryland Terrapins football|Maryland]]
|[[BYU Cougars football|BYU]]
|[[Florida Gators football|Florida]]

|-
|[[Florida State Seminoles football|Florida State]]
|[[Michigan Wolverines football|Michigan]]
|[[Cincinnati Bearcats football|Cincinnati]]
|[[Georgia Bulldogs football|Georgia]]

|-
|[[Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football|Georgia Tech]]
|[[Michigan State Spartans football|Michigan State]]
|[[Colorado Buffaloes football|Colorado]]
|[[Kentucky Wildcats football|Kentucky]]

|-
|[[Louisville Cardinals football|Louisville]]
|[[Minnesota Golden Gophers football|Minnesota]]
|[[Houston Cougars football|Houston]]
|[[LSU Tigers football|LSU]]

|-
|[[Miami Hurricanes football|Miami (FL)]] 
|[[Nebraska Cornhuskers football|Nebraska]]
|[[Iowa State Cyclones football|Iowa State]]
|[[Ole Miss Rebels football|Ole Miss]]

|-
|[[North Carolina Tar Heels football|North Carolina]] 
|[[Northwestern Wildcats football|Northwestern]]
|[[Kansas Jayhawks football|Kansas]]
|[[Mississippi State Bulldogs football|Mississippi State]]

|-
|[[NC State Wolfpack football|NC State]] 
|[[Ohio State Buckeyes football|Ohio State]]
|[[Kansas State Wildcats football|Kansas State]]
|[[Missouri Tigers football|Missouri]]

|-
|[[Pittsburgh Panthers football|Pittsburgh]] 
|[[Oregon Ducks football|Oregon]]
|[[Oklahoma State Cowboys football|Oklahoma State]]
|[[Oklahoma Sooners football|Oklahoma]] 

|-
|[[SMU Mustangs football|SMU]]
|[[Penn State Nittany Lions football|Penn State]]
|[[TCU Horned Frogs football|TCU]]
|[[South Carolina Gamecocks football|South Carolina]] 

|-
|[[Stanford Cardinal football|Stanford]]
|[[Purdue Boilermakers football|Purdue]]
|[[Texas Tech Red Raiders football|Texas Tech]]
|[[Tennessee Volunteers football|Tennessee]] 
|-
|[[Syracuse Orange football|Syracuse]] 
|[[Rutgers Scarlet Knights football|Rutgers]]
|[[UCF Knights football|UCF]]
|[[Texas Longhorns football|Texas]]

|-
|[[Virginia Cavaliers football|Virginia]]
|[[UCLA Bruins football|UCLA]]
|[[Utah Utes football|Utah]]
|[[Texas A&M Aggies football|Texas A&M]]

|-
|[[Virginia Tech Hokies football|Virginia Tech]]
|[[USC Trojans football|USC]]
|[[West Virginia Mountaineers football|West Virginia]]
|[[Vanderbilt Commodores football|Vanderbilt]] 

|-
|[[Wake Forest Demon Deacons football|Wake Forest]]
|[[Washington Huskies football|Washington]]
|
|

|-
|
|[[Wisconsin Badgers football|Wisconsin]]
|
|

|}

{{col-2}}
{|class="wikitable"
|+|Other FBS conferences
|-
! [[Group of Five conferences]]
|-
|[[American Athletic Conference]]
|-
|[[Conference USA]]
|-
|[[Mid-American Conference]]
|-
|[[Mountain West Conference]]
|-
|[[Sun Belt Conference]]
|}

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! [[Pac-12 Conference]]{{efn|group=conf|The Pac-12 currently has a scheduling agreement with the [[Mountain West Conference]] pending the addition of new members to the conference in 2026.}}
|-
| [[Oregon State Beavers football|Oregon State]]
|-
| [[Washington State Cougars football|Washington State]]
|}

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! [[NCAA Division I FBS independent schools|Independent teams]]
|-
| [[Notre Dame Fighting Irish football|Notre Dame]]{{efn|name=Notre Dame}}
|-
| [[UConn Huskies football|UConn]]
|}
{{col-end}}

{{notelist|group=conf}}

===Map of Power Four teams===

{{Location map+ 
| USA 
| width = 900
| float = left
| caption = Teams for each of the Power Four conferences during the [[2024 NCAA Division I FBS football season|2024 season]].<br>[[Atlantic Coast Conference|ACC]] [[File:Location dot green.svg|10px]]<br>[[Big Ten Conference|Big Ten]] [[File:Location dot blue.svg|10px]]<br>[[Big 12 Conference|Big 12]] [[File:Location dot orange.svg|10px]] <br>[[Southeastern Conference|SEC]] [[File:Location dot red.svg|10px]] <br>Power Four independent [[File:Location dot black.svg|10px]]
| places =
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot black.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[Notre Dame Fighting Irish football|Notre Dame]]</small> | position=right | lat_deg =41  | lat_min =42  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =86  | lon_min =14  | lon_dir = W }}

{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot red.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[Texas A&M Aggies football|Texas A&M]]</small> | position=right | lat_deg =30  | lat_min =37  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =96  | lon_min =21  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot red.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[Arkansas Razorbacks football|Arkansas]]</small> | position=right | lat_deg =36  | lat_min =4  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =94  | lon_min =11  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot red.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[Florida Gators football|Florida]]</small> | position=right | lat_deg =29  | lat_min =39  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =82  | lon_min =21  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot red.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[Kentucky Wildcats football|Kentucky]]</small> | position=bottom | lat_deg =38  | lat_min =2 | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =84  | lon_min =30 | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot red.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[Georgia Bulldogs football|Georgia]]</small> | position=right | lat_deg =33  | lat_min =57  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =83  | lon_min =22  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot red.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[Tennessee Volunteers football|Tennessee]]</small> | position=bottom | lat_deg =35  | lat_min =57  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =83  | lon_min =56  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot red.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[Vanderbilt Commodores football|Vanderbilt]]</small> | position=left | lat_deg =36  | lat_min =9  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =86  | lon_min =48  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot red.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[Alabama Crimson Tide football|Alabama]]</small> | position=bottom | lat_deg =33  | lat_min =13  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =87  | lon_min =32  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot red.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[Auburn Tigers football|Auburn]]</small> | position=bottom | lat_deg =32  | lat_min =36  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =85  | lon_min =29  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot red.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[LSU Tigers football|LSU]]</small> | position=right | lat_deg =30  | lat_min =25  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =91  | lon_min =11  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot red.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[Ole Miss Rebels football|Ole Miss]]</small> | position=left | lat_deg =34  | lat_min =22  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =89  | lon_min =32  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot red.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>{{nowrap|[[Mississippi State Bulldogs football|Mississippi State]]}}</small> | position=left | lat_deg =33  | lat_min =27  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =88  | lon_min =47  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot red.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[Missouri Tigers football|Missouri]]</small> | position=top | lat_deg =38  | lat_min =57  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =92  | lon_min =20  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot red.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[South Carolina Gamecocks football|South Carolina]]</small> | position=right| lat_deg =34  | lat_min =0  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =81  | lon_min =2  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot red.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[Oklahoma Sooners football|Oklahoma]]</small> | position=left | lat_deg =35  | lat_min =13  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =97  | lon_min =27  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot red.svg |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[Texas Longhorns football|Texas]]</small> | position=left | lat_deg =30  | lat_min =17  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =97  | lon_min =44  | lon_dir = W }}

{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot blue.svg |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[Washington Huskies football|Washington]]</small> | position=bottom| lat_deg =47  | lat_min =39  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =122  | lon_min =18  | lon_dir = W }}
 {{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot blue.svg |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[UCLA Bruins football|UCLA]]</small> | position=top | lat_deg =34  | lat_min =4  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =118  | lon_min =27  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot blue.svg |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[Oregon Ducks football|Oregon]]</small> | position=bottom | lat_deg =44  | lat_min =3  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =123  | lon_min =5  | lon_dir = W }}
 {{Location map~ | USA | mark =  Location dot blue.svg |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[USC Trojans football|USC]]</small> | position=bottom | lat_deg =34  | lat_min =1  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =118  | lon_min =17  | lon_dir = W }} 
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot blue.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[Penn State Nittany Lions football|Penn State]]</small> | position=top | lat_deg =40  | lat_min =48  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =77  | lon_min =52  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot blue.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[Rutgers Scarlet Knights football|Rutgers]]</small> | position=right | lat_deg =40  | lat_min =30  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =74  | lon_min =27  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot blue.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[Nebraska Cornhuskers football|Nebraska]]</small> | position=left | lat_deg =40  | lat_min =49  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =96  | lon_min =42  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot blue.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[Indiana Hoosiers football|Indiana]]</small> | position=left | lat_deg =39  | lat_min =10  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =86  | lon_min =32  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot blue.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[Michigan Wolverines football|Michigan]]</small> | position=right | lat_deg =42  | lat_min =17  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =83  | lon_min =45  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot blue.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[Michigan State Spartans football|Michigan State]]</small> | position=top | lat_deg =42  | lat_min =43  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =84  | lon_min =29  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot blue.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[Ohio State Buckeyes football|Ohio State]]</small> | position=top | lat_deg =40  | lat_min =0  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =83  | lon_min =1  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot blue.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[Illinois Fighting Illini football|Illinois]]</small> | position=left | lat_deg =40  | lat_min =7  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =88  | lon_min =14  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot blue.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[Iowa Hawkeyes football|Iowa]]</small> | position=bottom | lat_deg =41  | lat_min =39  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =91  | lon_min =32  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot blue.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[Minnesota Golden Gophers football|Minnesota]]</small> | position=left | lat_deg =44  | lat_min =58  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =93  | lon_min =14  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot blue.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[Northwestern Wildcats football|Northwestern]]</small> | position=left | lat_deg =42  | lat_min =3  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =87  | lon_min =40  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot blue.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[Purdue Boilermakers football|Purdue]]</small> | position=top | lat_deg =40  | lat_min =25  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =86  | lon_min =56  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot blue.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[Wisconsin Badgers football|Wisconsin]]</small> | position=left | lat_deg =43  | lat_min =5  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =89  | lon_min =25 | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot blue.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[Maryland Terrapins football|Maryland]]</small> | position=right | lat_deg =38  | lat_min =59  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =76  | lon_min =56  | lon_dir = W }}

{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot orange.svg |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[Arizona Wildcats football|Arizona]]</small> | position=right | lat_deg =32  | lat_min =14  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =110  | lon_min =57  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot orange.svg |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[Arizona State Sun Devils football|Arizona State]]</small> | position=top | lat_deg =33  | lat_min =25  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =111  | lon_min =56  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot orange.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[BYU Cougars football|BYU]]</small> | position=bottom | lat_deg =40  | lat_min =13  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =111  | lon_min =48  | lon_dir = W }} {{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot orange.svg |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[Colorado Buffaloes football|Colorado]]</small> | position=bottom | lat_deg =40  | lat_min =0  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =105  | lon_min =16  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark =Location dot orange.svg | label = <small>[[Utah Utes football|Utah]]</small> | position=top | lat_deg =40  | lat_min =46  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =111  | lon_min =51  | lon_dir = W }} 
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot orange.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[Cincinnati Bearcats football|Cincinnati]]</small> | position=right | lat_deg =39  | lat_min =7  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =84  | lon_min =30  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot orange.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[Houston Cougars football|Houston]]</small> | position=right | lat_deg =29  | lat_min =45  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =95  | lon_min =21  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot orange.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[Iowa State Cyclones football|Iowa State]]</small> | position=left | lat_deg =42  | lat_min =1  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =93  | lon_min =39  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot orange.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[Kansas Jayhawks football|Kansas]]</small> | position=bottom | lat_deg =38  | lat_min =57  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =95  | lon_min =15  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot orange.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[Kansas State Wildcats football|Kansas State]]</small> | position=left | lat_deg =39  | lat_min =12  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =96  | lon_min =35  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot orange.svg  |marksize=8 | label = {{nowrap|<small>[[Oklahoma State Cowboys football|Oklahoma State]]</small>}} | position=left | lat_deg =36  | lat_min =8  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =97  | lon_min =5  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot orange.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[Texas Tech Red Raiders football|Texas Tech]]</small> | position=top | lat_deg =33  | lat_min =34  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =101  | lon_min =53  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot orange.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[Baylor Bears football|Baylor]]</small> | position=left | lat_deg =31  | lat_min =33  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =97  | lon_min =6  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot orange.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[TCU Horned Frogs football|TCU]]</small> | position=top | lat_deg =32  | lat_min =43  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =97  | lon_min =22  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot orange.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[UCF Knights football|UCF]]</small> | position=right| lat_deg =28  | lat_min =36  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =81  | lon_min =12  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot orange.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[West Virginia Mountaineers football|West <br> Virginia]]</small> | position=right | lat_deg =39 | lat_min =38  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =79  | lon_min =57  | lon_dir = W }}

{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot green.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[Stanford Cardinal football|Stanford]]</small> | position=bottom | lat_deg =37  | lat_min =26  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =122  | lon_min =10  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot green.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[California Golden Bears football|California]] </small> | position=top | lat_deg =37  | lat_min =52  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =122  | lon_min =16  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot green.svg  |marksize=8 | label = {{nowrap|<small>[[Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football|Georgia Tech]]</small>}} | position=bottom | lat_deg =33  | lat_min =47  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =84  | lon_min =24 | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot green.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[Wake Forest Demon Deacons football|Wake <br> Forest]]</small> | position=left | lat_deg =36  | lat_min =8  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =80  | lon_min =17  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot green.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[Virginia Cavaliers football|Virginia]]</small> | position=right | lat_deg =38  | lat_min =2  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =78  | lon_min =30  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot green.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[NC State Wolfpack football|NC State]]</small> | position=right | lat_deg =35  | lat_min =47  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =78  | lon_min =41  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot green.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[North Carolina Tar Heels football|UNC]]</small> | position=bottom | lat_deg =35  | lat_min =55  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =79  | lon_min =3  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot green.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[Duke Blue Devils football|Duke]]</small> | position=top | lat_deg =36  | lat_min =0  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =78  | lon_min =56  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot green.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[Clemson Tigers football|Clemson]]</small> | position=right | lat_deg =34 | lat_min =41  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =82  | lon_min =50  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot green.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[Boston College Eagles football|Boston College]]</small> | position=bottom | lat_deg =42  | lat_min =20  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =71  | lon_min =10  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot green.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[Syracuse Orange football|Syracuse]]</small> | position=bottom| lat_deg =43  | lat_min =2  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =76  | lon_min =8  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot green.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[Pittsburgh Panthers football|Pittsburgh]]</small> | position=right | lat_deg =40  | lat_min =27  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =79  | lon_min =57 | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot green.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[Miami Hurricanes football|Miami (FL)]]</small> | position=right | lat_deg =25  | lat_min =43  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =80  | lon_min =17  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot green.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[Virginia Tech Hokies football|Virginia Tech]]</small> | position=top | lat_deg =37  | lat_min =13  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =80  | lon_min =25  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot green.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[Florida State Seminoles football|Florida State]]</small> | position=top| lat_deg =30  | lat_min =27  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =84  | lon_min =18  | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot green.svg  | label = <small>[[Louisville Cardinals football|Louisville]]</small> | position=left | lat_deg =38  | lat_min =13  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =85  | lon_min =46 | lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot green.svg  |marksize=8 | label = <small>[[SMU Mustangs football|SMU]]</small> | position=right | lat_deg =32| lat_min =50  | lat_dir = N  | lon_deg =96| lon_min =47  | lon_dir = W }}
}}

<div style="clear:both;"></div>

==Power conferences in the College Football Playoff era==
===Position within college football and the FBS===
The power conferences are all part of [[NCAA Division I]], which contains most of the largest and most competitive collegiate athletic programs in the United States, and the [[NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision|Football Bowl Subdivision]] (FBS), which is the higher of the two levels of [[college football]] within NCAA Division I.<ref>{{cite news|title=American football: Sarah Fuller makes history as first woman in a Power 5 game|date=November 29, 2020|website=BBC.com|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-55115661|access-date=November 30, 2020|quote=The Power 5 refers to five conferences, including the SEC, considered the elite of collegiate football.}}</ref> It is unknown where the term "Power Conference" originated; it is not officially documented by the NCAA, though it has been used since at least 2006.<ref name="lindseypowerfive">{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/29339532/bcs_race_already_is_getting_ugly/ |title=BCS race already is getting ugly |first=John |last=Lindsey |agency=[[Scripps Howard News Service]] |newspaper=[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]] |page=F-2 |date=November 1, 2006 |access-date=March 9, 2019 |via=newspapers.com|quote=Even though the system is usually stacked in their favor, the haves — schools from the traditional power five conferences, the Southeastern, Atlantic Coast, Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac-10 — are already bent out of shape.}}</ref> The top conferences in the college football are called the "Power Four conferences": the [[Big Ten Conference]], the [[Big 12 Conference]], the [[Atlantic Coast Conference]] (ACC), and the [[Southeastern Conference]] (SEC).<ref name="russopowerfour"/> Since 2014, the power conferences have held some autonomy from the rest of Division I in regard to issues such as stipends and recruiting rules.<ref name=Autonomy>{{cite news|last1=Bennett|first1=Brian|title=NCAA board votes to allow autonomy|url=https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/11321551/ncaa-board-votes-allow-autonomy-five-power-conferences|access-date=December 9, 2014|website=ESPN.com|date=August 8, 2014}}</ref><ref name="bylaw">{{cite web|url=http://www.ncaapublications.com/productdownloads/D118.pdf |title=5.3.2.1 Process for Areas of Autonomy |work=2017–18 NCAA Division I Manual |page=33 |date=August 1, 2017 |access-date=March 11, 2019}}</ref>{{efn-ua|Section 5.3.2.1 of the NCAA Constitution grants the five conferences autonomy "to permit the use of resources to advance the legitimate educational or athletics-related needs of student-athletes and for legislative changes that will otherwise enhance student-athlete well-being". Eleven areas of autonomy are listed, including promotional activities unrelated to athletics participation, pre-enrollment expenses and support, and financial aid.}} 

Roughly half of the schools in the FBS play in one of the Power Four conferences. The remaining schools are either [[NCAA Division I FBS independent schools|independent]], play in the [[Pac-12 Conference]], or play in one of the conferences known as the [[Group of Five conferences]], which consists of the [[American Athletic Conference]] (AAC or "The American"), [[Conference USA]] (CUSA), the [[Mid-American Conference]] (MAC), the [[Mountain West Conference]] (MW), and the [[Sun Belt Conference]] (SBC).<ref name="BMcMurphy">{{cite news|last1=McMurphy|first1=Brett|title=Power Five coaches polled on games|url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/11320309/majority-power-five-coaches-want-power-five-only-schedules|access-date=December 9, 2014|publisher=ESPN|date=August 7, 2014}}</ref> The term "Power Four conferences" is often shortened to "P4", while the Group of Five Conferences are often referred to as the "G5".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Russo |first1=Ralph D. |title=AP Top 25 Reality Check: Group of 5 teams struggling to break into rankings with lack of P5 upsets |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2023/10/16/ap-top-25-reality-check-group-of-5-teams-struggling-to-break-into-rankings-with-lack-of-p5-upsets/71201689007/ |publisher=Associated Press |date=October 16, 2023}}</ref> The FBS has three independents as of the 2024 season: the [[Notre Dame Fighting Irish football|Notre Dame Fighting Irish]], the [[UConn Huskies football|UConn Huskies]], and the [[UMass Minutemen football|UMass Minutemen]]. Notre Dame is considered equal to the Power Four schools, being a full (with the exception of football) member of the ACC with an annual five-game football scheduling agreement with that conference; Notre Dame also has [[Notre Dame Football on NBC|its own national television contract]] and its own arrangement for access to the CFP-affiliated bowl games should it meet stated competitive criteria. The other independents are generally considered to be on the same level as the G5 conferences.

Compared to the Group of Five, power conference schools have significantly higher revenue, due to television deals with major networks and streaming services.<ref name="russo1">{{cite news |last1=Russo |first1=Ralph D. |title=Is a revenue gap keeping top coaches away from G5 schools? |url=https://www.foxsports.com/stories/college-football/is-a-revenue-gap-keeping-top-coaches-away-from-g5-schools |work=Fox Sports |date=March 4, 2020}}</ref> In 2022, the power conferences generated a combined $3.3 billion in revenue.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Witz |first1=Billy |title=Conferences Are Changing. The Sport Is, Too. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/01/sports/ncaafootball/college-football-preview-realignment-big12-bigten-acc-pac12-bigten.html |work=The New York Times |date=September 1, 2023}}</ref> College football games often draw strong television ratings, and, along with the [[NFL]], college football was one of the few television properties to grow in live ratings between 2013 and 2023.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Shaw |first1=Lucas |title=Live TV Has Been Collapsing for a Decade. Why Hasn't Football? |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2023-11-19/live-tv-has-been-collapsing-for-a-decade-why-hasn-t-football |publisher=Bloomberg |date=November 19, 2023}}</ref> In 2022, college football games between power conference teams made up five of the ten most-watched non-NFL sporting events among U.S. viewers. With 22.56 million viewers, the [[2022 College Football Playoff National Championship|2022 national championship game]] ranked as the most watched college football game of the year, and as the 33rd most-watched sporting event in the United States; only NFL games ranked higher.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lewis |first1=Jon |title=2022 ratings wrap: Another dominant year for NFL |url=https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2023/01/most-watched-games-2022-nfl-world-cup-olympics-college-football-viewership/ |publisher=Sports Media Watch |date=January 7, 2023}}</ref> Almost every Power Four school has a [[List of NCAA Division I FBS football stadiums|home stadium capacity]] of at least 40,000,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kaduk |first1=Kevin |title=College football: The Power 5's smallest stadiums |url=https://sports.yahoo.com/college-football-power-5-smallest-160028942.html |publisher=Yahoo Sports |date=September 30, 2023}}</ref> and the power conferences all had an average attendance of at least 44,000 in 2022. This compares to an FBS average attendance of just under 42,000 and Group of Five average attendance that ranged between 14,000 and 29,000 for each conference.<ref name="attendance2022"/> This revenue advantage allows Power Four conferences to pay higher salaries to coaches<ref name="russo1"/> and invest in expensive athletic facilities and amenities.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hobson |first1=Will |last2=Rich |first2=Steven |title=Colleges spend fortunes on lavish athletic facilities |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/college/ct-athletic-facilities-expenses-20151222-story.html |publisher=Chicago Tribune |date=December 23, 2015}}</ref> Although schools cannot directly pay student athletes,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Associated Press |title=NCAA president wants colleges to directly pay some student athletes |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/sports/ncaa-president-wants-colleges-directly-pay-student-athletes-rcna128213 |publisher=NBC News |date=December 5, 2023}}</ref> since 2021 school boosters and other third parties can [[student athlete compensation|pay student athletes]] for their name, image, and likeness (NIL) rights. Much of this NIL money goes to Power Four conference athletes, although numerous athletes from other conferences have also received NIL compensation.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hunziger |first1=Erica |title=One year of NIL: How much have athletes made? |url=https://apnews.com/article/college-football-sports-basketball-6a4a3270d02121c1c37869fb54888ccb |publisher=AP |date=July 6, 2022}}</ref>

===Scheduling and college football playoff===
Teams in the Power Four conferences play an eight or nine-game conference schedule, and play an additional three or four non-conference games to fill out their 12-game regular season schedule.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Felder |first1=Michael |title=How Is a College Football Schedule Made? |url=https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1350023-how-is-a-college-football-schedule-made |publisher=Bleacher Report |date=September 27, 2012}}</ref>{{efn-ua|[[Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football|Hawaii]] and teams that play at Hawaii are allowed to schedule a thirteenth regular-season game.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Burke |first1=Peter |title=What is college football's 'Week Zero' and why are some games starting early? |url=https://www.wptv.com/sports/college-sports/understanding-week-zero-2023 |publisher=WPTV |date=August 25, 2023}}</ref>}} Teams from the Power Four and the Group of Five often play non-conference games against each other during the season, and sometimes also play against teams from the [[NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision|FCS]], the lower tier of division one football.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Meyer |first1=Craig |title=SEC 2023 buy games: How much teams paid non-conference opponents in FCS, Group of Five |url=https://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/college/SEC/2023/11/17/sec-buy-games-2023-college-football-season-fcs-group-five/71597288007/ |publisher=The Tennessean |date=November 17, 2023}}</ref> However, many coaches of power conference schools have argued that power conference schools should only be allowed to schedule games against other power conference schools.<ref name=BMcMurphy/> All Power Four conferences that require their members to schedule at least one power conference opponent in nonconference play consider Notre Dame to be a power conference opponent for such purposes; the Big Ten and SEC also count Army as such an opponent.<ref name="fornelli">{{cite news|last1=Fornelli|first1=Tom|title=SEC will consider Notre Dame, BYU, and Army as Power Five opponents|url=http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/eye-on-college-football/25114107/sec-to-consider-notre-dame-byu-and-army-as-power-five-opponents|access-date=September 17, 2016|publisher=CBS|date=March 19, 2015}}</ref><ref name="bmcmurphy">{{cite news|last1=McMurphy|first1=Brett|title=Independents BYU, Army, Notre Dame can fulfill Power 5 quota for Big Ten|url=http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/13716412/big-ten-approves-byu-army-notre-dame-nonconference-quota|access-date=September 17, 2016|publisher=ESPN|date=September 22, 2015}}</ref> Though not required to do so, all Power Four conferences hold [[List of NCAA Division I FBS conference championship games|conference championship games]] following the conclusion of the regular season and prior to the College Football Playoff. The power conferences previously each had two divisions and matched the winner of each division in the conference championship game, but all of the Power Four conferences have scrapped divisions, and conference championship games take place between the two highest-ranking teams.<ref name="confchampgame"/>

The College Football Playoff takes place after the conference championship games and contemporaneously with several other bowl games. Following several changes after the 2023 college football season, the playoff consists of 12 teams, with the top five conference champions receiving automatic bids to the playoffs.<ref name="fiveplusseven"/> At least one Group of Five Conference will be awarded one of the automatic bids in each playoff.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Patterson |first1=Chip |title=College Football Playoff's move to 5+7 model improves regular season, adds intrigue to first-round matchups |url=https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/college-football-playoffs-move-to-5-7-model-improves-regular-season-adds-intrigue-to-first-round-matchups/ |work=CBS Sports |date=February 20, 2024}}</ref> The College Football Playoff requires that a conference have at least eight teams in order to be eligible for an automatic qualifying bid, so the two-member Pac-12{{efn-ua|The Pac-12 is set to expand to seven football-sponsoring members for the 2026 season with the addition of Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State, and Utah State.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Mandel |first1=Stewart |title=Pac-12 will never be a power again, but securing a Playoff spot is all that matters |url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5763474/2024/09/12/pac-12-realignment-college-football-playoff-bet/ |publisher=The Athletic |date=September 12, 2024}}</ref>}} is not eligible to receive an automatic bid.<ref name="TheAthletic2024"/> The four highest-ranked conference champions receive first-round byes, while the remaining eight teams play in the opening round of the playoffs at the home fields of the higher seeds. The "[[New Year's Six]]" bowls, which have held an important role in the college football postseason since before the establishment of the College Football Playoff, host the quarterfinals and semifinals on a rotating basis. The [[College Football Playoff National Championship]], the final game of the College Football Playoff, is held at a separately determined neutral site.<ref name="fiveplusseven">{{cite news |last1=Auerbach |first1=Nicole |title=College Football Playoff board approves move to 5+7 model for start of 12-team format |url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5287930/2024/02/20/college-football-playoff-format-automatic-bids/ |publisher=The Athletic |date=February 20, 2024}}</ref>

==History==
{{Further|College football#History}}

===Origins of the power conferences===
[[File:1900yale.jpg|thumb|right|The [[1900 Yale Bulldogs football team|1900 Yale Bulldogs]], deemed national champion of the [[1900 college football season]]]]
College football originated in the [[Northeastern United States]] in the final third of the 19th century, with the [[1869 Princeton vs. Rutgers football game]] often considered to be the first college football game.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/2017-11-06/college-football-history-heres-when-1st-game-was-played#:~:text=Rutgers%20and%20New%20Jersey%20(later,on%20hand%2C%20according%20to%20Rutgers.|title=1st college football game ever was New Jersey vs. Rutgers in 1869|author=Richmond, Sam|website=NCAA|date=November 6, 2019|access-date=2020-06-23}}</ref> The schools that would eventually form the [[Ivy League]] dominated college football in the 19th century and for parts of the 20th century, claiming numerous [[College football national championships in NCAA Division I FBS|national championships]].<ref name="ivy">{{cite news |last1=Pichini |first1=Luke |title=The Evolution of Ivy League Football |url=https://cornellsun.com/2020/10/07/the-evolution-of-ivy-league-football/ |publisher=The Cornell Daily Sun |date=October 7, 2020}}</ref> Motivated in large part by fatalities and injuries sustained in college football, President [[Theodore Roosevelt]] worked with various collegiate athletic programs to establish the NCAA in 1906.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Crowley|first1=Joseph|title=The NCAA's First Century|date=2006|pages=9–10|url=http://www.ncaapublications.com/productdownloads/AB06.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130327171633/http://www.ncaapublications.com/productdownloads/AB06.pdf|archive-date=March 27, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> The NCAA was preceded by the earliest athletic conferences, including the Big Ten, which was founded in 1896 as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives and was often referred to as the "Western Conference". The conference became known as the Big Ten after expanding to ten teams in 1917, though it would not legally adopt the "Big Ten" name until 1987. The [[Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association]] (SIAA), founded in 1894, at its peak consisted of 28 schools across almost every Southern state, and was the predecessor to both the SEC and the ACC.<ref name="socon"/>

[[File:1925 Washington Huskies football team.jpg|thumb|right|A newspaper clipping of the [[1925 Washington Huskies football team|1925 Washington Huskies]], who competed in the [[Pacific Coast Conference]]]]
The [[Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association]] (MVIAA) was formed in 1907, and in 1928 the MVIAA split into two conferences, with the larger schools from the MVIAA forming the Big Six Conference.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Miller |first1=David |title=Conference loyalty a thing of the past |url=https://www.poncacitynews.com/sports/conference-loyalty-thing-past |publisher=The Ponca City News |date=August 24, 2022|quote=In 1928, the MVIAA split into two conferences, both retaining the MVIAA name officially, but the one involving the larger schools took “Big Six” as a descriptive moniker. The Big Six were Oklahoma, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa State. Drake, Grinnell, Washington and Oklahoma A&M were in the second MVIAA conference, which was known familiarly as the Missouri Valley.}}</ref> The Big Six later expanded to eight teams in 1957, becoming known as the [[Big Eight Conference]]. The [[Southwest Conference]] (SWC) was formed in 1914 by several schools in Texas and neighboring states, and after some early defections would maintain stable membership into the 1990s. The [[Pacific Coast Conference]] (PCC) was founded in 1915, but disbanded in 1959 following a "pay-for-play" scandal. Some of the former members of the Pacific Coast Conference formed the Athletic Association of Western Universities (AAWU) that same year, and by 1968 the AAWU had renamed itself as the Pac-8 and contained most of the former members of the PCC.<ref name="mandelrealignment">{{cite news |last1=Mandel |first1=Stewart |title=College football conference realignment timeline: 124 years of drama, money and bitterness |url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/4662822/2023/07/14/college-football-conference-realignment-history/ |publisher=The Athletic |date=July 14, 2023}}</ref> Several of the larger schools split off from the SIAA in 1921 to form the [[Southern Conference]], and the SIAA ultimately dissolved in 1942. The Southern Conference in turn later experienced the departure of its most prominent teams, first with the secession of 13 schools located south or west of the Appalachians to form the SEC in 1932. Most of the remaining large schools departed the Southern Conference in 1953 to form the ACC, and after losing its top programs, the Southern Conference ultimately became part of the FCS.<ref name="socon">{{cite news |last1=Hylton |first1=J. Gordon |title=Recent College Football Realignments Are Nothing New |url=https://law.marquette.edu/facultyblog/2011/11/recent-college-football-realignments-are-nothing-new/ |publisher=Marquette University Law School |date=November 7, 2011}}</ref> The Ivy League was officially founded in the 1950s, but the football programs of Ivy League schools declined in stature after [[World War II]], and the conference ultimately dropped down to Division I-AA in 1982.<ref name="ivy"/> 

Until the 1990s, many top programs, particularly in the Northeast, played as football independents.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hale |first1=David |title=What happened to college football in the Northeast? |url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/34301978/what-happened-college-football-northeast |publisher=ESPN |date=August 4, 2022}}</ref> Many of these independents were affiliated with the [[Big East Conference (1979–2013)|Big East Conference]], the [[Atlantic 10 Conference]] (A-10), or the [[Metro Conference]], each of which were founded in the 1970s as non-football conferences. In 1962, several members of the [[Skyline Conference (1938–1962)|Skyline Conference]] and the [[Border Conference]] founded the [[Western Athletic Conference]] (WAC). Although generally not considered a power conference, four of the six founding WAC members would ultimately join one of the Power Four conferences, and the [[1984 BYU Cougars football team]] won the national championship.<ref name="mandel20090806">{{cite magazine | url=https://www.si.com/more-sports/2009/08/06/byu-1984 | title=BYU pulled off a miracle 25 years ago; will it ever happen again? | magazine=Sports Illustrated | date=2009-08-06 | access-date=18 October 2016 | author=Mandel, Stewart}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Alden |first1=Doug |title=BYU's sights are set on a repeat of 1984 |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-aug-16-sp-dog-byu16-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |date=August 16, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Michael |title=History lesson: Super-conference concept rooted in 1990 proposal |url=https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Journal/Issues/2011/09/26/Colleges/Super-conference.aspx |publisher=Sports Business Journal |date=September 26, 2011 |quote="But the [Metro Conference] didn’t sponsor football and it needed to grow if it intended to survive against the heavies of that time: the SEC, ACC, Southwest Conference, Big Eight, Big Ten and Pac-10."}}</ref> NCAA divisions were created in 1956, initially for basketball and cross-country, with the largest schools placed in the [[NCAA University Division|University Division]] and other schools in the [[NCAA College Division|College Division]]. The NCAA requested all schools to classify themselves as members of the College or University divisions in 1968, and in 1973 the University Division was renamed Division I and given the power to establish some of its own rules related to matters such as recruitment and membership criteria. In 1978, Division I football programs were further sub-divided into Division I-A (later Division I FBS) and Division I-AA (later Division I FCS).<ref>{{cite book|last1=Crowley|first1=Joseph|title=The NCAA's First Century|date=2006|pages=41–44|url=http://www.ncaapublications.com/productdownloads/AB06.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130327171633/http://www.ncaapublications.com/productdownloads/AB06.pdf|archive-date=March 27, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Rise of bowl games and precursors to the BCS===
[[File:Jimmy Angelich carries the ball in the 1935 Rose Bowl.jpg|thumb|right|Action during the [[1935 Rose Bowl]]]]
The [[Rose Bowl Game|Rose Bowl]], a postseason game matching top teams from the West with top teams from the East, was first played in 1902 and became a yearly tradition in 1916. As college football grew beyond its regional affiliations in the 1930s, it garnered increased national attention. Four new [[bowl game]]s were created: the [[Orange Bowl (game)|Orange Bowl]], [[Sugar Bowl]], and [[Sun Bowl]] in 1935, and the [[Cotton Bowl Classic|Cotton Bowl]] in 1937. In lieu of an actual national championship, these bowl games provided a way to match up teams from distant regions of the country that did not otherwise play. In 1936, the [[Associated Press]] began its [[AP Poll|weekly poll]] of prominent sports writers, ranking all of the nation's college football teams. Since there was no national championship game, the final version of the AP poll was used to determine who was crowned the national champion of college football.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Vancil |editor1-first=Mark |title=ABC Sports College Football: All Time All America Team |date=2000 |publisher=Hyperion |isbn=978-0-7868-6710-3|page=30}}</ref>

The first college football game was televised in 1938, and as universities began to widely televise their games after World War II, the NCAA took control of television broadcast rights in 1951 and restricted the number of games that a program could air on television.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dennie |first1=Christian |title=Conference Realignment: From Backyard Brawls to Cash Cows |journal=Mississippi Sports Law Review |date=2012 |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=249–251 |url=https://law.olemiss.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Conference-Realignment-From-Backyard-Brawls-to-Cash-Cows.pdf}}</ref> The 1984 [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] case ''[[NCAA v. Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma]]'' spurred a round of conference realignment by ending the NCAA's monopoly on television rights of college football games, instead granting the rights to individual schools and conferences.<ref name="sgodfrey1">{{cite news |last1=Godfrey |title=College football is barreling toward a super league, no matter what might be lost |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/08/15/college-football-super-league/ |newspaper=Washington Post |date=August 15, 2023}}</ref> With the exception of Notre Dame, all of the major independent programs joined a conference in the early 1990s.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Maske |first1=Mark |title=Changing Times: Conference Realignment Could Reshape College Athletics |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1990/07/02/changing-times-conference-realignment-could-reshape-college-athletics/9b62a261-caf4-4ba5-913f-03436bb1610b/ |newspaper=Washington Post |date=July 2, 1990}}</ref> Many of the independents in the Northeast and elsewhere on the [[East Coast of the United States|Eastern Seaboard]] joined the Big East, which began playing football in 1991.<ref name="mandelrealignment"/> Other independent schools joined the Big Ten, the ACC, or the SEC, and in 1992 the SEC became the first Division I conference to hold a conference championship game for football.<ref name="confchampgame">{{cite news |last1=Meyer |first1=Craig |title=Big Ten football championship history: From Leaders and Legends divisions, to East and West |url=https://www.freep.com/story/sports/college/2023/12/01/big-ten-conference-divisions-football-championship-game-leaders-legends-east-west/71746348007/ |publisher=Detroit Free Press |date=December 1, 2023}}</ref> The Southwest Conference dissolved in the wake of a series of scandals and concerns over an insufficiently large television market, and four teams from that conference joined with the Big 8 to create the Big 12 Conference in 1994.<ref name="mandelrealignment"/> The remaining SWC schools joined the WAC or the newly-formed Conference USA, though most would later join one of the Power Four conferences;{{efn-ua|Of the former long-term members of the SWC, all but [[Rice University]] are currently in a Power Four conference.}} other future power conference schools such as Louisville and BYU also played in the WAC or Conference USA during the 1990s.

{{collapse top|Map of power conferences in 1993|bg=#F0F2F5}}
{{Location map+ | USA |
| width = 900
| float = center
| caption = The conferences of the [[Bowl Coalition]] (including independent Notre Dame), as well as the future founding conferences of the [[Bowl Championship Series]] (BCS), during the [[1993 NCAA Division I-A football season|1993 season]]:<ref>{{cite web|title=1993 College Football Standings|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/years/1993-standings.html|website=SR/College Football|publisher=Sports Reference}}</ref><br>[[File:Location dot green.svg|10px]] [[Atlantic Coast Conference]]<br>[[File:Location dot purple.svg|10px]] [[Big East Conference (1979-2013)]]<br>[[File:Location dot orange.svg|10px]] [[Big Eight Conference]]<br>[[File:Blue pog.svg|10px]] [[Big Ten Conference]]<br>[[File:Red pog.svg|10px]] [[Pac-12 Conference|Pacific-10]]<br>[[File:Location dot red.svg|10px]] [[Southeastern Conference|SEC]]<br>[[File:Location dot yellow.svg|10px]] [[Southwest Conference]]<br>[[File:Location dot black.svg|10px]] Notre Dame
| places =
<!-- Atlantic Coast Conference -->
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot green.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Georgia Tech}}   | position = bottom | lat_deg = 33.771660 | lon_deg = -84.394364 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot green.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Wake Forest}}    | position = left    | lat_deg = 36.133068 | lon_deg = -80.276898 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot green.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Virginia}}       | position = right  | lat_deg = 38.035381 | lon_deg = -78.503533 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot green.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|NC State}}       | position = right | lat_deg = 35.785317 | lon_deg = -78.672186 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot green.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|UNC}}            | position = bottom | lat_deg = 35.909959 | lon_deg = -79.050047 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot green.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Duke}}           | position = top    | lat_deg = 36.001487 | lon_deg = -78.939395 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot green.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Clemson}}        | position = right  | lat_deg = 34.679338 | lon_deg = -82.837869 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot green.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Maryland}}       | position = top    | lat_deg = 38.985932 | lon_deg = -76.942562 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot green.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Florida State}}     | position = right  | lat_deg = 30.441610 | lon_deg = -84.294930 }}

<!-- Big East Conference (1979-2013) -->
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot purple.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Boston College}}                | position = top    | lat_deg = 42.335997 | lon_deg = -71.169617 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot purple.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Syracuse}}          | position = top    | lat_deg = 43.037631 | lon_deg = -76.133426 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot purple.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Pittsburgh}}        | position = top    | lat_deg = 40.444963 | lon_deg = -79.953862 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot purple.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Miami (FL)}}        | position = right  | lat_deg = 25.721677 | lon_deg = -80.277404 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot purple.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Rutgers}}           | position = right  | lat_deg = 40.500374 | lon_deg = -74.447776 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot purple.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|WVU}} | position = bottom | lat_deg = 39.646262 | lon_deg = -79.972699 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot purple.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Virginia Tech}}     | position = left   | lat_deg = 37.230109 | lon_deg = -80.418928 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot purple.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Temple}}            | position = right  | lat_deg = 39.980857 | lon_deg = -75.156124 }}

<!-- Big Eight Conference -->
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot orange.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Colorado}}                  | position = right  | lat_deg = 40.008738 | lon_deg = -105.271326 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot orange.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Iowa State}}                | position = left   | lat_deg = 42.026189 | lon_deg = -93.647803 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot orange.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Kansas}}                    | position = top    | lat_deg = 38.958360 | lon_deg = -95.247745 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot orange.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Kansas State}}              | position = left   | lat_deg = 39.191424 | lon_deg = -96.581003 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot orange.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Missouri}}                  | position = top    | lat_deg = 38.944933 | lon_deg = -92.328846 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot orange.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Nebraska}}                  | position = left   | lat_deg = 40.819165 | lon_deg = -96.702608 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot orange.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Oklahoma}}                  | position = bottom | lat_deg = 35.202127 | lon_deg = -97.445738 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot orange.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{nowrap|{{small|Oklahoma State}}}} | position = left   | lat_deg = 36.122582 | lon_deg = -97.067748 }}

<!-- Big Ten Conference -->
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Blue pog.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Indiana}}        | position = left   | lat_deg = 39.166840 | lon_deg = -86.519821 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Blue pog.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Michigan}}       | position = bottom | lat_deg = 42.276940 | lon_deg = -83.738220 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Blue pog.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Michigan State}} | position = top    | lat_deg = 42.724196 | lon_deg = -84.475048 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Blue pog.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Ohio State}}     | position = top    | lat_deg = 39.999549 | lon_deg = -83.012184 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Blue pog.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Illinois}}       | position = left   | lat_deg = 40.107591 | lon_deg = -88.227246 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Blue pog.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Iowa}}           | position = bottom | lat_deg = 41.662151 | lon_deg = -91.549307 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Blue pog.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Minnesota}}      | position = left   | lat_deg = 44.972123 | lon_deg = -93.228993 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Blue pog.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Northwestern}}   | position = left   | lat_deg = 42.054516 | lon_deg = -87.675227 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Blue pog.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Purdue}}         | position = left   | lat_deg = 40.424876 | lon_deg = -86.920865 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Blue pog.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Wisconsin}}      | position = left   | lat_deg = 43.076432 | lon_deg = -89.412713 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Blue pog.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Penn State}}        | position = top    | lat_deg = 40.795946 | lon_deg = -77.862091 }}

<!-- Pac-10 Conference -->
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Red pog.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Arizona}}          | position = bottom | lat_deg = 32.231852 | lon_deg = -110.952959 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Red pog.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Arizona State}}    | position = top    | lat_deg = 33.421072 | lon_deg = -111.933969 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Red pog.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|California}}       | position = top | lat_deg = 37.870124 | lon_deg = -122.259457 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Red pog.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|UCLA}}             | position = top | lat_deg = 34.069898 | lon_deg = -118.443753 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Red pog.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Oregon}}           | position = left  | lat_deg = 44.044525 | lon_deg = -123.072644 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Red pog.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Oregon State}}     | position = right | lat_deg = 44.560993 | lon_deg = -123.277059 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Red pog.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|USC}}              | position = bottom | lat_deg = 34.022318 | lon_deg = -118.285101 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Red pog.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Stanford}}         | position = left | lat_deg = 37.429011 | lon_deg = -122.169751 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Red pog.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Washington}}       | position = bottom | lat_deg = 47.654211 | lon_deg = -122.308070 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Red pog.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Washington State}} | position = left | lat_deg = 46.730723 | lon_deg = -117.164852 }}

<!-- Southeastern -->
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot red.svg | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Florida}}           | position = right  | lat_deg = 29.647673 | lon_deg = -82.345405 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot red.svg | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Kentucky}}          | position = top    | lat_deg = 38.032521 | lon_deg = -84.502197 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot red.svg | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Georgia}}           | position = right    | lat_deg = 33.954532 | lon_deg = -83.373968 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot red.svg | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Tennessee}}         | position = bottom    | lat_deg = 35.957220 | lon_deg = -83.925799 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot red.svg | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Vanderbilt}}        | position = left   | lat_deg = 36.145843 | lon_deg = -86.802237 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot red.svg | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Alabama}}           | position = bottom | lat_deg = 33.211392 | lon_deg = -87.546212 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot red.svg | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Auburn}}            | position = bottom | lat_deg = 32.602918 | lon_deg = -85.484838 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot red.svg | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|LSU}}               | position = right  | lat_deg = 30.413004 | lon_deg = -91.179942 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot red.svg | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Ole Miss}}          | position = left   | lat_deg = 34.365253 | lon_deg = -89.533860 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot red.svg | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Mississippi State}} | position = left   | lat_deg = 33.454558 | lon_deg = -88.789067 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot red.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Arkansas}}   | position = right  | lat_deg = 36.068734 | lon_deg = -94.172101 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot red.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|South<br>Carolina}} | position = right  | lat_deg = 33.998641 | lon_deg = -81.027316 }}

<!-- Southwest -->
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot yellow.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Houston}}    | position = right  | lat_deg = 29.720032 | lon_deg = -95.342578 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot yellow.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Texas Tech}} | position = left   | lat_deg = 33.584450 | lon_deg = -101.874702 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot yellow.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|SMU}}        | position = right  | lat_deg = 32.842083 | lon_deg = -96.782928 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot yellow.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Texas A&M}}  | position = top    | lat_deg = 30.615572 | lon_deg = -96.341094 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot yellow.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Texas}}      | position = left   | lat_deg = 30.285511 | lon_deg = -97.739433 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot yellow.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Rice}}       | position = left   | lat_deg = 29.717205 | lon_deg = -95.402476 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot yellow.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Baylor}}     | position = left   | lat_deg = 31.548004 | lon_deg = -97.117588 }}
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot yellow.svg  | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|TCU}}        | position = left   | lat_deg = 32.709607 | lon_deg = -97.362462 }}

<!-- Independents-AQ -->
{{Location map~ | USA | mark = Location dot black.svg   | marksize = 8 | label = {{small|Notre Dame}}        | position = bottom | lat_deg = 41.701399 | lon_deg = -86.234060 }}
}}
<div style="clear:both;"></div>
{{collapse bottom}}


By the middle of the 20th century, the Rose Bowl matched up the Big Ten champion against the champion of the PCC and its successors, the Sugar Bowl generally hosted the conference champion of the SEC, and the Cotton Bowl generally hosted the conference champion of the SWC. The Orange Bowl often hosted the champion of the Big Eight, though it would later develop close ties with the ACC. The [[Fiesta Bowl]] was initially founded in 1971 to host the WAC champion, but later rose to prominence in the 1980s while frequently hosting games involving independents, including the [[1987 Fiesta Bowl]], which served as the de facto national championship game for that season. From 1968 to 1992, the number one and number two ranked teams in the AP poll met only eight times in a bowl game, frequently leading to situations in which multiple teams claimed the national championship. Seeking a more definitive way to determine the national champion, the SEC, Big 8, SWC (prior to its dissolution), ACC, Big East, and independent Notre Dame joined with several bowls to form the [[Bowl Coalition]], which was later succeeded by the similar [[Bowl Alliance]]. The Big Ten and Pac-10 declined to join either group in favor of continuing to send their respective champion to the Rose Bowl, contributing to split national championships during some seasons in the 1990s.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Molski |first1=Max |title=The History of College Football Championship Games |url=https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/sports/the-history-of-college-football-championship-games/3477302/ |publisher=NBC New York |date=January 3, 2022}}</ref>

===Under the BCS system===
[[File:Sugar Bowl Game 2004 from Flickr 29799042.jpg|thumb|right|Action from the [[2004 Sugar Bowl]], the BCS championship game for the [[2003 NCAA Division I-A football season|2003 season]]]]
In 1998, the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) was created by the Big 10, Pac-12, and the former members of the Bowl Alliance.<ref name="clow1">{{cite news |last1=Low |first1=Chris |title=How the creation of the BCS set the stage for the current playoff format |url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/38778801/how-creation-bcs-set-stage-current-playoff-format |publisher=ESPN |date=October 31, 2023}}</ref> The Rose Bowl, the Sugar Bowl, the Orange Bowl, and the Fiesta Bowl all took part in the system, with a [[BCS National Championship Game|national championship game]] either rotating among the four bowl sites (prior to the 2006 season) or played as a separate game. The BCS succeeded in bringing an end to split national championships, except in the [[2003 NCAA Division I-A football season|2003 season]], when LSU won the national championship game and was crowned national champion by the [[Coaches Poll]], but USC was selected as the national champion by the [[AP poll]]. While the number of AQ conferences was technically variable,<ref>{{cite web |title=AQ conferences could grow by 1 in 2012 |work= Bowl Championship Series |date=April 22, 2010 |url= http://www.bcsfootball.org/news/story?id=5126859 }}</ref> the BCS always had six AQ conferences for its entire history between 1998 and 2013. Following the departure of several Big East members to the ACC, the non-football schools of the Big East known as the "Catholic 7" chose to withdraw from the conference, ultimately creating a new conference that took on the Big East name.<ref>{{cite news |last1=((Multiple contributors)) |title=Sources: Xavier, Butler also joining |url=https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/9000502/catholic-7-schools-keep-big-east-name-new-league-next-season-according-sources |publisher=ESPN |date=February 28, 2013}}</ref> The rump Big East renamed itself as the [[American Athletic Conference]] and took the Big East's automatic bid for the 2013 season.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Adelson |first1=Andrea |title=Realignment revisited - The beginning of the end for Big East football |url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/31838915/realignment-revisited-beginning-end-big-east-football |publisher=ESPN |date=July 20, 2021}}</ref> The [[Mountain West Conference]], formed in 1998 by several former WAC members, was perhaps the closest of the other conferences to getting AQ status, but its request for AQ status was denied in 2012.<ref>{{cite news|title=BCS denies Mountain West automatic qualifying exemption|url=http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/eye-on-college-football/19427343/bcs-denies-mountain-west-automatic-qualifying-exemption|access-date=December 9, 2014}}</ref>

In addition to creating a national championship game, the BCS also created a set format for other major bowls. After the two top teams in the BCS rankings were matched up in the [[BCS National Championship Game]], the other three or (after the 2005 season) four bowls selected other top teams. The BCS ranking formula used a combination of polls and computer selection methods to determine team rankings, though conference championships also affected game selection.<ref name="clow1"/> The term "BCS conference" was used by many fans to refer to one of the six conferences whose champions received an automatic berth in one of the five BCS bowl games, although the BCS itself used the term "automatic qualifying conference" (AQ conference).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bcsfootball.org/bcsfb/faq |title=CFB - - FOX Sports on MSN |access-date=January 8, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091228101556/http://www.bcsfootball.org/bcsfb/faq |archive-date=December 28, 2009 }}</ref> Each of the bowls had a historical link with one or more of the six BCS conferences with the exception of the former Big East, and the bowl games selected a team from each of these conferences if it was eligible for a BCS bowl and not playing in the national title game. Notre Dame remained an independent in football, but had guaranteed access to the BCS bowls when it met certain defined performance criteria.<ref name="mandel20100818">{{cite magazine | url=https://www.si.com/more-sports/2010/08/18/byu-mwc | title=Would BYU be Notre Dame as a football independent ... or Navy? | access-date=March 31, 2011 | author=Mandel, Stewart | date=August 18, 2010 | magazine=Sports Illustrated | publisher=Time Inc.}}</ref> The conferences automatic qualifying conferences and their traditional bowl links were:

*[[Big East Conference (1979–2013)|Big East Conference]] ([[American Athletic Conference|The American]] in 2013) (not tied to any specific BCS bowl)
*[[Atlantic Coast Conference]] ([[Orange Bowl]])
*[[Big 12 Conference]] ([[Fiesta Bowl]])
*[[Big Ten Conference]] ([[Rose Bowl Game|Rose Bowl]])
*[[Pac-12 Conference]] ([[Rose Bowl Game|Rose Bowl]])
*[[Southeastern Conference]] ([[Sugar Bowl]])

{{collapse top|Map of automatic qualifying conference schools in 2013|bg=#F0F2F5}}
{{Wide image|BCS Universities.svg|900px|A map of every university in the automatic qualifying conferences in 2013.}}
{{collapse bottom}}

The other conferences (listed below) were non-AQ conferences because they did not receive an annual automatic bid to a BCS bowl game. The highest ranked champion of any non-AQ conference received an AQ bid if they ranked in the top 12 of the final BCS poll or ranked in the top 16 and higher than a champion of an AQ conference.<ref>{{cite web|title=BCS selection procedures|url=http://www.bcsfootball.org/news/story?id=4819597|website=ESPN.com|date=January 12, 2010}}</ref> The conferences in this group were:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bcsfootball.org/bcsfb/conferences |title=FOX Sports - BCSFootball - BCS Conferences |access-date=January 9, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070107005422/http://www.bcsfootball.org/bcsfb/conferences |archive-date=January 7, 2007 }}</ref>
*[[Big West Conference]] (BWC) – stopped sponsoring football after the 2000 season.
*[[Conference USA]] (CUSA)
*[[Mid-American Conference]] (MAC)
*[[Mountain West Conference]] (MW)
*[[Sun Belt Conference]] (SBC) – began [[Sun Belt Conference football|sponsoring football]] in 2001.
*[[Western Athletic Conference]] (WAC) – dropped football after the 2012 season.{{efn-ua|The WAC dropped football following [[2010–2013 Western Athletic Conference realignment|a near-complete membership turnover]] that saw the league stripped of all but two of its football-sponsoring schools. The conference would reinstate football in 2021, but as part of the second-tier [[NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision|Division I FCS]]; it has since merged its football league with that of the [[Atlantic Sun Conference]], creating the current [[United Athletic Conference]].}}

===Under the four-team College Football Playoff system===
{{Location map+|USA|width=450|float=right|caption=Locations of the [[New Year's Six]] Bowl games, which collectively play a major role in the College Football Playoff|places=
{{Location map~|USA|mark=red pog.svg|lat_deg=32.779444|lon_deg=-96.759722|position=left|background=#FFFFFF|label=Cotton}}
{{Location map~|USA|mark=red pog.svg|lat_deg=33.5275|lon_deg=-112.2625|position=right|background=#FFFFFF|label=Fiesta}}
{{Location map~|USA|mark=red pog.svg|lat_deg=25.958056|lon_deg=-80.238889|position=right|background=#FFFFFF|label=Orange}}
{{Location map~|USA|mark=red pog.svg|lat_deg=33.748889|lon_deg=-84.39|position=right|background=#FFFFFF|label=Peach}}
{{Location map~|USA|mark=red pog.svg|lat_deg=34.161389|lon_deg=-118.1675|position=left|background=#FFFFFF|label=Rose}}
{{Location map~|USA|mark=red pog.svg|lat_deg=29.966667|lon_deg=-90.05|position=top|background=#FFFFFF|label=Sugar}}
}}

The BCS faced [[Bowl Championship Series controversies|several controversies]] throughout its tenure, driven largely by teams and fans dissatisfied at being left out of the championship game. The presence of two SEC teams in the [[2012 BCS National Championship Game]] brought the opposition to the BCS to a head, and helped spur the adoption of the College Football Playoff beginning with the 2014 season.<ref name="clow1"/> Like the BCS, the four-team College Football Playoff took place after the conference championship games and contemporaneously with several other bowl games. It rotated among six bowl games, with two bowl games used each year as the national semi-finals, and four other bowls matching the remaining top teams in the country. These six bowl games were collectively labeled as the "[[New Year's Six]]" bowl games. The New Year's Six consisted of the four BCS bowls, the Cotton Bowl, and the [[Peach Bowl]], the latter of which was established in 1968 but had been considered a minor bowl for much of its history.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Solomon |first1=Jon |title=How the Peach Bowl went from nearly out of business to playoff semifinal host |url=https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/how-the-peach-bowl-went-from-nearly-out-of-business-to-playoff-semifinal-host/ |work=CBS Sports |date=December 29, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Tucker |first1=Tim |title=How the Peach Bowl grew up to be a College Football Playoff semifinal |url=https://www.ajc.com/sports/college/how-the-peach-bowl-grew-college-football-playoff-semifinal/TkLQMa3qarDIl6o2zj02VK/ |publisher=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution |date=December 30, 2016}}</ref> 

Although the term "Power Five conferences" had been used by at least 2006,<ref name="lindseypowerfive"/> it gained prominence following the collapse of the Big East and the end of BCS automatic qualifying status for conferences; the Power Five conferences consisted of the ACC, the Big Ten, the Big 12, the Pac-12, and the SEC.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Russo |first1=Ralph D. |title=Column: It's not conference realignment. It's consolidation and no one is safe in the dash for cash |url=https://apnews.com/article/big-ten-big12-realignment-pac12-2ab096bb273425903f3f0bf9a1b5a852 |publisher=AP |date=August 7, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Reusse |first1=Patrick |title='Power Five' conference change favors SEC |url=https://www.startribune.com/power-five-conference-change-favors-sec/329672381 |publisher=The Minnesota Star Tribune |date=September 26, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Hinton |first1=Matt |title=Division Zero: What the NCAA's 'Power Five' Autonomy Decision Means for the Future of College Sports |url=https://grantland.com/the-triangle/division-zero-what-the-ncaas-power-five-autonomy-decision-means-for-the-future-of-college-sports/ |publisher=Grantland |date=August 8, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Dufresne |first1=Chris |title=College football's game of conference realignment is finally ending |url=https://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-college-football-realignment-20140817-column.html |work=Los Angeles Times |date=August 16, 2014 |quote=The Big East began the Bowl Championship Series era in 1998 as one of six privileged football leagues. It has now been re-cobbled among the Gilligan’s Island “And the Rest” leagues along with the Mid-American, Sun Belt, Conference USA and the Mountain West.}}</ref> Each conference champion from the Power Five and the highest-ranked Group of Five conference champion were guaranteed a spot in a New Year's Six Bowl.<ref name="espn-seeds">{{cite web|title=Six bowls in playoff format|first=Brett |last=McMurphy|website=ESPN.com|date=November 13, 2012|access-date=July 24, 2013|url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/8624387/six-bowls-pool-college-football-semifinal-games}}</ref> Because there were four spots in the playoffs and five power conferences, at least one Power Five champion was always left out of the playoff. In some seasons only two or three P5 champions were selected to the playoff, though the [[2023 Florida State Seminoles football team|2023 Florida State Seminoles]] were the lone undefeated P5 champion to be passed over for selection.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Morse |first1=Ben |title=Why Florida State was left out of the College Football Playoff and why it's so controversial |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/04/sport/florida-state-left-out-college-football-playoffs-explainer-spt-intl/index.html |publisher=CNN |date=December 5, 2023}}</ref>

The new playoff system drew strong television ratings, helping to boost the profile of college football and specifically to the Power Five conferences, who constituted all but one of the CFP participants in the four-team era, and the remaining FBS programs.<ref name="russocfp1.0"/> Responding in part to the possibility that the Power Five might split off to form its own organization, in 2014 the NCAA Division I Board of Directors granted the Power Five conferences autonomy over rules such as stipends and staff sizes.<ref name=Autonomy/> The CFP also led to changes in stature among the Power Five, and the Pac-12's failure to place a team in the CFP for seven years contributed to the exodus of most of its programs following the 2023 season.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Mandel |first1=Stewart |title=Mandel's Final Thoughts: It was Michigan vs. Everybody, and Michigan won decisively |url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5189579/2024/01/09/michigan-national-championship-jim-harbaugh-mandel/ |publisher=The Athletic |date=January 9, 2024}}</ref> Bowl games declined in prestige as more focus went to the playoff, and even the New Year's Six bowls frequently saw top players opt out.<ref name="russocfp1.0">{{cite news |last1=Russo |first1=Ralph D. |title=CFP 1.0 changed college football, not all for better, and was necessary step in postseason evolution |url=https://apnews.com/article/college-football-playoff-d51d69e7fe94f942c85a6afe312d2108 |publisher=Associated Press |date=January 2, 2024}}</ref> Like the BCS, the new system endured a series of controversies related to teams being left out of the championship process, both among the Power Five and the Group of Five, leading many to [[College football playoff debate|call for a playoff]].<ref name="clow1"/> The [[2021 Cincinnati Bearcats football team|2021 Cincinnati Bearcats]] were the only Group of Five team{{efn-ua|name=g5cinciucf|The Cincinnati Bearcats and UCF Knights later joined the Big 12 in 2023, thereby becoming Power Five teams.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-09-10 |title=Big 12 gives OK to BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, UCF |url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/32182361/big-12-votes-accept-adding-byu-cincinnati-houston-ucf-conference |access-date=2022-05-25 |website=ESPN.com |language=en}}</ref>}} to ever play in the College Football Playoff prior to the playoff's expansion to twelve teams in 2024; the Bearcats were defeated in the semi-final [[2021 Cotton Bowl Classic]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Associated Press |title=Unbeaten Cincinnati make history as they reach College Football Playoff |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/dec/05/unbeaten-cincinnati-make-history-as-they-reach-college-football-playoff |work=The Guardian |date=December 5, 2021}}</ref> Another Group of Five team, the [[2017 UCF Knights football team|2017 UCF Knights]],{{efn-ua|name=g5cinciucf}} was left out of the CFP, but proclaimed themselves the national champion after going undefeated in the regular season and winning the [[2018 Peach Bowl (January)|2018 Peach Bowl]].{{efn-ua|UCF was also recognized as national champion by the [[Colley Matrix]], but the AP poll and the Coaches Poll both selected [[2017 Alabama Crimson Tide football team|Alabama]] as the national champion after it won the [[2018 College Football Playoff National Championship]].}}<ref name="clow1"/> In 2022, the College Football playoff board voted to expand the playoff to twelve teams, with the new system taking effect for the 2024 season.<ref>{{cite news |last1=ESPN staff |title=College Football Playoff expansion: What you need to know |url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/35155431/college-football-playoff-expansion-need-know |publisher=ESPN |date=December 1, 2022}}</ref>

As part of the [[2021–2026 NCAA conference realignment|early-2020s NCAA conference realignment]], ten schools departed from the Pac-12 following the [[2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season|2023 college football season]], leaving Oregon State and Washington State as the last remaining members of the Pac-12. Although the Football Bowl Subdivision requires conferences to have at least eight members, the conference continued operating with just two members because conferences are allowed a two-year grace period after losing members. In early 2024, the NCAA Division I Board of Directors stripped the Pac-12 of its autonomous conference status.<ref name="TheAthletic2024">{{cite news |last1=Vannini |first1=Chris |title=What it means for Pac-12 to be classified as 'nonautonomous FBS conference' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5437109/2024/04/22/pac-12-nonautonomous-conference/ |publisher=[[The Athletic]] |date=April 22, 2024 |quote=In 2014, the [NCAA Division I Board of Directors] created a new 'autonomy' model, granting the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC the ability to make some of their own rules together, which happened the next year with full cost-of-attendance scholarships. The autonomy group became colloquially known as the 'Power 5' and regularly held its own meetings, but didn’t do much else legislatively with that autonomy power.}}</ref> In light of the changes, various sources began referring to the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, and SEC as the Power Four Conferences,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Florio |first1=Mike |title=College football expands playoffs from four teams to 12 |url=https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/college-football-expands-playoffs-from-four-teams-to-12 |publisher=NBC Sports |date=February 20, 2024}}</ref><ref name="russopowerfour">{{cite news |last1=Russo |first1=Ralph D. |title=AP Sports Story of the Year: Realignment, stunning demise of Pac-12 usher in super conference era |url=https://apnews.com/article/conference-realignment-e0356caa1c9cf5ba2630e7b23a1a06ed |publisher=AP |date=December 18, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Lederman |first1=Doug |title=Conference Realignment Poses Threats to Big-Time Sports |url=https://www.insidehighered.com/news/students/athletics/2023/09/05/conference-realignment-poses-risks-big-time-college-sports |publisher=Inside Higher Ed |date=September 5, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Schwartz |first1=Geoff |title=2024-25 College Football odds: Best early Power Four conference futures bets |url=https://www.foxsports.com/stories/college-football/2024-25-college-football-odds-best-early-power-four-conference-futures-bets |work=Fox Sports |date=July 5, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Kaiser |first1=Mitch |title=College Football: 4 teams from each Power Four conference that can make the College Football Playoff |url=https://www.pff.com/news/college-football-4-teams-power-four-conference-college-football-playoff-2024 |publisher=Pro Football Focus |date=August 2, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Dodd |first1=Dennis |title=Stanford, Cal, SMU catch last train into the Power Four, but it's hardly the end of conference realignment |url=https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/stanford-cal-smu-catch-last-train-into-the-power-four-but-its-hardly-the-end-of-conference-realignment/ |work=CBS Sports |date=September 1, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Forde |first1=Pat |title=Welcome to the New College Landscape: How Each Power Four Conference Stacks Up |url=https://www.si.com/college/welcome-to-the-new-college-landscape-how-each-power-four-conference-stacks-up |publisher=Sports Illustrated |date=July 1, 2024}}</ref> with the Pac-12 relegated to "de facto Group of 5 status".<ref name="defactog5">{{cite news |last1=Mandel |first1=Stewart |title=Which college football teams are most helped — and hurt — by conference realignment? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5611204/2024/07/03/college-football-realignment-teams-benefit-impact/ |publisher=The Athletic |date=July 3, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Vannini |first1=Chris |title=Why the Pac-12 poached the Mountain West and where both leagues go from here |url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5764885/2024/09/13/pac-12-realignment-mountain-west-members/ |publisher=The Athletic |date=September 13, 2024|quote=No one is under the impression the new Pac-12 will be the Pac-12 of old...It’s essentially going to be a new Group of 5-level conference, hoping to be in the strongest position to earn that fifth CFP auto-bid.}}</ref>

==Realignment since the 1990s==
The FBS has undergone several waves of realignment since the 1990s, when the Bowl Coalition was established.  The first realignment occurred in the 1990s, and resulted in the demise of the Southwest Conference, which was a member of the Bowl Coalition and at times considered equal to some of the power conferences; as well as many schools giving up independent status to join conferences.  In the early 1990s, [[Arkansas Razorbacks football|Arkansas]] left the Southwest Conference for the SEC; the [[Big East Conference (1979–2013)|original Big East Conference]] began sponsoring football, with eight former [[NCAA Division I FBS independent schools|football independents]] joining either for all sports or football only; and other major independents such as [[Florida State Seminoles football|Florida State]] (to the ACC), [[Penn State Nittany Lions football|Penn State]] (to the Big Ten), and [[South Carolina Gamecocks football|South Carolina]] (to the SEC) joined major conferences. In the [[1996 NCAA conference realignment]], the SWC dissolved, and four Texas teams from that conference joined with the [[Big Eight Conference|Big 8]] schools to form the [[Big 12 Conference]].<ref name="mandelrealignment"/>

During another [[2005 NCAA conference realignment|phase of realignment in 2005]], three schools ([[Boston College Eagles football|Boston College]], [[Miami Hurricanes football|Miami-FL]] and [[Virginia Tech Hokies football|Virginia Tech]]) jumped from the Big East to the ACC, and [[Temple Owls football|Temple]] also left the conference (before eventually returning in 2013). The Big East responded by adding former basketball-only member Connecticut and three schools from CUSA.<ref name=MBostock>{{cite news|last1=Bostock|first1=Mike|title=Tracing the History of N.C.A.A. Conferences|url=https://www.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2013/11/30/football-conferences/|access-date=December 9, 2014|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=November 30, 2013}}</ref><ref name="mandelrealignment"/>

College football underwent another [[2010–2014 NCAA conference realignment|major conference realignment]] from 2010 to 2014, as the Big Ten and Pac-10 sought to become large enough to stage championship games. Members of the original Big East left the conference to join the Big 12, Big Ten, and ACC. The Big 12 lost members to the SEC, the Pac-12, and the Big Ten, while the Big Ten also gained one former ACC member. The remaining members of the Big East [[2010–2013 Big East Conference realignment#Catholic 7|split into two conferences]]: the [[American Athletic Conference]] (the American) and a new [[Big East Conference]] that does not sponsor football (only three of the original 10 members of the Big East sponsor football, all at the second-tier [[NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision|Division I FCS]] level). The American, the football successor to the Big East, is no longer considered a power conference. Despite the major conference realignment from 2010 to 2014, relatively few schools dropped out of or joined the ranks of the power conferences. Two of the three non-AQ schools that had appeared in multiple BCS bowls [[2010–2013 Mountain West Conference realignment|left the Mountain West Conference]] and joined a power conference, as [[Utah Utes football|Utah]] joined the Pac-12 and [[TCU Horned Frogs football|TCU]] joined the Big 12. Former Big East members Temple and [[South Florida Bulls football|South Florida]] became part of The American; another former Big East member, [[UConn Huskies football|UConn]], left American Conference football after the 2019 season to become an FBS independent while otherwise joining the Big East. Of these, only Temple was a founding member of the Big East in football.<ref name=MBostock/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/uconn-leaving-aac-after-accepting-invitation-to-join-big-east-conference-in-all-sports-except-football/ |title=UConn leaving AAC after accepting invitation to join Big East Conference in all sports except football |first=Matt |last=Norlander |website=CBSSports.com |date=June 26, 2019 |access-date=June 26, 2019}}</ref>

The most recent major realignment is [[2021–2026 NCAA conference realignment|ongoing]], though there is no future planned power conference realignment after the 2024 season. During a period of less than two months in 2021, the Big 12 both gained and lost members. First, on July 30, the conference lost two of its mainstays when Oklahoma and Texas announced that they would leave for the SEC no later than 2025;<ref>{{cite press release|url=https://www.secsports.com/article/31921323/sec-grants-membership-oklahoma-texas-starting-2025 |title=SEC grants membership to Oklahoma, Texas starting in 2025 |publisher=Southeastern Conference |date=July 30, 2021 |access-date=September 10, 2021}}</ref> the two schools later reached a buyout agreement allowing them to join the SEC in 2024.<ref>{{cite press release|url=https://big12sports.com/news/2023/2/9/conference-big-12-announces-agreement-for-withdrawal-of-oklahoma-and-texas.aspx |title=Big 12 Announces Agreement for Withdrawal of Oklahoma and Texas |publisher=Big 12 Conference |date=February 9, 2023 |access-date=February 9, 2023}}</ref> The Big 12 reloaded by announcing four new members on September 10, initially announcing that American members Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF plus FBS independent BYU would join no later than 2024.<ref name=XII23>{{cite press release|url=https://big12sports.com/news/2021/9/10/conference-big-12-extends-membership-invitations.aspx |title=Big 12 Extends Membership Invitations |publisher=Big 12 Conference |date=September 10, 2021 |access-date=September 10, 2021}}</ref> BYU's initial announcement stated that it would join in 2023,<ref>{{cite press release|url=https://byucougars.com/story/athletics/1297568/byu-join-big-12-conference |title=BYU to Join Big 12 Conference |publisher=BYU Cougars |date=September 10, 2021 |access-date=November 15, 2021}}</ref> and the other three schools' 2023 entry date was confirmed after they reached a buyout agreement with The American.<ref>{{cite press release|url=https://theamerican.org/news/2022/6/10/general-american-announces-agreements-with-ucf-cincinnati-and-houston-on-departure.aspx |title=American Announces Agreements With UCF, Cincinnati and Houston on Departure |publisher=American Athletic Conference |date=June 10, 2022 |access-date=June 10, 2022}}</ref> On June 30, 2022, Pac-12 mainstays UCLA and USC announced they would move to the Big Ten in 2024.<ref>{{cite press release|url=https://bigten.org/news/2022/6/30/general-big-ten-conference-statement.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220701003507/https://bigten.org/news/2022/6/30/general-big-ten-conference-statement.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 1, 2022 |title=Big Ten Conference Statement |publisher=Big Ten Conference |date=June 30, 2022 |access-date=June 30, 2022}}</ref> The Pac-12 lost another member a little more than a year later when Colorado returned to the Big 12 in 2024 after an absence of 13 years.<ref>{{cite press release |url=https://cubuffs.com/news/2023/7/27/general-colorado-to-join-big-12-conference-in-2024-25.aspx |title=Colorado To Join Big 12 Conference In 2024-25 |publisher=Colorado Buffaloes |date=July 27, 2023 |access-date=July 27, 2023}}</ref> 

Five more schools announced their departure from the Pac-12 on August 4, 2023; Oregon and Washington joined the Big Ten and Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah joined the Big 12.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/38135852/big-ten-adds-oregon-washington-newest-members-blow-pac-12 |title=Big Ten adds Oregon, Washington as newest members in blow to Pac-12 |publisher=ESPN |date=August 4, 2023 |access-date=August 4, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/38136135/big-12-approves-addition-utah-arizona-state-bringing-league-16-teams |title=Big 12 approves additions of Utah, Arizona State, bringing league to 16 teams |publisher=ESPN |date=August 4, 2023 |access-date=August 4, 2023}}</ref> Less than a month after this exodus, California and Stanford announced their departure from the Pac-12 to join the ACC in 2024, with American Conference member SMU also joining the ACC.<ref>{{cite press release |url=https://theacc.com/news/2023/9/1/general-the-atlantic-coast-conference-welcomes-the-university-of-california-berkeley-southern-methodist-university-and-stanford-university-as-new-members.aspx |title=The Atlantic Coast Conference Welcomes the University of California, Berkeley, Southern Methodist University and Stanford University as New Members |publisher=Atlantic Coast Conference |date=September 1, 2023 |access-date=September 1, 2023}}</ref> This realignment led to Pac-12 being considered a de facto member of the Group of Five,<ref name="defactog5"/> and fueled discussion that the Big Ten and the SEC might ultimately emerge as the "Power Two" conferences.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Blinder |first1=Alan |title=Power 5? College Sports May Soon Be Dominated by a Mighty 2. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/01/sports/power-5-college-sports.html |work=The New York Times |date=July 30, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Bender |first1=Bill |title=From Power 5 to Power 2: Big Ten, SEC will dominate post-realignment FBS at a heavy cost |url=https://www.sportingnews.com/us/ncaa-football/news/power-5-power-2-big-ten-sec-dominate-post-realignment-cost/xgo9nswt8xqkaoo7ppdaqeih |publisher=Sporting News |date=August 3, 2023}}</ref> The realignment also generated much commentary regarding the lack of geographical proximity within conferences.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Brewer |first1=Jerry |title=Greed and ambition have killed college football's regional charm |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/07/31/college-football-greed-ambition/ |newspaper=Washington Post |date=July 31, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Witz |first1=Billy |title=Conferences Are Changing. The Sport Is, Too. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/01/sports/ncaafootball/college-football-preview-realignment-big12-bigten-acc-pac12-bigten.html |work=The New York Times |date=September 1, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Rand |first1=Michael |title=Latest absurd college conference realignment makes a mess of math, geography |url=https://www.startribune.com/latest-absurd-college-conference-realignment-makes-a-mess-of-math-geography/600295642 |publisher=The Minnesota Star Tribune |date=August 8, 2023}}</ref> In a 2022 article, ''FiveThirtyEight'' described the Big Ten as the first "major college athletics league" to be bicoastal (the Big Ten would later be joined by the ACC in this distinction after the latter conference added Stanford and California), adding that the average distance between FBS conference members was set to increase from 336 miles to 412 miles.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Mejia |first1=Elaine |last2=Lourim |first2=Jake |title=How Realignment Is Changing College Football, In 20 Maps |url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-realignment-is-changing-college-football-in-20-maps/ |publisher=FiveThirtyEight |date=September 22, 2022}}</ref>

===List of schools that changed power conferences since 1998===
{{See also|List of NCAA Division I conference changes in the 2010s|List of NCAA Division I conference changes in the 2020s}}

{{color box|#00F000}} Indicates a football-only move.<br>{{color box|Yellow}} Indicates a non-football move.

This list includes all institutions that have either left or announced their departure from the ACC, Big East,{{efn|name=AAC2013|Louisville and Rutgers are also listed in the table because they departed from the American Athletic Conference after the 2013 season, when the AAC inherited the Big East's automatic qualifying status.<ref name="bcsname">{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/9000502/catholic-7-schools-keep-big-east-name-new-league-next-season-according-sources |title=Catholic 7 to keep 'Big East' name for new league next season, according to sources |last=McMurphy |first=Brett |publisher=[[ESPN]] |date=March 1, 2013 |access-date=March 7, 2013}}</ref>}} Big 12, Pac-12, Big 10, or SEC since the establishment of the Bowl Championship Series in 1998.

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
! Institution
! Year moved
! From conference
! To conference

|-bgcolor=Yellow
| Virginia Tech
| 2000
| [[Atlantic 10 Conference|A-10]]/[[Big East Conference (1979–2013)|Big East]]{{efn|group=moves|name=vt|Virginia Tech had joined the Big East as a football-only member in 1991.}}
| [[Big East Conference (1979–2013)|Big East]]{{efn|name=vt}}
|-
| Miami
| 2004
| [[Big East Conference (1979–2013)|Big East]]
| [[Atlantic Coast Conference|ACC]]
|-
| Virginia Tech
| 2004
| [[Big East Conference (1979–2013)|Big East]]
| [[Atlantic Coast Conference|ACC]]
|-
| Boston College
| 2005
| [[Big East Conference (1979–2013)|Big East]]
| [[Atlantic Coast Conference|ACC]]
|-bgcolor=#00F000
| Temple
| 2005
| [[Atlantic 10 Conference|A-10]]/[[Big East Conference (1979–2013)|Big East]]{{efn|group=moves|name=Temple|Temple was a football-only member of the Big East. It was primarily affiliated with the [[Atlantic 10 Conference]].}}
| [[Atlantic 10 Conference|A-10]]/Independent{{efn|name=Temple}}
|-
| Colorado
| 2011
| [[Big 12 Conference|Big 12]]
| [[Pac-12 Conference|Pac-12]]
|-
| Nebraska
| 2011
| [[Big 12 Conference|Big 12]]
| [[Big Ten Conference|Big Ten]]
|-
| Missouri
| 2012
| [[Big 12 Conference|Big 12]]
| [[Southeastern Conference|SEC]]
|-
| Texas A&M
| 2012
| [[Big 12 Conference|Big 12]]
| [[Southeastern Conference|SEC]]
|-
| West Virginia
| 2012
| [[Big East Conference (1979–2013)|Big East]]
| [[Big 12 Conference|Big 12]]
|-bgcolor=Yellow
| Notre Dame
| 2013
| [[Big East Conference (1979–2013)|Big East]]/Independent{{efn|group=moves|name=NotreDame|Notre Dame was a non-football member of the Big East, and Notre Dame football maintained independence after the school joined the ACC.}}
| [[Atlantic Coast Conference|ACC]]/Independent{{efn|name=NotreDame}}
|-
| Pittsburgh
| 2013
| [[Big East Conference (1979–2013)|Big East]]
| [[Atlantic Coast Conference|ACC]]
|-
| Syracuse
| 2013
| [[Big East Conference (1979–2013)|Big East]]
| [[Atlantic Coast Conference|ACC]]
|-
| Louisville
| 2014
| [[American Athletic Conference|AAC]]{{efn|name=AAC2013}}
| [[Atlantic Coast Conference|ACC]]
|-
| Maryland
| 2014
| [[Atlantic Coast Conference|ACC]]
| [[Big Ten Conference|Big Ten]]
|-
| Rutgers
| 2014
| [[American Athletic Conference|AAC]]{{efn|name=AAC2013}}
| [[Big Ten Conference|Big Ten]]
|-
| Texas
| 2024
| [[Big 12 Conference|Big 12]]
| [[Southeastern Conference|SEC]]
|-
| Oklahoma
| 2024
| [[Big 12 Conference|Big 12]]
| [[Southeastern Conference|SEC]]
|-
| USC
| 2024
| [[Pac-12 Conference|Pac-12]]
| [[Big Ten Conference|Big Ten]]
|-
| UCLA
| 2024
| [[Pac-12 Conference|Pac-12]]
| [[Big Ten Conference|Big Ten]]
|-
| Oregon
| 2024
| [[Pac-12 Conference|Pac-12]]
| [[Big Ten Conference|Big Ten]]
|-
| Washington
| 2024
| [[Pac-12 Conference|Pac-12]]
| [[Big Ten Conference|Big Ten]]
|-
| Colorado
| 2024
| [[Pac-12 Conference|Pac-12]]
| [[Big 12 Conference|Big 12]]
|-
| Utah
| 2024
| [[Pac-12 Conference|Pac-12]]
| [[Big 12 Conference|Big 12]]
|-
| Arizona
| 2024
| [[Pac-12 Conference|Pac-12]]
| [[Big 12 Conference|Big 12]]
|-
| Arizona State
| 2024
| [[Pac-12 Conference|Pac-12]]
| [[Big 12 Conference|Big 12]]
|-
| California
| 2024
| [[Pac-12 Conference|Pac-12]]
| [[Atlantic Coast Conference|ACC]]
|-
| Stanford
| 2024
| [[Pac-12 Conference|Pac-12]]
| [[Atlantic Coast Conference|ACC]]
|}

{{notelist|group=moves}}

===List of schools that joined a power conference since 1998===
{{color box|#00F000}} Indicates a football-only move.<br>{{color box|Yellow}} Indicates a non-football move.

This list includes all institutions that joined or have announced that they will join the ACC, Big 12, Pac-12, Big 10, or SEC after the establishment of the Bowl Championship Series in 1998, and that had previously been independent or had affiliated with a non-power conference. It also includes all institutions that joined the original Big East between 1998 and 2013, and teams that joined the AAC for the 2013 season, since that conference inherited the Big East's BCS automatic qualifying status for that season.<ref name=SMandel>{{cite news |url=https://www.si.com/college-football/2012/11/12/college-football-playoff-six-bowls |title=Big East, rest of 'Group of Five' score victory with six-bowl decision |first1=Stewart |last1=Mandel |date=November 12, 2012 |work=SI.com |access-date=December 30, 2019}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
! Institution
! Year moved
! From conference
! To conference

|-bgcolor=#00F000
| Connecticut
| 2004
| [[Big East Conference (1979–2013)|Big East]]/Independent{{efn|group=moves|Connecticut had previously been a Big East member for most sports, but played as a football independent prior to 2004.}}
| [[Big East Conference (1979–2013)|Big East]]

|-
| Cincinnati
| 2005
| [[Conference USA]]
| [[Big East Conference (1979–2013)|Big East]]

|-
| Louisville
| 2005
| [[Conference USA]]
| [[Big East Conference (1979–2013)|Big East]]

|-
| South Florida
| 2005
| [[Conference USA]]
| [[Big East Conference (1979–2013)|Big East]]

|-
| Utah
| 2011
| [[Mountain West Conference|MW]]
| [[Pac-12 Conference|Pac-12]]

|-
| TCU
| 2012
| [[Mountain West Conference|MW]]
| [[Big 12 Conference|Big 12]]

|-
| Temple
| 2012
| [[Atlantic 10 Conference|A-10]]/[[Mid-American Conference|MAC]]{{efn|group=moves|Temple had previously been an Atlantic 10 member for most sports, but played football in the Mid-American Conference prior to 2012.}}
| [[Big East Conference (1979–2013)|Big East]]

|-
| Houston
| 2013
| [[Conference USA]]
| [[American Athletic Conference|American]]

|-
| Memphis
| 2013
| [[Conference USA]]
| [[American Athletic Conference|American]]

|-
| SMU
| 2013
| [[Conference USA]]
| [[American Athletic Conference|American]]

|-
| UCF
| 2013
| [[Conference USA]]
| [[American Athletic Conference|American]]

|-
| BYU
| 2023
| [[West Coast Conference|WCC]]/Independent{{efn|group=moves|BYU was a football independent prior to joining the Big 12.}}
| [[Big 12 Conference|Big 12]]

|-
| Cincinnati
| 2023
| [[American Athletic Conference|American]]
| [[Big 12 Conference|Big 12]]

|-
| Houston
| 2023
| [[American Athletic Conference|American]]
| [[Big 12 Conference|Big 12]]

|-
| UCF
| 2023
| [[American Athletic Conference|American]]
| [[Big 12 Conference|Big 12]]

|-
| SMU
| 2024
| [[American Athletic Conference|American]]
| [[Atlantic Coast Conference|ACC]]
|}

{{notelist|group=moves}}

==Bowl game results==
{{See also|College Football Playoff#Selections by year}}

===New Year's Six and BCS Bowl Game appearances by conference===
The following table lists the number of times that a member of each conference appeared was selected to appear in a [[Bowl Championship Series|BCS]] bowl game (from 1998 to 2013), a [[New Year's Six]] bowl game (from 2014 to 2023), or the College Football Playoff (since 2014). From the 1998 to 2005 seasons eight teams were selected, from 2006 to 2013 ten teams were selected, and since 2014 twelve teams have been selected to appear in these games.

A * indicates a team from that conference won the national championship as determined by the BCS or the College Football Playoff,{{efn-ua|Since 1998, there has been one instance where either the BCS or College Football Playoff chose a different national championship from the [[AP poll]] or the [[Coaches Poll]]. In the [[2003 NCAA Division I-A football season|2003 season]], the LSU Tigers won [[2004 Sugar Bowl|that season's BCS National Championship game]] and were chosen as the champion by the Coaches Poll, but the AP poll selected USC as the national champion after their victory in the [[2004 Rose Bowl]].}} while a ^ indicates a team from that conference was the runner-up in the national championship game. Statistics reflect conference membership at the time of the game. Note that the [[American Athletic Conference|American]] filled the [[Big East Conference (1979–2013)|Big East]]'s automatic bid in [[2013–14 NCAA football bowl games|2013]].

{|class="wikitable sortable"
|+|College Football Playoff and New Year's Six results, 1998–2023
|-
! 
! colspan=6 | Power conferences
! colspan=4 | Other conferences and independents

|-
!Season
![[Atlantic Coast Conference|ACC]]
![[Big 12 Conference|Big 12]]
![[Big Ten Conference|Big Ten]]
![[Pac-12 Conference|Pac-12]]{{efn-ua|Pac-12 appearance are listed in the "Others" category after the 2023 bowl season.}} 
![[Southeastern Conference|SEC]]
![[Big East Conference (1979–2013)|Big East]]
![[Notre Dame Fighting Irish football|ND]]
![[Mountain West Conference|MW]]
![[American Athletic Conference|AAC]]
! Others

|-
| [[2024–25 NCAA football bowl games|2024]]
| 2
| 1
| 4
| n/a
| 3
| n/a
| 1
| 1
| -
| -

|-
| [[2023–24 NCAA football bowl games|2023]]
| 1
| 1
| 3*
| 2^
| 4
| n/a
| -
| -
| -
| 1

|-
| [[2022–23 NCAA football bowl games|2022]]
| 1
| 2^
| 3
| 2
| 3*
| n/a
| -
| -
| 1
| -

|-
|[[2021–22 NCAA football bowl games|2021]]
| 1
| 2
| 3
| 1
| 3*^
| n/a
| 1
| -
| 1
| -

|-
|[[2020–21 NCAA football bowl games|2020]]
| 2
| 2
| 1^
| 1
| 4*
| n/a
| 1
| -
| 1
| -

|-
|[[2019–20 NCAA football bowl games|2019]]
| 2^
| 2
| 3
| 1
| 3*
| n/a
| -
| -
| 1
| -

|-
|[[2018–19 NCAA football bowl games|2018]]
| 1*
| 2
| 2
| 1
| 4^
| n/a
| 1
| -
| 1
| -

|-
|[[2017–18 NCAA football bowl games|2017]]
| 2
| 1
| 3
| 2
| 3*^
| n/a
| -
| -
| 1
| -

|-
|[[2016–17 NCAA football bowl games|2016]]
| 2*
| 1
| 4
| 2
| 2^
| n/a
| -
| -
| -
| 1

|-
|[[2015–16 NCAA football bowl games|2015]]
| 2^
| 2
| 3
| 1
| 2*
| n/a
| 1
| -
| 1
| -

|-
|[[2014–15 NCAA football bowl games|2014]]
| 2
| 2
| 2*
| 2^
| 3
| n/a
| -
| 1
| -
| -

|-
|[[2013–14 NCAA football bowl games|2013]]
| 2*
| 2
| 2
| 1
| 2^
| n/a
| -
| -
| 1
| -

|-
|[[2012–13 NCAA football bowl games|2012]]
| 1
| 1
| 1
| 2
| 2*
| 1
| 1^
| -
| n/a
| 1

|-
|[[2011–12 NCAA football bowl games|2011]]
| 2
| 1
| 2
| 2
| 2*^
| 1
| -
| -
| n/a
| -

|-
|[[2010–11 NCAA football bowl games|2010]]
| 1
| 1
| 2
| 2^
| 2*
| 1
| -
| 1
| n/a
| -

|-
|[[2009-2010 NCAA football bowl games|2009]]
| 1
| 1^
| 2
| 1
| 2*
| 1
| -
| 1
| n/a
| 1

|-
|[[2008–09 NCAA football bowl games|2008]]
| 1
| 2^
| 2
| 1
| 2*
| 1
| -
| 1
| n/a
| -

|-
|[[2007-08 NCAA football bowl games|2007]]
| 1
| 2
| 2^
| 1
| 2*
| 1
| -
| -
| n/a
| 1

|-
|[[2006–07 NCAA football bowl games|2006]]
| 1
| 1
| 2^
| 1
| 2*
| 1
| 1
| -
| n/a
| 1

|-
|[[2005-06 NCAA football bowl games|2005]]
| 1
| 1*
| 1
| 2^
| 1
| 1
| 1
| -
| n/a
| -

|-
|[[2004–05 NCAA football bowl games|2004]]
| 1
| 2^
| 1
| 1*
| 1
| 1
| -
| 1
| n/a
| -

|-
|[[2003–04 NCAA football bowl games|2003]]
| 1
| 2^
| 2
| 1
| 1*
| 1
| -
| -
| n/a
| -

|-
|[[2002 NCAA Division I-A football season|2002]]
| 1
| 1
| 2*
| 2
| 1
| 1^
| -
| -
| n/a
| -

|-
|[[2001–02 NCAA football bowl games|2001]]
| 1
| 2^
| 1
| 1
| 2
| 1*
| -
| -
| n/a
| -

|-
|[[2000 NCAA Division I-A football season|2000]]
| 1^
| 1*
| 1
| 2
| 1
| 1
| 1
| -
| n/a
| -

|-
|[[1999 NCAA Division I-A football season|1999]]
| 1*
| 1
| 2
| 1
| 2
| 1^
| -
| -
| n/a
| -

|-
|[[1998 NCAA Division I-A football season|1998]]
| 1^
| 1
| 2
| 1
| 2*
| 1
| -
| n/a
| n/a
| -

|-class="sortbottom"
! Total
! 36
! 40
! 58
! 37
! 61
! 15
! 9
! 6
! 8
! 6

|-class="sortbottom"
! Champs
! 4
! 2
! 3
! 1
! 15
! 1
! 0
! 0
! 0
! 0

|}

===BCS games involving non-automatic qualifying conferences===
Ten "non-AQ" teams appeared in the nine following BCS games, with an overall record of 5-3:

* [[2005 Fiesta Bowl]]: '''[[2004 Utah Utes football team|Utah]]''' (MW) 35, [[2004 Pittsburgh Panthers football team|Pittsburgh]] 7
* [[2007 Fiesta Bowl]]: '''[[2006 Boise State Broncos football team|Boise State]]''' (WAC) 43, [[2006 Oklahoma Sooners football team|Oklahoma]] 42 (OT)
* [[2008 Sugar Bowl]]: [[2007 Georgia Bulldogs football team|Georgia]] 41, '''[[2007 Hawaii Warriors football team|Hawai{{okina}}i]]''' (WAC) 10
* [[2009 Sugar Bowl]]: '''[[2008 Utah Utes football team|Utah]]''' (MW) 31, [[2008 Alabama Crimson Tide football team|Alabama]] 17
* [[2010 Fiesta Bowl]]: '''[[2009 Boise State Broncos football team|Boise State]]''' (WAC) 17, '''[[2009 TCU Horned Frogs football team|TCU]]''' (MW) 10
* [[2011 Rose Bowl]]: '''[[2010 TCU Horned Frogs football team|TCU]]''' (MW) 21, [[2010 Wisconsin Badgers football team|Wisconsin]] 19
* [[2013 Orange Bowl]]: [[2012 Florida State Seminoles football team|Florida State]] 31, '''[[2012 Northern Illinois Huskies football team|Northern Illinois]]''' (MAC) 10

Of these appearances, all were via automatic qualifying bids, except Boise State's participation in the highly controversial 2010 Fiesta Bowl in which the Broncos were selected via at-large bid and played fellow BCS Buster TCU.

===Power Conference vs Group of Five New Year's Six and College Football Playoff games===
College Football Playoff semifinal in '''bold'''. Group of Five team in ''italics''. Asterisks denotes years in which Group of Five teams won the game.
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Season 
! Bowl 
!  colspan=2|Winner 
!  colspan=2|Loser 
|-
|*[[2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season|2014]] || [[2014 Fiesta Bowl (December)|2014 Fiesta Bowl]] || No. 20 ''[[2014 Boise State Broncos football team|Boise State]]'' (MW) || 38 || No. 10 [[2014 Arizona Wildcats football team|Arizona]] (Pac-12) || 30
|-
|*[[2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season|2015]] || [[2015 Peach Bowl]] || No. 18 ''[[2015 Houston Cougars football team|Houston]]'' (American) || 38 || No. 9 [[2015 Florida State Seminoles football team|Florida State]] (ACC) || 24
|-
|[[2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season|2016]] || [[2017 Cotton Bowl Classic (January)|2017 Cotton Bowl]] || No. 8 [[2016 Wisconsin Badgers football team|Wisconsin]] (Big Ten) || 24 || No. 15 ''[[2016 Western Michigan Broncos football team|Western Michigan]]'' (MAC) || 16 
|-
|*[[2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season|2017]] || [[2018 Peach Bowl (January)|2018 Peach Bowl]] || No. 12 ''[[2017 UCF Knights football team|UCF]]'' (American) || 34 || No. 7 [[2017 Auburn Tigers football team|Auburn]] (SEC) || 27
|-
| [[2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season|2018]] || [[2019 Fiesta Bowl (January)|2019 Fiesta Bowl]] || No. 11 [[2018 LSU Tigers football team|LSU]] (SEC) || 40 || No. 8 ''[[2018 UCF Knights football team|UCF]]'' (American)|| 32
|-
| [[2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season|2019]] || [[2019 Cotton Bowl Classic|2019 Cotton Bowl]] || No. 10 [[2019 Penn State Nittany Lions football team|Penn State]] (Big Ten) || 53 || No. 17 ''[[2019 Memphis Tigers football team|Memphis]]'' (American) || 39
|-
| [[2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season|2020]] || [[2021 Peach Bowl (January)|2021 Peach Bowl]] || No. 9 [[2020 Georgia Bulldogs football team|Georgia]] (SEC) || 24 || No. 8 ''[[2020 Cincinnati Bearcats football team|Cincinnati]]'' (American) || 21
|-
| [[2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season|2021]] || '''[[2021 Cotton Bowl Classic|2022 Cotton Bowl]]''' || No. 1 [[2021 Alabama Crimson Tide football team|Alabama]] (SEC) || 27 || No. 4 ''[[2021 Cincinnati Bearcats football team|Cincinnati]]'' (American) || 6
|-
|*[[2022 NCAA Division I FBS football season|2022]] || [[2023 Cotton Bowl Classic (January)|2023 Cotton Bowl]] || No. 16 [[2022 Tulane Green Wave football team|''Tulane'']] (American) || 46 || No. 10 [[2022 USC Trojans football team|USC]] (Pac-12) || 45
|-
| [[2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season|2023]] || [[2024 Fiesta Bowl (January)]] || No. 8 [[2023 Oregon Ducks football team|Oregon]] (Pac-12) || 45 || No. 23 [[2023 Liberty Flames football team|''Liberty'']] (CUSA) || 6
|-
| [[2024 NCAA Division I FBS football season|2024]] || [[2024 Fiesta Bowl (December)]] || No. 4 [[2024 Penn State Nittany Lions football team|Penn State]] (Big Ten) || 31 || No. 9 [[2024 Boise State Broncos football team|''Boise State'']] (MW) || 14

|}

==Table of revenues, television sports rights, and average attendance==
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"

|+ Total revenue in Fiscal Year 2023
|-
! Conference
! Total Revenue<ref>{{cite news| title=Report: Big Ten, SEC are top conferences in revenue with athlete pay plan on horizon|url=https://www.foxsports.com/stories/college-football/big-ten-sec-top-conferences-revenue-athlete-pay-plan-horizon|work=FOX Sports|date=May 24, 2024|language=en}}</ref>
! Distribution<br>Per School<ref>{{cite news| title=Report: Big Ten, SEC are top conferences in revenue with athlete pay plan on horizon|url=https://www.foxsports.com/stories/college-football/big-ten-sec-top-conferences-revenue-athlete-pay-plan-horizon|work=FOX Sports|date=May 24, 2024|language=en}}</ref>
|-
| [[Big Ten Conference]]
| $879.9 million
| $60.5 million (58.8 to 2014 additions)
|-
| [[Southeastern Conference]]
| $852.6 million
| $51 million
|-
| [[Atlantic Coast Conference]]
| $707.0 million
| $43.3-46.9 million 
|-
| [[Pac-12 Conference]]
| $603.9 million
| $33.6 million
|-
| [[Big 12 Conference]]
| $510.7 million
| $43.8-48.2 million
|}

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"

|+ U.S. television sports rights for collegiate sports
|-
! Conference || National <br> TV contract || TV Revenue<br>(Per Year) || Ref
|-
| [[NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|March Madness]] (college basketball) || [[NCAA March Madness (TV program)|CBS, Turner]] || $8.8bn ($1.1bn) || 
|-
| [[College Football Playoff]] || ESPN, TNT || $5.6bn ($470m) || 
|-
| [[Big Ten Conference]] (Big Ten) || Fox, NBC, CBS || $2.6bn ($440m) ||<ref>{{cite news|last1=Facher|first1=Lev|title=Report: Big Ten getting $2.64 billion in new TV deal|url=http://www.freep.com/story/sports/college/2016/06/20/big-ten-tv-fox-espn/86135546/|work=Detroit Free Press|date=June 20, 2016|language=en}}</ref>
|-
| [[Big 12 Conference]] (Big 12) || Fox, ESPN || $2.6bn ($200m) ||
|-
| [[Southeastern Conference]] (SEC) || ESPN || $2.25bn<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2008/08/25/This-Weeks-News/ESPN-Pays-$225B-For-SEC-Rights.aspx|title = ESPN pays $2.25B for SEC rights| date=August 25, 2008 }}</ref> ($55m){{efn-ua|This amount is only for the SEC's CBS deal, which is minimal compared to their ESPN deal. The ESPN payout (encompassing the SEC network) is determined on a yearly basis based on revenue. When combined, the SEC payouts are comparable to other conferences on this list.}} || 
|-
| [[Atlantic Coast Conference]] (ACC) || ESPN || $1.86bn ($155m)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://syndication.bleacherreport.com/amp/393493-acc-secures-186-billion-television-deal-with-espn.amp.html|title=ACC Secures $1.86 Billion Television Deal with ESPN}}</ref> || 
|}

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"

|+ Average football attendance by conference in 2022<ref name="attendance2022">{{cite news |last1=Dodd |first1=Dennis |title=College football attendance rose in 2022 with largest year-over-year increase since 1982 |url=https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/college-football-attendance-rose-in-2022-with-largest-year-over-year-increase-since-1982/ |publisher=CBS News |date=March 8, 2023}}</ref>
|-
! Conference
! Attendance
|-
| [[Atlantic Coast Conference]]
| 48,714
|-
| [[Big Ten Conference]]
| 67,295
|-
| [[Big 12 Conference]]
| 59,783
|-
| [[Pac-12 Conference]]
| 44,458
|-
| [[Southeastern Conference]]
| 76,667
|-
| FBS average
| 41,840
|}

==Outside of football==
{{Update|section|date=August 2024}}
===In sports outside of football===
Each power conference sponsors at least 22 sports, with the Big Ten sponsoring the most at 28. Among all NCAA conferences, only two match or surpass the Big Ten's sports sponsorship level. The Ivy League sponsors 32 sports.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rienzi |first1=Greg |title=A new playing field as Hopkins lacrosse joins Big Ten |url=https://hub.jhu.edu/gazette/2015/january-february/datebook-sports-big-ten/ |publisher=Johns Hopkins |date=February 2015}}</ref> In the 2025–26 school year, the [[NCAA Division II|Division II]] [[Conference Carolinas]] will sponsor 26 sports on its own, and partner with other Division II conferences to offer conference-level championships in four more sports.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://conferencecarolinas.com/sports/2020/5/15/overview.aspx |title=Conference Carolinas: Overview |publisher=Conference Carolinas |access-date=June 13, 2025}}</ref> Power Four schools dominate the [[list of NCAA schools with the most NCAA Division I championships]]; of the top fifteen schools, only the [[Denver Pioneers|University of Denver]], which last played football in 1960, does not play in a Power Four conference.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wilco |first1=Daniel |title=Colleges with the most NCAA championships |url=https://www.ncaa.com/news/ncaa/article/2018-07-06/colleges-most-ncaa-championships |publisher=NCAA |date=July 23, 2019}}</ref> Power Four schools also generally dominate the standings in the Division I [[NACDA Directors' Cup]] and the [[Capital One Cup]], two awards honoring schools with the greatest collegiate athletic success across all sports. For example, the top ten of the 2022-2023 Division I NACDA Directors' Cup standings consisted entirely of power conference programs.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bahns |first1=Carter |title=Learfield Directors' Cup 2023: Stanford earns 26th title, SEC dominates final standings |url=https://247sports.com/longformarticle/learfield-directors-cup-2023-stanford-earns-26th-title-sec-dominates-final-standings-212202095/ |publisher=24/7 Sports |date=June 28, 2023}}</ref>

The Power Four conferences are not necessarily the most prominent conferences in all sports in which they compete. For example, in men's college basketball, the Big East Conference is also generally considered to be a power conference.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Cobb |first1=David |title=College basketball conference power rankings 2023: Big 12 still No. 1, but Big Ten not far behind |url=https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/college-basketball-conference-power-rankings-2023-big-12-still-no-1-but-big-ten-not-far-behind/ |work=CBS Sports |date=April 13, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Shaw |first1=Jamie |title=College basketball: Ten Power Six Transfers to Watch |url=https://www.on3.com/transfer-portal/news/college-basketball-ten-power-six-transfers-to-watch/ |publisher=On3 |date=November 15, 2023}}</ref><ref name="bennettmidmajor">{{cite news |last1=Bennett |first1=Brian |title=Who are you calling a mid-major? The broken term defines too much of college basketball |url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/1315199/2019/10/23/who-are-you-calling-a-mid-major-the-broken-term-defines-too-much-of-college-basketball/ |publisher=The Athletic |date=October 23, 2019}}</ref> In basketball and some other sports, the Division I programs that are not part of the power conferences are often referred to as "[[mid-major]]" programs, although the appropriateness of the term has been criticized since some mid-major programs have resources equal to that of some power conference programs. Most notably, [[Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball|Gonzaga]], a member of the mid-major [[West Coast Conference]] but set to join the reimagined Pac-12 in 2026, is generally considered a power program in men's basketball.<ref name="bennettmidmajor"/>

In [[2024 National Invitation Tournament|2024]], the [[National Invitation Tournament]], an annual men's college basketball tournament, was restructured such that the then-Power Five conferences, along with their former BCS counterpart the Big East, received two automatic bids with accompanying [[home advantage|home court advantage]], with the two bids selected from teams in those conferences that were not selected for the [[NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament|main men's basketball tournament]]. The move drew criticism from mid-major universities and conferences, as the previous NIT structure had awarded automatic bids to all Division I conferences whose teams with the strongest regular season record had not qualified for the NCAA Tournament.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Miller |first=Andrew |date=2023-10-31 |title=NIT decision 'takes away' from mid-major schools, CofC AD says |url=https://www.postandcourier.com/sports/cofc/nit-decision-cofc-mid-majors/article_bf7dc8c4-780e-11ee-9421-138797667f98.html |access-date=2023-11-12 |website=Post and Courier |language=en}}</ref> The NCAA admitted the maneuver was done in an attempt to preempt a proposed alternative tournament to the NIT.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-11-01 |title=Gavitt: NIT tweaks made to combat new tourney |url=https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/38794849/changes-postseason-nit-made-response-new-tournament |access-date=2023-11-12 |website=ESPN.com |language=en}}</ref> By contrast, the NCAA did not use this method of setting the field for the [[Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament]], which it launched in the 2023–24 season as a direct parallel to the NIT. It instead followed the 2006-2023 NIT practice of inviting all regular-season conference champions that failed to make the NCAA tournament, if otherwise eligible for postseason play.<ref>{{cite press release |url=https://www.ncaa.org/news/2023/9/26/media-center-espn-networks-to-televise-inaugural-womens-basketball-invitation-tournament.aspx |title=ESPN networks to televise inaugural Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament |publisher=NCAA |date=September 26, 2023 |access-date=April 23, 2024}}</ref>{{efn-ua|The 2023–24 regular-season and [[2024 Ohio Valley Conference women's basketball tournament|tournament]] champion of the [[Ohio Valley Conference]], [[2023–24 Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles women's basketball team|Southern Indiana]], was not eligible for either the NCAA tournament or WBIT due to being in transition from [[NCAA Division II]].}}

===Institutional profiles and academics===
The overall institutional profiles and academic prestige of colleges and universities have a major influence on collegiate athletics conference membership,<ref name="benson"/><ref>{{cite news |last1=Knight |first1=Joey |title=How much will USF's elite academic status help its Power Five pursuits? |url=https://www.tampabay.com/sports/bulls/2023/06/07/usf-association-american-universities-power-five-michael-kelly/ |publisher=Tampa Bay Times |date=June 7, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Silver |first1=Nate |title=Where Should The Big Ten Expand Next? We Crunched The Numbers. |url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/where-should-the-big-ten-expand-next-we-crunched-the-numbers/ |publisher=FiveThirtyEight |date=August 25, 2022}}</ref> and athletic conference membership can impact a university's fundraising, academics, and overall reputation.<ref name="politi">{{cite news |last1=Politi |first1=Steve |last2=Sargeant |first2=Keith |title=How Big Ten changed Rutgers beyond athletics |url=https://www.nj.com/rutgers/2022/11/how-big-ten-changed-rutgers-beyond-athletics.html |publisher=NJ.com |date=November 21, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Lavigne |first1=Paula |title=Rich get richer in college sports as poorer schools struggle to keep up |url=https://www.espn.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/17447429/power-5-conference-schools-made-6-billion-last-year-gap-haves-nots-grows |publisher=ESPN |date=September 2, 2016}}</ref> Membership in the [[Association of American Universities]] (AAU), a 71-member organization of [[research university|research universities]] in the United States and Canada, has frequently been discussed as a factor in conference realignment, particularly for the Big Ten.<ref name="benson">{{cite news |last1=Benson |first1=Michael |title=Perspective: In conference realignment, academics — not athletics — are king |url=https://www.deseret.com/2021/8/6/22613053/college-football-conference-realignment-aau-association-of-american-universities |publisher=Deseret News |date=August 6, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Acosta |first1=Joseph |title=What the Association of American Universities (AAU) has to do With Conference Expansion |url=https://www.si.com/college/northwestern/football/what-the-association-of-american-universities-has-to-do-with-big-ten-expansion |publisher=Sports Illustrated |date=August 1, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Dyer |first1=Kristian |title=Around the Big Ten: What today's AAU news means for the Big Ten? |url=https://sports.yahoo.com/around-big-ten-today-aau-211545500.html |publisher=Yahoo Sports |date=June 1, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Wood |first1=Trent |title=How important is AAU membership in conference realignment? Particularly Big Ten expansion? |url=https://sports.yahoo.com/important-aau-membership-conference-realignment-183000360.html |publisher=Deseret News |date=June 7, 2023}}</ref> About half of the Power Four schools are in the AAU, with most of those schools in the ACC or Big Ten, although several are members of the Big 12 or the SEC. The [[Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education]], a classification system of universities based on research activity,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Anderson |first1=Nick |title=In new sorting of colleges, Dartmouth falls out of an exclusive group |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2016/02/04/in-new-sorting-of-colleges-dartmouth-falls-out-of-an-exclusive-group/ |newspaper=Washington Post |date=February 4, 2016}}</ref> lists nearly all Power Four schools as "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research spending and doctorate production"; the exceptions are TCU and Wake Forest, each of which is listed as "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research spending and doctorate production". Of the 30 U.S. universities with the greatest research expenditures in 2022, nearly two-thirds were members of one of the power conferences.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Zalaznick |first1=Matt |title=Billion-dollar business: These are higher ed's top 30 R&D performers |url=https://universitybusiness.com/r-d-research-and-development-billion-dollar-top-30-college-university-higher-ed-spenders/ |publisher=University Business |date=January 6, 2023}}</ref> Some of the Power Four conferences share academic resources among conference members through related academic consortiums such as the [[Big Ten Academic Alliance]] and the Atlantic Coast Conference Academic Consortium.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hendrix |first1=Sheridan |title=Will USC and UCLA's addition to the Big Ten boost its academics? Experts say it's likely |url=https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/education/2022/07/29/usc-and-ucla-joining-big-ten-they-boost-its-academics/7817411001/ |publisher=The Columbus Dispatch |date=July 29, 2022}}</ref><ref name="politi"/>

Out of all Power Four schools, only five are religiously affiliated: Baylor, Boston College, BYU, Notre Dame, and TCU.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Erick |title=It's been a record year for religiously affiliated schools in the men's basketball tournament |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2021/03/27/march-madness-ncaa-tournament-record-six-religious-schools/7009395002/ |publisher=USA Today |date=March 27, 2021}}</ref> Seven Power Four schools that are now officially nonsectarian were founded as faith-based institutions—ACC members Duke, SMU, Syracuse, and Wake Forest, Big Ten members Northwestern and USC, and SEC member Vanderbilt. Most became officially nonsectarian in the 20th century. The main exceptions are Northwestern, which committed itself to a nonsectarian admissions policy at its 1851 founding; and SMU, which has been in a legal battle to formally separate itself from the United Methodist Church since 2019, with the school having won an intermediate appeal in the Texas courts in 2021. Another Power Four school, Kentucky, was founded as a publicly chartered department within the faith-based Kentucky University (now [[Transylvania University]]) before becoming an independent public institution in 1878.

==See also==
{{Portal|College football}}
* [[College Football Association]]
* [[Mid-major]]
* [[Superconference]]

==Notes==
{{notelist-ua}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

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