The ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12 made their alliance official on Tuesday at a joint press conference after weeks of speculation.
The alliance was unanimously supported by the 41 presidents, chancellors and athletic directors from the participating schools, but there is no signed agreement.
In the press conference, the conference commissioners declined to say who initiated the conversation to form the alliance.
While the three conferences will remain foes in athletic competitions, they are now committed to collaborating on various issues facing college athletes, including mental and physical health, academic support, diversity, equity, social justice, gender equity, future structure of the NCAA and postseason championships and formats, among other things.
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In addition to working together off the playing field, the alliance will include a scheduling component for football and men's and women's basketball. This will create new inter-conference games, including honoring historic rivalries and traditions in football and annual premier matchups for basketball. The alliance will not stop teams from scheduling games with opponents from other conferences, and preexisting scheduling agreements will not be tampered with.
Commissioners from the ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12 each released a statement on the alliance:
"The ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12 recognize the unique environment and challenges currently facing intercollegiate athletics, and we are proud and confident in this timely and necessary alliance that brings together like-minded institutions and conferences focused on the overall educational missions of our preeminent institutions," said ACC commissioner Jim Phillips. "The alliance will ensure that the educational outcomes and experiences for student-athletes participating at the highest level of collegiate athletics will remain the driving factor in all decisions moving forward."
Sports
"Student-athletes have been and will remain the focal point of the Big Ten, ACC and Pac-12 Conferences," said Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren. "Today, through this alliance, we furthered our commitment to our student-athletes by prioritizing our academics and athletics value systems. We are creating opportunities for student-athletes to have elite competition and are taking the necessary steps to shape and stabilize the future of college athletics."
"The historic alliance announced today between the Pac-12, ACC and Big Ten is grounded in a commitment to our student-athletes," said Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff. "We believe that collaborating together we are stronger in our commitment to addressing the broad issues and opportunities facing college athletics."
The SEC and Big 12 are the two remaining power five conferences outside of the ACC-Big Ten-Pac-12 alliance.
