Nick Saban bemoans how conference realignment has impacted traditions, student athletes: 'It's sad'

Alabama head coach Nick Saban isn’t always talkative, but he’s still the loudest voice in college football. On Sunday, the 71-year-old coach addressed the recent whirlwind of conference realignment across college athletics, and raised some serious concerns.

“There are a lot of traditions that we’ve had for a long time in college football. I think we’re in a time of evolution for whatever reason. And some of those traditions are going to get sort of pushed by the wayside, I think, and it’s sad,” Saban said Sunday during Alabama’s annual preseason Media Day press conference.

“Whether it’s good, bad or indifferent for college football — I guess you have to define what is good and bad for college football. So, I think one thing I would just hope that we would keep in mind in all the choices and decisions we make relative to what we do in college athletics is the student-athlete,” he added.

“They’re here to get an education and try to help them develop careers on and off the field. And hopefully, some of the choices and decisions that we make for college athletics in the future will impact them in a positive way. And I hope that we can keep that as a priority in terms of whatever we decide to do in the future with college football and college athletics”.

Saban’s comments come after a landslide of changes in the Pac-12 on Friday. In mere hours, the conference became a shell of its former self as five more programs jumped ship. Washington and Oregon joined USC and UCLA in leaving for the Big Ten, while Arizona, Arizona State and Utah join fellow Pac-12 defector Colorado in the Big 12, both beginning in 2024. As of now, the only teams remaining in the Pac-12 in 2024 will be Oregon State, Washington State, California and Stanford.

While the Pac-12 realignment doesn’t directly affect Saban, the SEC is adding two new schools next season when Oklahoma and Texas will join the conference on July 1, 2024. The additions will be just two more programs the Crimson Tide must compete with for the SEC crown.

Saban isn’t the only SEC coach who’s voiced their opinion on the conference realignment trend. Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz discussed the issue this weekend, as well.

“All right, I’m gonna say it,” Drinkwitz said. “I thought the portal was closed. Oh, that’s just for the student-athletes. The adults in the room get to do whatever they want, apparently. My question is: did we count the cost? I’m not talking about a financial cost. I’m talking about did we count the cost for the student-athletes involved in this decision? What cost is it to those student-athletes?

“I don’t worry at all about the game,” Drinkwitz said. “The game is gonna be strong. Football’s gonna be fine. We’ll all figure it out. But did we consider the people that we are entrusted with? Did we consider the student-athlete? Because then we’re asking them to go out on their own to get NIL. We didn’t say we’re gonna revenue share. We’re not saying they’re getting a piece of it. So that’s the thing that’s bothering me right now in this whole situation. We keep trying to limit what the student-athlete can do, but then we act on our own. Everybody’s got their own reasons, and I’m not questioning any of those. I’m saying as a collective group, what’s it gonna cost the student-athletes?”