ESPN insider Pete Thamel on conference realignment: People need intimacy, familiarity

Be careful what you wish for. That was the crystal-clear message that ESPN insider Pete Thamel delivered for college football administrators on Wednesday afternoon’s edition of College Football Live, when speaking with Wendi Nix. His stern warning comes just weeks after the USC Trojans and UCLA Bruins decided to pack their bags and leave the Pac-12 for the Big Ten for strictly financial reasons. Thamel discussed why he thinks conference realignment is going to alienate college football fan bases across the country.

“I think the cautionary tale for college football just unfolded the last 15 years in college basketball. When realignment happened, college basketball lost a lot of its regional essence. You lost rivalries like Missouri and Kansas. You lost rivalries like Syracuse and Georgetown,” Thamel said.

“And people found out that in the transfer portal, which essentially college basketball, everybody started transferring up and moving around. You didn’t know who was on the roster of your own team and then you didn’t know who they were playing because of realignment. And I think college football has to remember it is a regional sport that bloomed nationally and it’s hard to do it the other way around. People need intimacy and familiarity with their teams, programs, and opponents.” Thamel said.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel on ‘collective pause’ in conference realignment, where Notre Dame falls

Thamel also provided a timeline on a potential decision from Notre Dame, which is largely seen as the biggest fish in the pond as conferences expand. Basically, he doesn’t think anything is going to be happening soon.

“In the micro micro, I think we’re at a collective pause here,” Thamel said. “When I talk to sources around the country — different conferences, different schools — everyone’s wondering what is the next trigger? What is the next mile marker that could lead to more expansion? Right now, the Big Ten and SEC appear to be sitting pat at 16.

“Notre Dame is obviously the prettiest date on the dance floor, but they probably have two years until they have to make any decision because their TV deal has four years left and they need to see what happens with the College Football Playoff, and that also has four years left. So there’s no imminent rush for Notre Dame because the levers that they need to pull to move conferences aren’t going to be pulled in the near term.”

On3’s Nick Schultz also contributed to this article.