Good Morning Gators: Scott Stricklin's Power 2 prediction comes true
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With Southern California and UCLA leaving the Pac-12 to join the Big Ten in 2024, the Power Five era has ended. The move cements the college football landscape as a Power Two with a pair of leagues dominating the sport, just as Florida athletics director Scott Stricklin predicted.
In early May, Stricklin joined ESPN Gainesville to discuss where he saw conference expansion heading.
“It’s going to change from the standpoint that it’s an open market,” Stricklin said. “Look at all markets. Typically in markets, if you study business or economics, the bigger brands become more and more dominant. If you look at college athletics, the SEC is one of the biggest brands.
“Right now, we have a Power Five. In a few years, it may be a Power Two. Not to say those other leagues won’t exist. But just like the Big East was a major Power Six football league. Then there’s some realignment and they don’t have football anymore.”
Stricklin also predicted which conference he thought could sustain longevity with the SEC, which will add Oklahoma and Texas in 2025.
“My guess is the SEC will continue to get strong. My guess is the Big Ten will also remain strong,” Stricklin said. “The other leagues will still be viable, but I think the economics are going to put the Big Ten and the SEC on a different level than a lot of the other leagues. You can just further stratification in that way.”
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The Big Ten tapping into the Los Angeles market will indeed put that league on a different level. Stricklin spoke to ESPN following the move by USC and UCLA.
“The SEC and the Big Ten have separated themselves from an overall property standpoint,” Stricklin said. “As we saw with Texas and Oklahoma a year ago, it’s not surprising that other schools would want to be a part of one of those two leagues.”
In other Florida football news
- The Florida Gators will be taking over SEC Network on Tuesday, broadcasting a full 24 hours of UF programming.
- LOOK: Photos from Florida’s 10-day service abroad trip to Greece with the GatorMade program.
UF recruiting roundup
- Gators Online’s Corey Bender has submitted a new RPM pick in favor of the Gators for a four-star prospect on defense.
- Florida hit the jackpot on the Fourth of July, as top-50 prospect T.J. Searcy announced his commitment to Billy Napier’s program.
- Social media was buzzing with reactions after the Gators made a major splash in the headlines with Searcy’s pledge on Monday.
- FILM ROOM: Dissecting the skill set of Searcy, one of the more physically impressive defensive line prospects in the 2023 cycle.
- Searcy’s pledge pushes Florida’s 2023 recruiting class into the top 15 of the On3 team rankings.
Gators sports roundup
- Former Gators center Patric Young provided more updates Monday on his recovery in text messages to the Florida Times-Union.
Let’s keep talking
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Gators Twitter updates
- Early fireworks for the Gators as Searcy announces his pledge:
