Quick - name one of the biggest reasons for 2010-12 flurry of realignment?

Answer: the BCS contract expired in 2013, and the college football postseason was up for grabs including a potential playoff. Everything was going to change. Conferences made moves to strengthen themselves in preparation for those negotiations.

Biggest winners: Big 10, SEC. In addition to contract bowl status, they were able to snag a spot in the Orange Bowl for the 2nd (or 3rd) place teams.

Biggest losers: Big East, ACC. The ACC lost because it "only" receives $27.5M for participating in the Orange Bowl while the other Power 5 leages get $40M for participating in their contract bowls.

Fast forward. The current playoff deal expires in 2024. The future of the college football postseason will be up for grabs again. Will the playoff expand? Will the revenue distribution change? In addition, P5 commissioners continue to threaten to pull out of the NCAA and form their own body, taking the NCAA basketball tournament with them. So potentially it's more than just football's future on the table.

Who is now in the best position to make moves in preparation for the 2023 college postseason negotiations? The Big 10.

Their 6-year Fox deal allows them to go back to market before everyone else. It allows them to cherry pick schools with valuable media rights from the other leagues with very little time left on the GORs. But this is not solely about TV. This was a tactical move calculated to give the Big 10 maximum options going into talks about how college football will look in 2025+.