SMQ: A brief history of conference affiliation in college football
By Zach Bigalke
Conferences and bowl affiliations
The Big Ten and the Pacific Coast Conference agreed to send their respective conference champions to the Rose Bowl game beginning with the New Year’s Day 1947 edition. Just a decade after it had ceased to be the only major postseason exhibition on the schedule, the Rose Bowl emerged with two like-minded conferences with similar policies on scholarships, amateurism, and educational focus.
In the process, everyone won. The two conferences guaranteed their champions a high-level opponent on the most hallowed bowl stage in the sport. And the Rose Bowl, venerated as it is, benefitted as well by ensuring it would be linked with two prestigious conferences.
This affiliation would become critical a half-century later, when both the Bowl Coalition and Bowl Alliance faltered due to their inability to get the Big Ten, Pac-10, and Rose Bowl to join the attempt to crown a definitive No. 1 team at the end of each season. After two failed attempts, the BCS finally succeeded in drawing the two conferences and the bowl game into the fold.
At that point, conference affiliation was cemented as critical. Join the right conference and potentially have a shot at a national title. Join the wrong conference, and even perfect seasons were left wanting more reward for the effort.