5 college football teams doomed to have roughest conference realignments in 2024

Conference realignment went into hyperdrive before the 2023 college football season even kicked off. The Pac-12 is hanging on by name only, with Oregon State and Washington State left behind by their fellow West Coast athletic departments. The Beavers and Cougars are looking ahead at half a season as de facto Mountain West members.

A total of 15 Football Bowl Subdivision programs will start their 2024 campaigns in new conference homes. In addition to the 10 schools fleeing the Pac-12, other storylines loom over the impending season. Texas and Oklahoma finally make their long-awaited moves to the SEC, while SMU becomes the latest mid-major program to gain admittance into a major conference when they join the ACC.

Army is linking up with the American Athletic Conference after their latest round of independence and Kennesaw State is transitioning from the FCS level.

The last time college football fans saw this many teams realign in a single season was two decades ago, but even that shuffle only impacted two of the biggest leagues at the time. While the Pac-12 survives as a shell of its former self, the other four leagues that constituted the Power Five all grew out of the chaos. The far-reaching ramifications of this latest round of realignment are unprecedented in scope.

But while every team hopes for a new reign of glory in their new home, some conference transitions always work out better than others. Read on to learn which teams are in store for the roughest adjustment periods as they shift to life in a new league.

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