The USC Trojans and head coach Lincoln Riley have been heavily involved in some of the major changes coming to college athletics. That includes conference realignment, shifting rivalries, and changes in the postseason. They’re also changes that have some fans concerned for the future of the sport.
Despite those changes, Riley shared on Always College Football that he isn’t concerned with the state of college football. After all, these changes are often what lead to new traditions that fans come to love.
“It really doesn’t,” Lincoln Riley said. “If you love college football, then are you gonna scroll on your TV past USC-Ohio State? No, you’re not. All of these things have to start somewhere.”
The recent changes to college sports and college football, in particular, have been coming rapidly. Some, like NIL and the Transfer Portal, impact the way rosters are built. Conference realignment has changed annual games and rivalries. Then, the College Football Playoff just expanded, with further changes coming. Still, Riley insisted that these changes aren’t hurting the product on the field.
“So, is there some changes that I understand people are having a hard time coming to grips with? Sure. Again, I get it,” Riley said. “But the alternative is pretty darn good. It’s creating some incredible matchups and seeing how the Playoff played out this year, and, obviously, that’s going to continue to evolve and just get I think better. Our sport’s in a great place, and I think anybody that thinks anything other than that — I know there’s a lot going on with scheduling. I know everybody’s got an opinion on NIL, rev share, and the settlement. I get it. There’s all that stuff. Listen, we just sat through 10 days of Big Ten meetings where that’s all we’re listening to, but despite all that, we still have one of the greatest products in the greatest sport in the world. Let’s don’t forget that.”
More changes are likely coming to college football. There have been recent reports about the challenging discussions USC and Notre Dame have been having trying to continue their historic rivalry. Then, the College Football Playoff is expected to expand again in the coming years, potentially adding automatic qualifiers.
Along with these changes, college football is clearly very different than it was even a few years ago. Fans and experts will continue to debate if these changes are for the better, worse, or somewhere in between. Everyone, however, likely hopes that Lincoln Riley is correct and that college football remains healthy.
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