Washington Was 'Rescued' By The Big Ten, And Nobody's Ready For The Hypocrisy Of This New College Sports Act
Okay, Seattle, we need to talk about this "Protect College Sports Act of 2026" because the spin coming out of some corners is just wild, and frankly, it feels like a slap in the face. You hear guys like SMU President Jay Hartzell and Texas Tech donor Cody Campbell pushing this narrative about competitive balance, comparing it to MLB or the NFL. They even put out televised PSAs last autumn. But when you peel back the layers, it looks less like a noble cause and more like a desperate grab for cash by the Big 12 and ACC, especially when you remember what happened right here with our Huskies.
"Parity" That Only Benefits A Select Few
Hartzell and Campbell are talking a big game about competitive balance being "necessary" in college sports, even dropping an 800-word opinion piece in the Dallas Morning News. They'll tell you it's for the good of the game, that it facilitated the growth of the NFL. And yeah, competitive balance *is* good. But what they’re actually pushing for isn't parity across all of Division I. No way. They have zero interest in seeing the Mid-American, American, or Sun Belt conferences compete at the same level as the ACC or SEC. Their vision of "parity" is simple: they want the Big 12 and ACC to get a piece of what the SEC and Big Ten have earned.
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Think about it. There are 138 schools playing football at the highest NCAA Division I classification. There are 68 at the so-called power conference level. These guys pushing this legislation? They're not trying to elevate the 70 schools below them. They're just trying to boost themselves to the same level as the 34 schools above them. That’s not a noble fight for the underdog, that's just trying to join the rich kids club.
Who Started This Expansion Mess, Anyway?
And let's not forget the history here, especially for those of us who watched the Pac-12 implode. Jay Hartzell, ironically, was president of the University of Texas when the Longhorns and Oklahoma were busy lobbying the Southeastern Conference to add them. That move by the SEC, expanding into the Southwest, absolutely kicked off a chain reaction. It led directly to the Big Ten adding USC and UCLA, and yeah, "rescued" Oregon and Washington from uncertainty as the Pac-12 dissolved.
But the "expansion contagion" didn't even start there! Nah, that kicked off earlier this century when the ACC decided to abandon its own unique regional history. They gutted Big East football by first adding Miami, Virginia Tech, and Boston College, then later sweeping up Pitt and Syracuse. The ACC hasn't lost a single member to other conferences' 21st-century expansions, but now they're playing the victim? Give me a break!
Where Was This Outrage When The SEC Was Dominating?
If competitive balance is suddenly this "existential issue" for Hartzell and his crew, where were all the complaints when the SEC was absolutely running the show? Before the College Football Playoff expanded, the SEC won 14 of 24 national championships, including an insane seven in a row between 2006 and what came next. Seriously, if balance mattered so much then, we sure didn't hear a peep. Now that the Big Ten is catching up with some of the biggest brands, suddenly it's a crisis? Get real, folks. This is about power and money, plain and simple. Keep watching this space, because this story, and the fight for what's fair in college sports, is nowhere near over.
This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.