College football purists argue that stronger conferences are stealing teams from weaker conferences and damaging the spirit of football as well as other college sports.

However, it is usually the teams in the weaker conferences that just want a fair shot at the BCS and conference revenue.

The Boise State Broncos for example, have clearly been one of the best teams in college football over the last decade, yet they have never had a shot at a national championship. Furthermore, they had to practically go undefeated year after year just to get a BCS bowl bid. Rather than continually be snubbed year after year, the Broncos decided to move from the WAC to the Mountain West Conference along with similarly shunned Texas Christian University. The move gives both teams a better chance at the BCS and a national championship that they would never have in their old conferences.

Another factor that drives teams to join larger conferences is the money. The income gained is a large part of an institution’s revenues. Some teams want to move in order to get their fair piece of the money pie.

Texas A&M, a long time member of the Big 12, became so frustrated with the University of Texas’ power and influence in the conference that they bolted for the SEC. The power of the Longhorns dismantled the entire conference as other conference members threatened to follow suit by also joining the SEC or the Pac 12. A&M’s departure forced the Big 12 to take a long hard look at how it does business and act more favorably to the conference as a whole instead of one team.

In the end, college football realignment is just business. Only the strong survive and college sports are no different.