Since 2010 , speculation about emergent superconferences in American college sports has been rampant and closely connected with conference realignment , with many writers believing that Division I FBS football will eventually be dominated by four or five superconferences consisting of 16 schools each . Speculation consistently includes the Big Ten , Pac-12 , and SEC as probable eventual superconferences , while both the ACC and Big 12 are sometimes rumored to eventually evolve into superconferences themselves . According to '' ESPN The Magazine '' writer Ryan McGee , a superconference is defined by three major attributes : firstly , it is formed from an already-existing BCS Automatic Qualifying ( AQ ) conference ( at the time the article was written in 2011 , either the ACC , SEC , Big East , Big Ten , Big 12 , or Pac-12 conference ) . Secondly , it is in possession of a significant television deal with multiple different networks . And thirdly , it is at least willing to expand to the " magic number " of 16 member institutions . The following sections detail expansions by AQ conferences that have been contributing to speculation that they are becoming superconferences
Big East
Big East Conference (1979–2013)
Superconference