For the past year, student-athletes have been faced with an unsettling question: How much are their lives about to change? Seemingly overnight, the 109-year-old conference of a dozen schools, with decades of rivalries, became a conference of only two. “Why add even more stress?”Shannon Cunningham, a former member of the Arizona State University softball team, said the conference change shattered her dream of playing in the Pac-12. One coach in particular, University of Missouri football coach Eli Drinkwitz, made headlines last summer when he criticized realignment for not considering the impact on student-athletes. “Did we count the cost for the student-athletes involved in this decision?” asked Drinkwitz.

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Persons: ” Morgan Scott, ” Shannon Cunningham, “, ”, Cunningham, Nya Harrison, Harrison, football’s, Eli Drinkwitz, Drinkwitz, Karen Weaver, Weaver, Katie Meyer, ” Harrison, ‘, we’re Organizations: NCAA’s Football, University of Oregon softball, Arizona State University softball, San Diego, ”, Big, SEC, The College Football, ESPN, Associated Press, ACC, Stanford University, soccer, basketball’s, NBC News, Stanford, Cal, Notre Dame, Louisville —, West Coast, Wake, Virginia Tech, NCAA, University of Missouri, University of Pennsylvania Locations: San Diego State, East Coast, West, Stanford, Indiana, Ohio