College Football Conferences With the Largest Carbon Footprints

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College football brings thrilling action each week, but the excitement on the field comes with an unseen environmental cost — the carbon footprint of extensive team travel. With recent conference realignments, teams in the Power Four conferences (Big 12, Big Ten, ACC, and SEC) are now traveling farther than ever, contributing to increased carbon emissions.

To understand these changes, we analyzed the travel schedules of every team within the Power Four conferences, calculating their travel-related CO2 emissions and comparing them to last year’s data. This article explores which conferences and teams now have the largest carbon footprints, providing insights into the environmental cost of college football this year.

Key Takeaways

• Among Power Four conference college football teams in 2024, the Big Ten has the largest carbon footprint at 3,635 metric tons of CO2, while the SEC has the smallest at 1,569.
• University of California, Los Angeles (531), University of California, Berkeley (497), and Stanford University (429) have the highest CO2 emissions.
• The Power Four conference realignment increased college football teams’ overall carbon footprint by 67% from 2023 to 2024.
• The Big Ten saw the highest increase in emissions (112%), while the SEC had the smallest (22%).
• Stanford University (197), Georgia Institute of Technology (196), and Florida State University (169) had the largest individual increases in CO2 emissions.

Estimating the Power Four’s College Football Travel Emissions

We collected data on all games played in 2024 by football teams in the Big 12, Big Ten, ACC, and SEC conferences. Carbon emissions were estimated based on travel distances between arenas, assuming that teams traveled by:

• Bus for distances within 250 miles, producing 0.001 metric tons of CO2 per mile.
• Plane for distances over 250 miles, producing 0.024 metric tons of CO2 per mile.

To determine the carbon footprint of the Power Four college football conferences, we analyzed each team’s travel schedule. For distances under 250 miles, we assumed teams traveled by bus, while longer distances required flights, allowing us to estimate the total CO2 emissions generated per team.

The Power Four conferences combined produced an estimated 11,813 metric tons of CO2 in 2024. Among them, the Big Ten accounted for the largest carbon footprint at 3,635 metric tons of CO2, while the SEC produced the smallest footprint (1,569).

Which College Football Teams Have the Largest and Smallest Carbon Footprints?

To better understand each team’s individual impact, we compared the carbon footprint of every college football team within the Power Four conferences.

In 2024, the University of California, Los Angeles, University of California, Berkeley, and Stanford University ranked as the top three college football teams with the largest carbon footprints, emitting 531, 497, and 429 metric tons of CO2, respectively. At the opposite end, Clemson University, Auburn University, and Vanderbilt University recorded the smallest emissions, with Clemson generating just 36 metric tons of CO2.

Notably, six of the seven teams with the largest carbon footprints this year were former PAC-12 programs based on the West Coast, reflecting the high travel demands associated with their geographical locations.

How Conference Realignment Impacted College Football’s Carbon Footprint

The recent realignment of the Power Four college football conferences has significantly increased travel demands and, consequently, carbon emissions. We estimated the overall rise in CO2 emissions from 2023 to 2024 to show the conferences and teams with the highest increases.

The Power Four conference realignment led to a 67% increase in the total carbon footprint from the 2023 to the 2024 season. Among these, the Big Ten saw the highest rise in emissions, with a 112% increase, while the SEC recorded the smallest increase at 22%.

Stanford University, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Florida State University — now all ACC programs — made the largest individual jumps in their carbon footprints, with Stanford reaching 197 metric tons of CO2, Georgia Tech at 196, and Florida State at 169.

The Environmental Cost of College Football Realignment

The 2024 season has brought into sharp focus the environmental cost of changing conference alignments in college football. More games and greater distances between teams lead to more travel, which means a bigger carbon footprint. Many of us love college football, but if we want to keep enjoying this tradition without harming our planet too much, finding ways to reduce its impact on the environment is crucial.

Methodology

For this study, we analyzed the college football schedule for each team in the Power Four Conferences in 2024 (including the Big 12, Big Ten, ACC, and SEC). Based on the schedule, we calculated the total distance traveled between each game, accounting for a return to their school in between each game. The distance traveled was then converted to carbon emissions. Additionally, we looked at each school’s carbon emissions for 2023 to compare changes in the conference and their individual carbon emissions over the last year.

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Fair Use Statement

If your readers are concerned about carbon emissions in sports, please share this research with them for noncommercial use. We ask that you link back to this research page so they can fully access our findings.

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