Pac-12 collapse irks Ole Miss HC Lane Kiffin, who came forward to address the sentiments of decade-old rivalries: "It's all just really sad"

Lane Kiffin is the latest college football coach to address the collapse of the Pac-12. The conference has experienced a mass exodus as eight of the 12 schools will join either the Big Ten or Big 12 in 2024.

The Ole Miss Rebels coach weighed in on the realignment taking place in the sports world by resharing an article discussing the thoughts of Missouri Tigers coach Eli Drinkwitz to his Twitter. He captioned the tweet:

"It’s all just really sad!! So much tradition and rivalries all gone. How are fans and players families in ALL of the sports going to get to these games?? This is good for these student athletes and their mental health?? Anyone ask them?? I hear you Drink"

Check out Lane Kiffin's thoughts on the collapse of the Pac-12 below:

Drinkwitz discussed the latest wave of conference realignment during a news conference on Saturday, where he stated:

"I thought the transfer window, I thought the portal was closed. Oh, that's just for the student-athletes. The adults in the room get to do whatever they want, apparently." [h/t Yahoo! Sports]

He questioned the impact that realignment would have on student-athletes, particularly those in sports aside from football. Drinkwitz noted that student-athletes from smaller budgeted sports often travel commercial, and cross-country trips will ensure that they don't return to campus until the wee hours of the morning, often just a few hours before class.

How has conference realignment impacted the Pac-12?

Conference realignment has impacted four of the Power Five conferences, but none has felt the impact as strongly as the Pac-12. While the conference has 12 schools on board for the 2023 season, it will look drastically different in 2024 as eight of the schools have already announced their intention to leave.

The Oregon Ducks, UCLA Bruins, USC Trojans and Washington Huskies are all set to join the Big Ten. Meanwhile, the Arizona Wildcats, Arizona State Sun Devils, Colorado Buffaloes and Utah Utes will join the Big 12.

Furthermore, Pac-12 officials have not replaced the schools. It is unclear if the remaining four schools will stay. As things stand at the moment, the California Bears, Oregon State Beavers, Stanford Cardinal and Washington State Cougars are the only four schools that remain in the conference.

Initially, there were questions about the Pac-12's status as a Power Five conference. The focus now, however, appears to be on whether the conference will survive at all.