The alliance between the Pac-12, Big Ten and ACC was initially all about scheduling.

When it was announced prior to the start of the 2021 seasons, the three conferences united over a shared scheduling component that would “enhance opportunities for student-athletes, and optimize the college athletics experience for both student-athletes and fans across the country.”

With those discussions, Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith said, came discussions of cutting back the Big Ten's conference schedule from nine games to eight, something, he said, the conference moved away from pretty quickly, collectively believing that nine conference games is the right move.

“We felt that conference contests, from our TV point of view, was just as valuable,” Smith said. “We decided to kind of walk away from that a little bit. That doesn’t mean it won’t come back up, but at that point in time we walked away.”

Smith views the alliance between the Big Ten, Pac-12 and ACC as an opportunity to unite schools that think alike and bring different ideas to the table.

What Smith thinks it’s not is a scheduling template, dropping one Big Ten game and potentially losing the opportunity to play non-conference opponents against programs like Alabama, Texas and Notre Dame in the future.

According to the release by the three conferences when the alliance was announced, the scheduling component between the three conferences would begin as soon as practical while honoring current contractual obligations.

Ohio State has non-conference dates scheduled up until the 2033 season, including home-and-home matchups with Notre Dame (2022-23), Washington (2024-25), Texas (2025-26), Boston College (2026-27), Alabama (2027-28), Georgia (2030-31) and Oregon (2032-33).

But that doesn’t mean Ohio State’s Big Ten schedule is set in stone either.

In January, Iowa athletic director Gary Barta told The Athletic that administrators have talked about ending divisional play in the Big Ten conference, “with schools playing three opponents annually and cycling through the other 10 teams either every other year or two years on, two years off.”

Smith confirmed that those discussions have been had at the conference level, along with the discussions between eight conference games or nine conference games, but that no decisions have been made.

“We haven’t come to any conclusions,” Smith said. “We talk about eight versus nine in the regular season. Most preference is for nine, but we haven’t voted on that. We have a meeting in May where we will kind of finalize some thoughts about that. The same thing with divisions. We have talked about divisions. We’re going to look at some models. Again in May, our hope is to possibly conclude our thoughts about that. A little of that is tied to the CFP, what might emerge in that process. I personally don’t have a preference.

“I’m OK with losing the divisions, but I am interested in seeing the models first.”

If the Big Ten were to lose its East and West divisions, Smith has a few things he wants to ensure for Ohio State’s conference schedules: that student-athletes would have a chance to play at each Big Ten school in their four years with the Buckeyes, and that each team’s rivalries would be protected.

According to Smith, the discussions regarding Big Ten divisions will be one of two options: to keep them the same or to eliminate them entirely. No discussions have been made about shifting teams around in each division.

But in the world of the College Football Playoff, the Ohio State athletic director said he and his fellow administrators are still discussing what the value is of a Big Ten championship, molding their calendar based on the calendar of a possibly expanded Playoff.

As for Smith, he wants Ohio State to be in the best games possible, bringing as much attention as he can to the university. And in the next 11 years, the Buckeyes have those games scheduled even before conference play gets involved.

“Those games are huge,” Smith said. “Just like Notre Dame. What is this, the sixth time we have played Notre Dame in the regular season? It’s the coolest thing.

“So yeah, I don’t see us making a change.”