[1] One by one, the major conferences (and Notre Dame, the most prominent independent program) would eventually negotiate their own separate TV deals, reducing the importance of the CFA.
In 1977, when the CFA was formed, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) had controlled all college football TV rights since the early 1950s.
As a result, individual schools and athletic conferences were freed to negotiate contracts on their own behalf.
Together with the growth of cable television, this ruling resulted in the explosion of broadcast options currently available.
[7] After CBS began covering the SEC exclusively in 2001, the SEC was for many years the only major conference guaranteed a national "game of the week" on network television, as Fox and ESPN/ABC have the rights to multiple conferences.