At times, California women’s basketball player Marta Suárez would begin her homework on a plane above the Bay Area then complete the assignment somewhere over the Great Plains.

For the Stanford men’s team, the charter plane’s wireless proved critical for handling coursework during cross-country flights as an Atlantic Coast Conference newcomer.

Realignment has shaken things up for college programs everywhere, yet it has been particularly grueling in the ACC and Big Ten as power-conference leagues spanning the four contiguous U.S. time zones with footprints touching both the Atlantic and Pacific coastlines. The changes have led to long hours on planes, extended time away from campus, and unforeseen travel issues.

What it hasn’t added up to is wins.

The ACC and Big Ten men’s and women’s teams had won just 30.6% of their games (38-86) as of Thursday when traveling from the Eastern time zone to the Pacific time zone, or vice versa. That number would look even worse (25.9%) if not for two top women’s programs — No. 2 USC and fourth-ranked UCLA in the Big Ten — winning all eight of their games in the Eastern time zone during conference play.

It’s a sign of how basketball is in a tough position with the sport far from a top priority in the football-driven college landscape.UCLA men’s basketball coach Mick Cronin criticized the Big Ten travel schedule for being fueled by money, saying in January, “We’ve sold our soul to television.” USC coach Eric Musselman also sounded off.

“We’re in the hole two to four games based on travel,” he said, “and it’s going to be like that forever for men’s basketball.”

Demanding road >> In the ACC, only two teams have gone west — first, the 14th-ranked North Carolina women, then the Wake Forest men — and swept the Cal-Stanford series.

The Big Ten has sent teams out West to play either a Pacific Northwest double with Washington and Oregon, or a Southern California one against UCLA and USC. The 15th-ranked Maryland women, the No. 17 Michigan men and 18th-ranked Purdue men are the only conference teams to snag both games on a single trip.

Along with the USC and UCLA women, the Oregon men (at Ohio State and Penn State in January) were the only other former Pac-12 programs to sweep an Eastern doubleheader in either the ACC or Big Ten.

And this new normal requires a greater degree of diligence for everybody involved. Athletes must endure long flights with more time zone changes while paying attention to the need for rest, recovery and school all while trying to stay mentally ready to play a game with body clocks that have barely adjusted.

Cal traveled 18,015 miles during the regular season, including five flights of 2,100 miles or more. The Golden Bears will have added another 2,320 miles each way for the ACC Tournament in North Carolina.

That’s a stark difference from zipping to Las Vegas or Seattle for the Pac-12 Tournament.

“I feel for them, because they’re doing it about four times, we’re doing it once or twice every four years,” N.C. State women’s basketball coach Wes Moore said, “so it’s a little different.”

Regular trips from the West Coast to the East Coast typically mean missing several days of class those weeks. There might also be weather delays or stops in the middle of the country to refuel, so sleep can be tough to come by, too.

“It wasn’t that bad. There’s a lot of talk about it and it makes sense ... but we’re young girls, we’re competitive, we’re excited about playing basketball and that adds to it,” said Suárez, a senior forward from Spain. “There’s a lot of investment in taking care of our bodies. It wasn’t that hard. Every person’s different but we have a lot of internationals who are very used to very long flights so a four-hour flight to me, that’s just a couple movies.”