So, what now? That’s the question many across college sports are asking after Oregon’s and Washington’s expected exit for the Big Ten, which, barring a late hangup, seems primed to occur. Here are four burning questions about the future of the Pac-12, or at least what’s left of it.
RIP, the Apple Cup and Civil War?
Realignment has been known to kill storied rivalries. Texas–Texas A&M (which realignment brought back), Bedlam, Missouri–Kansas among them. But perhaps it won’t kill Washington–Washington State and Oregon–Oregon State. Oregon and Washington are still going to need nonconference teams to play, and the Big Ten does not look kindly upon scheduling FCS teams as Oregon has on the schedule every year from 2025 to ’28. They also have Ohio State and Michigan State as nonconference games. Those are now, obviously, conference games, which means there will be slots on future schedules that will be filled. Florida and Georgia had nonconference games against Texas and Oklahoma, respectively, that were scrapped in response to the two Red River Rivals joining the SEC. All might not be lost for storied rivalry series in the future. That may also depend on the political will of both parties to continue to play (as came into the forefront specifically with Bedlam). But all might not be lost.
