For me the NIL money and the transfer portal were nails driven into the college sports coffin even before the conference realignments. I'm old enough to remember when professional sports teams' rosters were nearly as stable as the Rock of Gibraltar before free agency. Admittedly, that needed to change but now that college sports has "student" athletes able to make more money than any of their professors, things have turned into a tragic comedy. From one year to the next I have no idea who might be playing for the Dodgers or the Clippers but now it has become the same with the Bruins and the Trojans.
Timely piece after having enjoyed the Oregon Washington game. And your mention of the USC Trojan marching band and cheerleaders brought back memories of seeing them play Northwestern long ago, a game I attended in Evanston Illinois. I was enthralled by both the band and cheerleaders more than the game lol. They had that West Coast vibe that overshadowed the more bland Big Ten stuff. Thanks for the great read Ron!
For me the NIL money and the transfer portal were nails driven into the college sports coffin even before the conference realignments. I'm old enough to remember when professional sports teams' rosters were nearly as stable as the Rock of Gibraltar before free agency. Admittedly, that needed to change but now that college sports has "student" athletes able to make more money than any of their professors, things have turned into a tragic comedy. From one year to the next I have no idea who might be playing for the Dodgers or the Clippers but now it has become the same with the Bruins and the Trojans.
Timely piece after having enjoyed the Oregon Washington game. And your mention of the USC Trojan marching band and cheerleaders brought back memories of seeing them play Northwestern long ago, a game I attended in Evanston Illinois. I was enthralled by both the band and cheerleaders more than the game lol. They had that West Coast vibe that overshadowed the more bland Big Ten stuff. Thanks for the great read Ron!