One more nail in the coffin for BYU-Utah.
The announcement on Wednesday that the Pac-12 and Big Ten are collaborating on football scheduling is another indication the Cougar-Ute rivalry is likely headed for oblivion.
The conferences have determined that beginning in 2017, each Pac-12 team will play one non-conference game annually against a Big Ten team. What that means is that Utah will have nine conference games a year and one against the Big Ten. That leaves two games Utah can schedule annually.
Utah athletics director Chris Hill has indicated he wants to play one smaller school (like Montana State this season) each year, which would leave just one non-conference game available. Some years, Utah would already have its road schedule set and might not be willing to play another road game in Provo. And BYU would never agree to playing Utah every year in Salt Lake.
So the Utah-BYU game is bound to become an occasional-if-ever event, a casualty of the changing landscape in college football.
There still could be some possibilities in other sports. It makes sense to save money by playing nearby, comparable opponents. At the same time, the Big Ten and Pac-12 also announced there will be extensive cross-conference scheduling in non-football sports, starting as early as 2012.
So get your tickets for next season's Utah-BYU game on September 15.
It might be the last one for a long, long time.