After the recent changes in college athletics surrounding UCLA and USC, fans of the University of Oregon are left to wonder what the Ducks might do.
UCLA and USC announced their decision to leave the PAC-12 to join the Big Ten at the end of June. This information came as a shock to a lot of people especially since both California teams are important to the PAC-12. While the teams will not officially leave until the 2024 season people still are curious to see how this might affect other teams. One of the biggest impacted teams will be the Oregon Ducks. The Ducks are an important part of the PAC-12 and fans are wondering what the team might do. As of now, it seems like the Ducks might leave in favor of the Big Ten or SEC. However, the Ducks have not made any decisions and the future of the team is up in the air.
The news that UCLA and USC are leaving caused a lot of uproar from college football fans all over. With different conferences wanting to expand and other teams thinking about leaving their conference in favor of others. College athletics, especially football has been the talk of the summer so far. With a lot of questions being left unanswered fans got some news with the PAC-12 hosting their media day in Los Angeles. It was tense with commissioner George Kliavkoff declining to answer a lot of questions revolving around the decision made by UCLA and USC. On media day Oregon’s head football coach Dan Lanning made it clear he wanted the team to focus on the upcoming season and that no matter what happens to the Ducks they’ll always be an important part of college football.
While media day didn’t give any definitive answers to anything, it got fans excited for the upcoming season. With the Oregon Ducks projected to finish second in the PAC-12, the team is expected to have a great season with some talented new additions and a new head coach. With camp starting on August 5th Lanning hopes fans will focus on the upcoming season rather than the fate of the Ducks. The team is talented and has the opportunity to leave for a bigger conference. However, the team needs to decide if they’re comfortable where they are. They’re one of the conference’s icons and the best teams when it comes to competition. The Ducks will have to decide if they want to stay one of the best in the PAC-12 or if they want the potentially better competition. The uncertain future of the PAC-12 will not only impact Oregon’s football team but also the other sports the university has including men’s and women’s basketball. The university hasn’t made any decision yet so far as to their conference affiliation in the future. With how important a potential decision would be, it’ll take Oregon some time to determine the best course of action.
Northwest Sports Desk 