DeShaun Foster on losing rivalries in realignment: 'It's unfortunate, it really is'

Entering their first season within the Big Ten Conference, UCLA is one of many programs impacted by conference realignment this offseason.

Not only do the Bruins have an exciting slew of new opponents to match up against, but they’re also leaving behind a century’s worth of history and rivalries under the Pac-12 banner. This isn’t lost on new head coach DeShaun Foster, who knows the history of UCLA football as well as anyone.

“It’s unfortunate, it really is,” Foster said. “It’s unfortunate, just the direction of college football is going in. The more exposure and the bigger conference you’re in, the more it’s going to help your program. So it’s very unfortunate. I played in the Pac-10, I coached in the Pac-12 — it’s more than just a conference to me.

“We’re just lucky that USC came with us, but there are some other teams where I get that. … Its just the nature of the business.”

UCLA and USC are two of four teams from the Pac-12 that have made the jump to the Big Ten Conference, as Oregon and Washington both followed suit after the two bitter rivals.

Conference realignment isn’t just shaking up rivalries within the old Pac-12 either. While Oregon and Oregon State will no longer play annually, the same can be said for Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, Texas and Texas Tech — where Foster coached for one season — and more. In Foster’s eyes, preserving the USC-UCLA rivalry goes a long way in helping keep the tradition of college football alive the way that he knows it.

The Pac-12’s dissolve also included seeing Arizona, Arizona State, Utah and Colorado join the Big 12, while Cal and Stanford joined the ACC for 1- members of the conference’s 12 to disperse to all new conferences.

NIL, the transfer portal, an expanded College Football Playoff, conference realignment — all of these new tools and assets have been implemented in college athletics since Foster’s latest stint at UCLA began in 2017. The teams which have best adapted to that the best have enjoyed the most success. In that regard, it may be best to leave the Pac-12 behind and look ahead at what’s on the docket coming up.

For UCLA, that comes in the form of a road trip to Hawaii for the season opener on Aug. 31. After that, they’ll begin Big Ten play at home against the Indiana Hoosiers starting Week 3.