THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: Rivalries are still a big deal — even after rivals run away

The Cougs are getting closer to an answer. 

Can Washington State football keep up with its Division-I brethren now that the Pac-12 is in limbo? 

Surely, you recall that the Cougs and Oregon State were not invited to any of the Power Four conferences when their 10 “partners” ran for their lives. 

The two schools won the right to keep about $250 million in conference cash by embarrassing the others in court, but that money won’t last forever. 

Recruiting means dollars. 

Plenty of them. 

So, sure, Wazzu suddenly is in a spot where NIL and other costs leave it lagging behind those Pac-12 schools that hung together for more than a century. 

I haven’t written this before, not in so many words, but the breakup of the Pac-12 — especially the egos and stupidity of the university presidents — made me angry. 

The feeling turned to fury when WSU athletic director Pat Chun quit to take the same job at Washington. 

I jumped into the gang that wanted Cougs to ignore snobby, money-grubbing UW — and never play them again. 

Ever. 

HOWEVER, now I think maybe that decision came too quickly. 

It also came in the heat of the Huskies gloating and publicizing their coming battles with Iowa and Rutgers. 

The idea of the Cougs playing U-Dub at Lumen Field and having that described as a “neutral site” gives me the hives. 

I needed to calm down. 

That got a little easier on Thursday, when I read the weekly newsletter from Portland-based columnist John Canzano. 

John had done a one-on-one conversation with Washington State president Kirk Schulz, and naturally the two men discussed the future of Coug athletics. 

There are a lot of positives, not the least of longtime Wazzu star Anne McCoy being named athletic director. 

Anne had been given the “interim” tag after Chun bailed out, and Schulz said he couldn’t go anywhere on campus — or around the region — without bumping into someone who said, “Kirk, get rid of that interim thing.” 

There is a hint of irony in that move, since Schulz himself is retiring in the summer of 2025. 

Kirk isn’t going to leave without doing his best to put Coug sports in a good place, financially and otherwise. 

That brings me back to the Apple Cup, which I never wanted to see or hear about again. 

Schulz patted me on the head, figuratively speaking. 

In his interview with Canzano, Schulz talked about UW’s place in the universe (and its relationship with Wazzu). 

It turns out he has no plans to leave a bomb on Montlake — or even cut off the Apple Cup series. 

Huh? 

WELL, IT turns out that Schulz knows a lot about college sports rivalries, and the damage done when they disappear. 

Kirk was president at Kansas State when the once-sturdy Big Eight split up, added, changed, split again, and now is called the Big 12 —– except with 16 schools. 

He’s seen the carnage. 

Likewise, he’s heard from plenty of angry constituents at WSU. 

“I know after everything broke up, we had some segment of our fans that had no desire for us to ever play the University of Washington again,” he told Canzano. 

“But I will tell you, John, from my experience when I was in the Big 12 and we watched Texas and Texas A&M go different directions, and Missouri, and Kansas, and these others. 

Everybody was angry for a year, but two or three years later, people are like, ‘Man, I miss those rivalries. That used to be such a big deal for us.’ “ 

Schulz is right. 

Rivalries ARE a big deal.

Kansas and Missouri had the longest unbroken streak of playing each other west of the Mississippi River until Mizzou took off for the SEC. 

Nebraska had headed for the Big Ten before that. 

“My experience of having gone through that, and recognizing, ‘Hey, realignment sucks, nobody likes it, but let’s not lose some of those long-term rivalries,’ “ Schulz said when explaining his view of hanging on to the Apple Cup. 

“I appreciate the fact that the University of Washington also came to it from that same perspective.  

“That it was important in the state for the two large Division I football-playing schools to continue to play each other. So, I think it’s going to be important to our fans.  

“I think it’s fun in the state when those things happen.” 

Schulz made several interesting points during the interview with Canzano, and if the gentlemen involved don’t mind, we’ll share more down the road. 

You might feel better, Cougs. 

I do. 

Email: scameron@cdapress.com 

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press four times each week, normally Tuesday through Friday unless, you know, stuff happens. 

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”