First XFL, Now Big-10 and Pac-12

Two decisions announced within just a couple of hours apart from each other on Tuesday (Aug. 11) made the seemingly inevitable official. Both the Big 10 and the the Pac-12 conferences came out, despite hoping against hope, to say that their fall football seasons will be postponed.
The short-lived XFL was the first casualty last winter when the coronavirus pandemic began spreading. The league has since been salvaged, at the 11th hour, when WWE and action film star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and some co-investors bought the entire league before it went on the auction block. Many smaller and mid-major colleges have subsequently shuttered their seasons and, now, Power 5 conferences are following suit.

Will the NFL be the last domino to tumble? What will a spring college football season look like? How will the NFL draft be affected? Will student-athletes on scholarship have those still honored or can they keep their eligibility while opting-out?

ESPN.com staff writer Bill Connelly ruminates on those questions in this piece.

Until then, here are some Apple Cup memories to tide us over as we wait for the Huskies, Cougars and college football in general to return.

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