UCLA head coach Chip Kelly is enamored with the traditions and history of college football.
The Bruins, who joined the Pac-12 back when it was the Pacific Coast Conference in 1928, are gearing up for their final conference game before next summer’s move to the Big Ten.
Saturday’s opponent, California, and UCLA have met at least once each season dating back to 1933. That streak will come to an end and it’s unclear how long it will be until the schools face off again on the gridiron with the way schedules are finalized years in advance.
While rival USC, Oregon and Washington are leaving with UCLA for the Big Ten, both Arizona and Arizona State will join Colorado and Utah, the two most recent members when the league expanded in 2011, in the Big 12 next year.
Cal and Stanford will be playing in the ACC starting in 2024. The futures of Oregon State and Washington State are still up in the air.
UCLA and Cal will kickoff from the Rose Bowl in Pasadena at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN, making it the final regular season game in the conference’s history in its modern state.
The Bruins’ final game as a member of the league will be in the to-be-determined bowl game.
“For this to be the last game this league has, it’s sad,” Kelly said. “You know, I think I grew up in this league as a head coach. My first head coaching opportunity was at Oregon, and there was so much history and tradition.”