Bill Oram: Amid Pac-12 realignment, Rich Brooks fears for future of Ducks-Beavers rivalry

Coach Rich Brooks of the Oregon Ducks watches his players during a game against the UCLA Bruins at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on Nov. 23, 1991. UCLA won the game 16-7. (Stephen Dunn/Allsport via Getty Images)Getty Images

At the summer meetings for what was then the Pac-10 Conference, a young Oregon football coach cornered an executive from one of the television networks. This was the late 1970s. The coach complained to the exec that his Ducks only made it on TV when they played USC or UCLA.

The coach was Rich Brooks, and he never forgot what the network suit told him.

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