Uncertain times throughout college athletics means some traditions go by the wayside, even if those longstanding hallmarks ounce felt untouchable. For the Oregon Ducks and the Oregon State Beavers, it feels as if their rivalry (started by the football teams in 1894) is more touch-and-go than ever before.
With timing and home advantages being main topics of debate around these two teams converging outside of an annual agreement, it appears yet another sport is finding the rivalry works better on neutral ground.
Moving the Basketball Rivalry to Portland
According to Bracketeer.org owner Rocco Miller, the Ducks and Beavers men’s basketball teams will meet at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon for their Nov. 19 matchup, which would mark the first regular-season neutral site rivalry game for this series since 1996’s Far West Classic.
The Far West Classic, which was a four-team tournament cooked up in 1956 by the Beavers, moved to the Memorial Coliseum in Portland around 1960 and became an eight team event co-hosted by the Ducks before changing hands to the currently named Moda Center and scaling back to four teams…