The Forgotten Schools of Conference Realignment

The road to the college football hinterlands is stunning, winding its way through Oregon’s Willamette Valley, hills and vines in all directions, home to vineyards producing some of the world’s finest pinot noir. If you take State Highway 99W south from Portland, the drive takes a little longer, but, says Oregon State athletic director Scott Barnes, “It’s absolutely worth it.” Eventually Barnes’s town, Corvallis, emerges as if from nowhere, all leafy streets and country diners, Hawaiian barbecue takeout carried back to dorms by students in oversized sweats. Signs plastered around campus call this “The Best College Town in the Pac-12,” and the label feels deserved.