Andrew Luck calls for rivalries, rituals to be preserved amid changes in college football

Over the last five years, the college sports landscape has seen a wave of change between NIL, the transfer portal, revenue-sharing and conference realignment. But as the space continues to evolve, Stanford general manager Andrew Luck said he hopes football, in particular, doesn’t lose its way.

>Luck called for rivalries to remain in place even as realignment shook up the Etch-A-Sketch. The Pac-12 was notably hit by realignment as Oregon State and Washington State were left to rebuild. Wednesday, the conference entered a new era with six new full members, as well as Gonzaga, joining.

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>But without a “power” conference on the West Coast, Luck hopes rivalries such as Oregon vs. Oregon State and Washington vs. Washington State stay in place in the modern era. He argued it’s part of what separates college football from other sports even as the landscape transforms.

>“I hope we don’t lose some of what makes college football special,” Luck said on The Triple Option. “Like, Oregon playing Oregon State is a really cool game. The Apple Cup in Washington is cool. I’m sad that the West Coast doesn’t have a premier conference because that conference was awesome. I was part of it. It was great. Thankful to be in the ACC. It’s awesome. But I hope we don’t lose the rivalries, I hope we don’t lose the rituals.

>“I hope we don’t lose the connective tissue that makes college football – it’s big, big, big business. It’s also silly. Like, a lot of it doesn’t make sense. A lot of it’s been built off of geographic rivalries. And I love that. I love growing up a college football fan. I grew up in Europe because my dad was working for NFL Europe. But I would turn Armed Forces Network on every Saturday and all they showed was Penn State. So, I hate Penn State because of that, right? Show me somebody else. Show me the Mountaineers. I want to see West Virginia. My dad played there.”

Andrew Luck: College football brings generations togetherWith the 2026-27 season on the horizon, college football is still evolving. The rev-share cap officially increased to $21.3 million on Wednesday, as per the terms of the House settlement. Multiple schools also changed apparel brands and NIL dollars are rising on the recruiting trail.

>But even as the sport takes on a new look, Andrew Luck said there’s a “religious” feeling about college football. It can bring generations together, which is why he argued it’s still special.

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>“College football, I think, is almost religious in its convening ability, its intergenerational connective tissue. … I hope we maintain some of that spirit. I really do,” Luck said. “A college scholarship is still an unbelievable human development vehicle, especially, I mean, all across the continuum of sports. It trains leaders, right?

>“And football, yes, is a little different. Maybe hoops is a little different because of how big the business is around it. But still, a college experience, I want to believe can hold inappropriate tension. The playing, the NIL, revenue share – whatever the business aspect is – and a level of, like, transformation through education, learning, growing up. Like, I certainly needed it and still need it.”