Look: Oregon board chair takes Big Ten meeting from the golf course

Author:
James Parks
Publish date:
Aug 4, 2023 11:13 PM EDT

Judging by how things developed on what turned out to be a historic Friday in the college football realignment process, most people were taken by surprise when Oregon and Washington elected to back out of the Pac-12 and join the Big Ten.

And that included Steve Holwerda, the chairman of Oregon's Board of Trustees, who was spotted on the school's Zoom call about heading to the Big Ten while he was on the golf course. When you have a tee time, you have a tee time.

Not only did he have to answer the board of trustees' meeting call while hitting the links, but he even got to continue playing his round while the future of Oregon's conference designation was decided.

Thanks to the magic of technology, he got to take full part in deciding Oregon's fate while practicing his swing. Early on, he showed good form, but unfortunately did put one into the sand along the way.

All's well that ends well, though, and Oregon ended Friday by announcing it will join the Big Ten's super-conference project starting in 2024. A unanimous vote OK'd the Ducks' entry into the league, alongside border rival Washington, which is also moving next summer.

The move should prove highly lucrative for the schools as they join the richer conference, but their departure, along with four other schools in the span of a few days, could spell the end for the Pac-12.

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