Sad to see hoop series possibly end | The Salt Lake Tribune

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Taking a short break from football to talk about the Runnin' Utes who play at Utah State tonight. It could be the last in the series due to Utah's schedule adjustments it plans to make as a member of the Pac-10. Utah athletic director Chris Hill hasn't ruled out the series possibly continuing in 2012 or beyond but hasn't committed to working hard to make sure the series continues, like he did with Utah's rivalry with BYU. The stance Utah is taking is similar to the one with Weber State, which the Utes said they hope to "host," in coming years. The Utes are scheduled to play at Weber State next year as part of the final contract in which the teams agreed to play one another annually at alternating locations. I for one am sad to see these rivalries go. To me, in-state rivalries are much more interesting than bringing in teams with little connections to the area to fill a schedule, such as the Utes' recent games with Grand Canyon and Montana and Saturday's game against Oral Roberts. To me, it seems the Utes are getting a little big for their britches, basically telling the in-state schools (other than BYU) they don't need them anymore now that they are headed to the Pac-10. I know the Utes have more to lose image-wise in these matchups if they lose to the smaller programs. But at some point it would be nice if the Utes could get back to the level of play where wins over Utah State and Weber State are routine. Those are my thoughts on the series, what are yours?