The series of football games between the Pac-12 and Big Ten that was to begin in 2017 was suddenly cancelled Friday after several Pac-12 schools raised scheduling concerns.

The original plan called for a multi-year round robin between the two conferences, but the Pac-12’s nine-game conference schedule — compared to the eight played by its Rose Bowl counterpart — made the arrangement impractical. For some schools involved in long-term contracts with other nonconference teams — Stanford and USC, for example, play Notre Dame every year — adding yet another required contest to their yearly slate did not provide enough flexibility.

An additional series with a BCS conference would have also made it harder for struggling teams to qualify for postseason play, as they would have one fewer nonconference game against a weak, non-BCS squad.

 —Joseph Beyda