Rivalries are sacred in college football, just like any other tradition. But the Big 10 tried to make additions, and the fandom is not taking it well. On Friday, the Big 10, in its new partnership with Venmo, sketched out new rivalry matches for football. 17 designated football games and eight trophy games are included.
That doesn’t alter the existing rivalry setup, but adds another chunk to the already stacked landscape. Aside from the gridiron, the rivalry series also covers men’s and women’s basketball. Venmo is also the Big 10’s official partner for the latest revenue-sharing model ($20.5 million revenue-sharing model) with the students. Big 10 Conference commissioner Tony Petitti said back in July. “This year, Venmo will present a new Big Ten rivalry series that will highlight some of the most storied matchups in college sports across football and men’s and women’s basketball.” NBC Sports’ Nicole Auerbach shared the latest matchup list on X.
This new series kicks off tomorrow with the Oregon-Penn State game at Beaver Stadium. And others are scheduled as:
To name a few games in the new series:
Michigan State at Indiana (Old Brass Spitton), September 27, 2025
Ohio State at Wisconsin, October 18, 2025
UCLA at USC (Victory Bell), November 29, 2025
Purdue at Northwestern, October 18, 2025
Michigan and Michigan State
This aim is another step for PayPal, which owns Venmo, to integrate its ecosystem on college campuses. Football is a huge part of the students’ lives, and this step will give another major boost to their visibility. Moreover, on some of the campuses, students will be able to pay their tuition fees through PayPal.
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Calls mount against Tony Petitti and the Big 10
The Big 10 came with its own set of new rivalry series, collaborating with PayPal and Venmo. As it seems, even after a decision that translates into more adrenaline rush, fans are absolutely not delighted to hear it. One X user wrote. “What exactly does this mean? Is it just branding for the TV broadcast? The game matchups aren’t new, not all of them are even rivalries, not all the trophy games are on here. What is the point of this?” College football churns out a lot of cash, and jumping on the bandwagon, Venmo has clicked on their latest venture by partnering up with the league.
“Penn State-Oregon is a long-standing rivalry filled with history! It dates all the way back to *checks notes* 2024.” Last campaign, the emotions peaked when Oregon faced off against the Nittany Lions in the Big 10 championship game at the Lucas Oil Stadium. The Ducks beat Penn State, 45-37. Another X user wrote, “Penn State and Oregon fans grew up hating one another. Makes complete sense,” the sarcasm pretty obvious in their tone. Another added. “The Big 10 office sat around and looked at Penn State and Oregon Twitter all week and said, yeah, that’s got to be part of a rivalry series.”
One individual wrote. “A lot of history in the 9-month Oregon/Penn State rivalry. Am I supposed to hate them now?” Marking a program that faced off against each other less than 9 months ago seems a bit far-fetched. Another user chimed in. “Penn State doesn’t want a trophy game or a rival. The Big Ten is obsessed with trophies. Honestly, is like a participation award for upper mid-west teams in hopes of giving them something to play for bc winning the Big Ten or going to playoffs is too far of a stretch.” Maybe time will turn these matchups into real rivalries. Until then, fans seem to agree that you can’t swipe your way into college football tradition.