PASADENA, Calif. — Pacific 10 Conference and Rose Bowl officials are considering an annual kickoff game — maybe pitting the Pac-10 against the Big Ten — that would give the West Coast a stronger presence at the start of each college football season.

With the conference borrowing the Pasadena stadium for its annual media day Thursday, officials said the idea is in the discussion stage.

“The Pac-10 has a tradition of playing some really tough out-of-conference games early on,” Commissioner Larry Scott said. “We love the Rose Bowl relationship.”

The Pigskin Classic was played at Anaheim Stadium in late August each year through the mid-1990s. It revisited Southern California in 1998, when USC faced Purdue in the Coliseum.

“There’s a lot to think through,” Scott said. “I would only want to do it if it wouldn’t tarnish what it means to play in the Rose Bowl. This is hallowed turf.”

— The Associated Press