Will Coe-Cornell football series end?

Will 121 games be it?

They're going to do everything they can to continue the oldest college football rivalry west of the Mississippi River, but the athletics directors at Coe and Cornell admit they're not 100-percent certain their schools will play again after next season.

"It's kind of wait and see right now," Coe AD John Chandler said.

The uncertainty stems from Cornell's desire to leave the Iowa Conference and rejoin the Midwest Conference. The school has applied for MWC membership, beginning in the 2012-13 athletics season.

There are 10 schools from Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin in the Midwest Conference, though there are rumors of someone perhaps departing. If that doesn't happen, Cornell's addition - which still needs to be approved by the league - means 11 members, obviously.

NCAA Division III schools play 10 regular-season football games. You do the math there.

"We sure have every intention of continuing to play Coe in all sports," Cornell AD John Cochrane said. "In my conversations with John Chandler, Coe feels exactly the same way. But there is a little bit of an unknown if we are accepted by the Midwest Conference. What the structure of the conference schedule will be."

Cochrane said there is the possibility the MWC could go to two divisions, with limited crossover play, which would mean Cornell would need to find a couple of non-conference opponents. Hello, Coe.

The Iowa Conference would drop to eight schools, by the way, if Cornell leaves, and is expected to remain at that number for the forseeable future.

"I've told John, 'We want to continue to play you in all sports non-conference, not just football,'" Chandler said. "Because of our proximity, the rivalry between the schools, it just makes sense ... It's extremely important on our end, and I think it is to them. We take it very seriously."

The schools play football for the 120th time today at noon at Ash Park in Mount Vernon. The series began in 1891, with Coe owning a 64-51-4 series edge, including 10 wins in a row.

Coe is 8-1 overall and holds hope of qualifying for the NCAA Division III playoffs. Cornell is 0-9.

"We take a lot of pride in that rivalry," Cochrane said. "It means an awful lot to us, to our alums, to our student-athletes. It couldn't be more important, without question.

"It is wait and see. But the positive thing is we are both committed to continuing to play football."