On Monday, Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports reported that USC and Notre Dame failed to reach an agreement to extend their storied rivalry. After playing each other nearly every year for practically a century, the two schools will not face off in 2026.

Following the news, the two schools released a joint statement:

“USC and Notre Dame recognize how special our rivalry is to our fans, our teams, and college football, and our institutions will continue working towards bringing back The Battle for the Jeweled Shillelagh,” the statement read. “The rivalry between our two schools is one of the best in all of sport, and we look forward to meeting again in the future.”

At the end of the day, the statement is essentially nothing but word salad. The two schools should have been able to reach a compromise to extend their storied rivalry. The fact that they were not is embarrassing for both sides.

Per reports, the earliest that USC and Notre Dame could potentially play each other again is 2030. The fact that we will have to go at least four years—and possibly even longer—without seeing one of college football’s greatest rivalries played is truly sad for the sport, as well as all parties involved.

This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC football and Notre Dame release joint statement on rivalry