Well, so much for that basketball post I was hoping to do. Or something on the football game that is tomorrow night.
It looks like the Big 12 isn’t waiting for Mizzou the make up their mind. Everything but a formal announcement at this point has West Virginia heading to the Big 12.
The person said Tuesday that the Mountaineers had “applied and are accepted,” leaving only legal entanglements from making the move official. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal had not been formally announced.
The same thing is being reported locally in West Virginia.
WVU would be subjected to the Big East Conference’s exit fee and 27-month wait before it could leave. WVU was part of the unanimous vote last week to increase the exit fee from $5 million to $10 million. However, since no one has joined the Big East since that decision, WVU would only have to pay $5 million.
The details of WVU’s move are still being finalized — specifically when WVU could leave the Big East and join the Big 12, but the sources told the Daily Mail the decision has been approved on both sides.
WVU personnel are to meet Tuesday to discuss the resolution and an announcement could be made soon, likely as soon as Missouri says it is leaving the Big 12.
Man, are Hoopie fans going to be pissed when someone does the math for them, and they have it explained to them how long they may have to wait in the Big East. If they don’t storm the Providence offices and burn it to the ground.
We still don’t know when Missouri will formally make a decision. Their Chancellor, who has been given the authority to make the move, has remained vague on all things related to expansiopocolypse.
“There has been a coalescing of view on what is best for the University of Missouri longer-term, and that’s really driving where we’re heading right now,” said Deaton, who earlier said, “We’ve reached a firmness in where we are headed, where we want to analyze and focus our attention.”
Asked by host David Lile if he could assess a time frame on a resolution, Deaton said, “Our hopes were days, possibly a week or two. We’re hoping the sooner the better.”
While MU’s intent is rather clear, paving the way is another matter at play from multiple angles.
Among other key issues likely requiring negotiation would be departure fees and the timetable:
Whether it’s merely posturing for negotiating purposes or not, the Big 12 has indicated it wants MU to stay for 2012 because of criteria it needs to meet for inventory for its football television contracts.
The Big 12 seems to have targeted one or more Big East schools as potential replacements and may look to go back to 12 if MU becomes the fourth school to leave in just over a year, but the Big East has indicated through its actions with Pittsburgh and Syracuse that it would hold members to a 27-month departure time frame.
The implications of legal snares in turn could leave the SEC delaying an acceptance of a MU application until all such matters are reconciled.
The bad news for Pitt (and Syracuse), is that the Big 12 seems determined to stay at 10 rather than go to 12. That still puts the Big East technically alive and able to hold Syracuse, Pitt and now WVU for the duration. Again, unless the conference is dissolved or something amazing happens with regards to getting 3 new members in for the 2012 season, the Big East will not let any of the schools bolt early.
Obviously that can change. With West Virginia now prepared to leave the fold, Notre Dame is going to feel more pressure than before to make the hard choice on conference membership. Ideally they finally break and join the ACC which means Rutgers or UConn also go to make it a full 16. That would knock out half the football conference and the basketball schools would lose their one ace.
Notre Dame was not just the big brother of the Catholic schools, but the ties of ND to the Big East played a big role in the football side getting the bowl deals they have. Without that as well, dissolution becomes the proactive thing for the basketball schools. Get their revamped basketball conference up and running.
I don’t think it’s any exaggeration to say that all of this is going to get more convoluted, complicated and weird before it gets clear.
Academics do matter, and its sure nice to not have to hear/read all the ‘poor academic record’ reports that the WVU folks are hearing. Landing in the ACC was a GREAT move. It sure beats having to run to Lubbock or Stillwater for games! Or worse yet – hoping (as WVU has done for the last 4 wks), that someone (ANYONE) will rescue you from the sinking BE ship.
What if Mizzou doesn’t go – does WVU sign up for the $10 mill and life against SMU and Houston?? It sure is nice to be on SOLID ground. HTP and kudos to Nordenburg (and maybe even Peterson)!
BE is looking more and more interchangeable with C-USA in football. Maybe they should just merge into a ‘Super Mediocre’ conference. They can split the ESPN3 loot 40 ways.
Also a rumor that big 12 goes to 16 if that happens look for ucon and ND to go to ACC.
It mighy be what gets the ball rolling to the 16 team super conferences if so look for ND and ucon to ACC and big east to die
I’m just speculating, though. Trust me, I’d rather be in the ACC where I can drive to some away games. I agree with The Big Egg. Kudos to Nordy.
I think Luck’s big mouth did doom the Backyard Brawl though. Nordy is a little bitch about stuff like that.
They will be geographically isolated from the rest of the conference.
Closest opponent:
Iowa State at 871 miles.
Kansas — 900 miles
Kansas State, 981 miles
Oklahoma St. — 1091 miles
Oklahoma — 1140 miles
TCU — 1240 miles
Baylor — 1300 miles
Texas — 1400 miles
Texas Tech — 1472 miles
WVU may have to raise their game, when it comes to the claims that they travel well.
Added bonus. They were a back-up choice by the conference well after Pitt.
They offer ND but if ND hestiates they take ucon and rutgers to protect the east coast there space.
The SEC takes USF to keep big 12 out of there space
the big 12 takes wvu and louisville and cininnati and houston and smu.
ND goes to big 10.
the big east is dead no one waits for 27 months.
Second, I agree Pitt is much better off than WVU. We stay in only in one time zone. Our travel time is no more than it was when Miami was part of the Big Least. We have kept some of our rivals whereas WVU has lost all of theirs.
Last, I hope Notre Dame takes their Olympic sports to the Big Twelve. That along with the WVU move would be the end of the Big Least in not only football but also greatly weaken them in all sports.
To my knowledge so far only the Big Ten has an academic alliance between their schools. This alliance is called the “Committee on Institutional Cooperation” which is comprised of all the current twelve members of the Big Ten as well as former member, the University of Chicago. Hopefully some day in the not too distant future the ACC will form such an alliance.
But this is ONLY a 6 year or less reprieve for the Hoopies, as eventually Texas and her consorts will move to the PAC 12 and the remainders will be scrambling once again to find a BCS-AQ conf.
I bet that a-hole (or a-holes) from Loserville, their AD Jurich, loved this. Since HE LOST OUT YET AGAIN. Couldn’t happen to a nicer a-hole.
haha
I can see I-70, I-64 & I-40 littered with Billie-mobiles and 40 year old hoopie-trailers.
Plus they won’t be able to afford the gas either.
Sad Billie 🙁
Also not sure how kindly Texans will take to Hoopies running amok in Austin shouting obscenities to anyone in burnt orange. I’m pretty sure that punching pregnant women is frowned upon down there as well.
Yes, I’m actually glad they landed on their feet.
I would say they hit a solid double. Didn’t get left behind, and in the Providence Circle of Hell.
No rivalries, but like Pitt and everyone else, they are only one blown call, or one butt kicking (either delivering or receiving) from having a new rival. It will happen.
Geography is terrible.
On the good side, have some great teams coming in, in Okie, OSU, Tejas’ and Tech.
Hoops, got Kansas.
So, not the greatest, but still with one of the players in the conference scheme.
Worst thing, probably going to be more trouble with that conference in the future.
To the few WVU fans that are decent people, and the kids (10-16) like this was life and death, like I did with Pitt when I was a kid, I say, “good for you”, that was a terrible feeling you had, going to be left in the Providence sink hole.
I know that is how I would have felt.
Hats off again, Nordy and even Steve.
A sweet stroke of the bat, over the fence and out of the park!!!
Have fun Ricky P!!!!! Your in a mid-major buddy!!
Actually, they may yet take Louisville, but, any fondness I may have had for Louisville, Ricky lost all of that with me with his comments the past couple weeks.
What if Louisville does get a Big12 invite???
And they go??? “Rick, how come you guys aren’t sticking around, down with the ship, sticking together and all that stuff???”
The Big East could still have a great “Catholic” league in hoops. Would still be mid-major.
A great, great hoops conference, add Dayton, Xavier, St. Joes etc. etc.
But, in the eyes of the nation, they will be mid-major, by, not having football. Just the way it is.
Hey, what if the hoops teams do say, time to just form our own basketball conference and bag it all.
Where does that leave those 4 or 5 football teams?? Independents????
