Lots of chatter of verbal agreements and things behind the scenes, but no actual, direct statements, spun press releases announcing anything. Heck, the Big 12 has even delayed their schedule once more.

The issues of WVU leaving the Big East for the Big 12 appear relatively settled. Just the details need to be resolved.

So, in lieu of anything in particular, a grab-bag of related stuff tied to expansiopocolypse that I found interesting.

Let’s start with the hilarious McConnell-Manchin feud in the US Senate. I think very little of either of them. The one thing I will say, reading that piece, is it does more to benefit DickRod than anyone else. DickRod has long claimed of interference while he was at WV from then Gov. Manchin as playing a role in his decision to leave. Astounding as it seems, DickRod is seeing his credibility improve thanks to Manchin’s antics.

Manchin — I suppose like most politicians — is a bit of a name-dropping ass as he shows in this story where he tries to answer the questions raised by the story of the feud.

First there is the anguish for which he spoke for all of West Virginia when the Big 12 delayed by a couple days taking WVU back in November that sparked the feud:

Manchin said the delay should not have happened.

‘We went through two and a half days of agony,” he said. “And just think if it would have gone the other way – it would have been very hurtful, because you know very well it’s not just about a football game or football conference. In our state, it’s like a rejection.”

…

“I’m sure that they were probably rubbed wrong on this, but this is a personal thing – we’ve got more important things to work on,” he said.

Well, more important things now that WVU is heading to the Big 12. And definitely more important things until the next time Sen. Manchin can flex his political muscle with WVU so he can be BMOC.

Then there is the lovely way in which he makes clear how much WVU was trying to get out of the Big East, and how the Big 12 was the fallback position.

“I thought we could have been in the SEC,” Manchin said. “I talked to my dear friend Nick Saban about that, and, like me, he said, ‘I would like West Virginia in the SEC,’ and we were working toward that.”

That effort proved unsuccessful, though no one talked publicly about it last fall.

“They chose Missouri instead, and then you never heard a thing else about it,” Manchin said.

And I’m guessing most of WVU’s athletic department — and the legal team that was fighting the Big East lawsuits — would have preferred not to have a US Senator confirm that WVU was indeed, desperately trying to get out of the Big East. Not that the Big 12 invited them as they claimed.

This blog is going to miss the low-hanging fruit of Hoopie behavior.

Now, back to West Virginia’s conditional settlement with the Big East. We all know the broad outlines. $11 million from WVU. $9 million from the Big 12/member schools. Here’s an additional wrinkle.

At least some of that $9 million, however, is expected to be in the form of a loan that West Virginia will have to pay back, probably through reduced shares in Big 12 revenue sharing.

West Virginia is already on a gradual revenue sharing track with the Big 12 as part of its membership agreement. The school will receive a 50 percent share in the first year, rising to 67 percent in the second year, 85 percent in the third year and 100 percent in the fourth year.

Looks like WVU isn’t getting out of the Big East that cheaply.

The departure of West Virginia, though, still leaves the Big East with the scheduling issue. Pressure seems to be growing to use a chunk of the settlement money from WVU to help pay Boise’s way out of the MWC a year earlier. The MWC by-laws actually allow it based on a formula of revenue and BCS standings. Something Boise is quietly in favor of doing. And, by the way, is there a greater reflection of the Big East’s overall pathetic nature in that it will have to pay the incoming member’s exit fee to get to the Big East — and Boise knows it.

The Big East and West Virginia are finalizing their terms of separation. Published reports indicate the Mountaineers’ exit will cost $20 million — with West Virginia’s new league, the Big 12, kicking in $9 million of that total.

Coincidentally (or not), it will cost Boise State between $7.5 million and $9 million to leave the Mountain West this year. A final amount won’t be known until the end of the school year when the Mountain West determines its per-school distribution of revenue.

…

Just tell the Big 12 to send its money straight to the Mountain West. And since the SEC is going to pay the Big 12 for taking Texas A&M and Missouri, it’s really just SEC money that ends up filling the Mountain West coffers, via the Big 12 and Big East.

Boise State should squeeze as much out of the Big East as possible, asking its new league to cover all of its moving expenses (including what it would owe the WAC to take its non-football sports a year early) and, perhaps, waiving some of its $2 million entrance fee.

The WAC is prepared to accommodate Boise State for all non-football sports in 2012-13, a league source said, removing one big hurdle to the move.

One issue, though is how to schedule Boise St. The easy way to do it would be to slot Boise into WVU’s spot. That would send Syracuse to Boise and the Broncos would visit Pitt. That won’t happen. We all know that the Big East will do the same thing the MWC did to TCU last year. Have both Cuse and Pitt go out to the Smurf Turf. Besides, Rutgers is not happy about the situation since they need a home game.

Rutgers would want Boise to come to Piscataway.

If Rutgers is forced to go to Boise, the Knights would not play at Arkansas, leaving a void on the schedule. Kansas State is still a possible non-conference option for the Knights in that case, but Rutgers already has built-in travel with its season opener at Tulane. Adding road games with Boise and either Arkansas and Kansas State is something the school is working to avoid.

If Boise joins the Big East this fall and plays at Rutgers, the Knights would likely fill out their non-conference schedule at Arkansas.

Florida State has an opening for a home game this year but is unwilling to return the trip, the person said.

The Rutgers people are also still ticked about the TCU departure — mainly at Marinatto and the Big East’s handling of it.  Because of the ramifications that went beyond the schedule issues.

The Big East’s settlement with West Virginia, allowing the Mountaineers to leave, comes after commissioner John Marinatto steadfastly said for the past five months that the league would hold any departing schools to the 27-month exit penalty. Under league bylaws, West Virginia was obligated to remain in the Big East through July 1, 2014.

But Marinatto may have undermined the league’s efforts to hold West Virginia in the league because of the precedent he set by allowing TCU to leave the Big East without ever playing a game. The Horned Frogs will start play in the Big 12 this season.

It does show how clueless and short-sighted the Big East offices and Marinatto were. Pitt and Cuse had already announced they were leaving. Everyone else knew UConn, WVU, Rutgers, Louisville and even Cinci were sending loud feelers out to any and every other BCS conference. Yet, the Big East never seemed to believe anyone else could possibly leave the conference or try to go early, and plan for that possibility. There was not even an effort to hold TCU for a year or more realistically — force the Horned Frogs to pay more to depart.

Is there any doubt that 2012 Big East football will have the weirdest vibe to it, ever?