Reports: West Virginia Mountaineers Headed to Big 12, Missouri Tigers to SEC
by Year2 on Oct 25, 2011 11:42 AM EDT
in Conference Realignment
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PrintThe New York Post first reported at 2:39 this morning that West Virginia is set to leave the Big East and join the Big 12. I am honestly not sure about the Post's reporting bona fides (given its tabloid-y nature), which is why I didn't post anything earlier. However, CBS now has a source and Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune now has a source saying the same thing, so it's time to treat this like it's really happening.
The obvious reason why this is big news is because the Big 12 wanted to go with 10 teams if Missouri was going to stay in the conference. CBS says that Mizzou will formally withdraw from the conference soon, with WVU officially becoming a member in the 24-48 hours after that. So yeah: Missouri-to-the-SEC is going to happen not too long from now.
The Post is reporting that the conference wants to keep Missouri around for one more year and then bring WVU in as a replacement in 2013. How they would do that is an interesting question, given that Pitt and Syracuse have to wait until 2014 to join the ACC per the Big East's rules. The Post also says the Big 12 will consider going up to 16 teams, which runs contrary to all the previous reports saying that the conference would only go to 12 if Missouri left. The possible targets are the usual suspects: Louisville, Cincinnati, Boise State and BYU.
If the plan comes to pass as described by the Post report, it explains why the SEC has been focused on a 13-team schedule for 2012 only. The Big 12 would appear to be WVU's third choice, after it was reportedly rejected by the SEC and ACC back in September. A huge question is what Notre Dame would do if the Big East completely dissolved. The Irish are affiliated with the conference in everything but football, and they are included in the Big East when it comes to bowl bids. ND would probably look to get its current arrangement with the ACC first, but if John Swofford says no, the long-expected move of Notre Dame to the Big Ten might actually happen.
UPDATE
Seconds after I hit publish, this story from the New York Times' Pete Thamel came across my Twitter feed again confirming WVU as the Big 12's replacement for Missouri. Contrary to the Post, Thamel says the Big 12 would look to stay at 10 members.
The hangup with Mizzou is of negotiating the Tigers' exit, as the Big 12 has planned on having nine conference games going forward. If the conference has a year or two with nine members, it would obviously have to go with eight conference games. That means schools would have to scramble to find another non-conference opponent, not to mention the fact that the league wouldn't have enough conference games to fulfill its TV contracts.
The Big 12 really can't afford to drop below 10 members, so it will have to get creative given Missouri's desire to leave for next year and the Big East's exit policy that would seem to prevent WVU leaving before 2014.
Read more of Team Speed Kills' conference realignment coverage.
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FWIW
Despite the conference office’s official statements on the matter, I’m fairly confident the Big East will end up letting SU & Pitt (and WVU and anyone else) go after the 2012-2013 academic year as long as enough replacements have been lined up maintain an FBS conference (or if enough schools have found new homes that the Big East decides to stop sponsoring football).
Perhaps
But given the speed at which the Big East has been moving on realignment, it won’t get around to issuing invites until 2014 anyway.
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As much as I hated them for that before Syracuse got out
They really can’t do much until the Big 12 and SEC finish whatever they’re going to do. No one but the CUSA schools will move without knowing what they’re jumping into first, and every current football member would leave if another AQ conference would take them.
Even if the football Big East dissolves, I don't see why we can't keep them around for other sports
Notre Dame, Nova, and Georgetown headlines a decent basketball conference.
Also, Mizzou is going East, right?
Heel for school, Vol for life!
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by Incipient_Senescence on Oct 25, 2011 1:00 PM EDT reply actions
Notre Dame needs some kind of conference partner for bowl purposes. Otherwise, missing the BCS means plummeting to the crappy bowls usually played before Christmas that don’t have two solid conference tie-ins (like where Navy always goes).
I am expecting Mizzou to the East.
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The Big East without football schools would be tough for Notre Dame
How many of the football schools stay in the conference (even if the BE no longer sponsors football) would determine whether or not the Big East is viable for Notre Dame Olympic sports.
This is the number of sports each of the non-BE football schools sponsor:
Notre Dame: 23
Georgetown: 23
Villanova: 22
Marquette: 16 (in 2012-2013)
Providence: 16
DePaul: 15
St. John’s: 15
Seton Hall: 14
Without the football schools in the conference, there are roughly 6-8 sports the conference will either not be able to sponsor or not have enough to make a decent schedule for.
If at least a few of the football schools stay, they might be able to stick around. But with the loss of Pitt, Syracuse and some unknown combination of WVU/Louisville/Cinci, the conference Olympic sports will be not nearly as good as they were before.
Notre Dame could consider joining the A-10 or CAA, but their competitiveness in Olympic sports is nowhere near the level of the ACC, Big Ten, or Big 12.
Assumption is the mother of all @#%-ups.
I'm sure Texas won't have a problem finding a fourth non-conference team to play
…Speaking about Arkansas, of course. I believe they still owe us one game in a home and away series.
I keep seeing an OrangeBlood report
Indicating that Notre Dame is bringing all it’s non-football sports to the Big XII, along with a deal to play 6 teams a year in football. I know it’s OrangeBloods and all, but still, it’s starting to make sense, given the demise of the Big Least.
http://texas.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1283801
DawgSports/Falcaholic/Talkin' Chop
At some point I can remember seeing ND wanting to do that with the ACC but the ACC saying it had to join up in football too. Then later, ND was going to get its Big East-style arrangement with the ACC with UConn coming aboard as the 16th team. Now there’s this.
Ultimately, I think the conclusion is that Notre Dame isn’t sure what it wants to do yet.
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In a way, it makes sense.
The Big East is dying and people from ND have said they would move to another conference if the Big East became non-viable.
If ND ever joined a football conference then they would prefer the ACC and then the Big Ten. They still want independence and so the next best option is to stick their non-football sports in the BIg 12 and apparently they might have a scheduling agreement as well. Throw in some better bowl tie-ins and more opportunities to recruit in Texas and they might actually see it as a good idea. Even if they play 6 Big 12 teams every year then can keep all of their annual rivals.
As a Big XII fan
I would love to get ND. But, I am not crazy about allowing them to be half-in, half-out like the Big East did. I could possibly live with 6 football games, but it is their desire to grab the bowl tie ins while not 100% in the conference that are going to be an annual fight.
We're Texas, We're not OK.
Texas Fans
Not interested in a school getting special treatment? Shoe is on the other foot now, eh?
DawgSports/Falcaholic/Talkin' Chop
by blackertai on Oct 26, 2011 4:26 AM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
We've never had any special treatment in bowl tie-ins
We’ve always had money issues which Aggies were 100% a part of—including they demanded a higher share of the NU/CU exit fee money. The comparison of bowl ties and money are apples and oranges.
SEC also allows seperate deals on tier 3 such, so not really any diffrent then if ND came to you and asked to have a special bowl tie-in. Speaking of which, SEC’s little attempt to get extra BCS bids and bowl tie-ins is going to fly about as well as our precious LHN. (ugh-I hate those 3 letters nowadays). Not sure where Slive is going with that, but that dog don’t hunt.
We're Texas, We're not OK.
Being that conferences are expanding and 1 conference is pretty much evaporating(Big East)...
….the push to get more teams in the BCS from one conference is only logical and more or less inevitable.
Comparing Texas not having special treatment for bowl tie-ins and yet having special treatment in pretty much being allowed to run the conference is indeed comparing apples and oranges. Thank you for pointing that out.
And the SEC’s rules on 3rd tier rights are not the same as what you find in the Big 12. Texas would never have been allowed to enter the SEC and retain the LHN in much the same way the Pac 12 and Big Ten wouldn’t have them. For that matter, none of the SEC members are interested in signing a contract with ESPN to try to prevent the rest of the conference from getting a 3rd tier based conference network. There will be an SEC Network in the not too distant future so any similarity we have with the Big 12 will be totally wiped away.
If I were you
I wouldn’t want ND in without being “all-in.”
As an ACC fan, I’m glad that it’s clear that Notre Dame is either “all-in” or “not in” for the ACC. I think if the Big 12 brings them on as a half-member, they’re asking for trouble.
Assumption is the mother of all @#%-ups.
Notre Dame allowed to be a parasite, what's new? Lol
So tired of ND and how almost all bend over backward to help them out because of what happened in ancient history for the most part. Never says much of a conference that takes them on a part time basis.
Reporter: What would you say a Greg Studrawa offense is like? Stud:
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GET TO THE RIM HEAT (and SKY)! ATTACK THE PAINT!
by mjtig on Oct 26, 2011 11:27 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
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