MORGANTOWN -
It has been a long
time coming for many involved in the conference realignment shuffle going on in
college sports at West Virginia.
On Tuesday afternoon, West Virginia University officially became a
member of the Big 12 Conference.
After weeks of scanning message boards, following social media and
refreshing websites, it is finally over for Mountaineer fans everywhere.
Interim Big 12
Commissioner Chuck Neinas was in Morgantown Tuesday afternoon to help welcome
WVU to the conference. Not only
was it a press conference, it also felt like a party with the Mountaineer pep
band and cheerleaders being in attendance. Neinas thinks that West Virginia just seemed to be the
perfect match for the Big 12.
"We did have
considerable interest and the expansion committee went through and took a look
at all those who had shown interest and West Virginia just stood out," Neinas
said. "Their academics fit well as
a land-grant college with a number of our members and everything just seemed to
fit."
Many rumors spread
last week that the Morgantown Municipal Airport did not have a long enough
runway to suit many schools when they had to come to WVU to play. Also, many complained that
geograpically the move to the Big 12 did not make any sense. In the end, neither of those mattered
in the final decision.
"It really was not an
issue," Neinas said. "It was just
something to talk about. For
example, the longest trip in college athletics today is Tuscon, AZ [University
of Arizona] to Seattle, WA [University of Washington]. That's been in the [Pac-12] for years
and nobody talks about it. It's
near 1,700 miles. You go to
Boulder, CO, to play and you land at Denver International Airport which is 45
miles from Boulder so like I said, it's just something to talk about."
One of the most
important people to help make this move happen is Athletic Director Oliver Luck. He did an amazing job throughout the
entire process of keeping things quiet and under the rug, but now that it is
over, there are issues that need to be worked out. If WVU does join the Big 12 like it is proclaiming in 2012,
they currently have 13 games scheduled which would be too many. With nine conference and four
out-of-conference games, a few details need to be worked out between the
conference and the school.
"We have a lot of
work to do to sit down with the Big 12 and to discuss all of the issues," Luck
said. "At this point I can't
really talk about scheduling or travel but we realize we have a lot of stuff to
work on and those are all issues that will be focused on over the next three
weeks. We'll get issues resolved
as we always do. We'll do what's
prudent for the student-athletes, the university and do what's in the best
interest of our program."
Head Football Coach
Dana Holgorsen is no stranger to the Big 12. He spent several seasons at Texas Tech as an assistant under
Mike Leach. He was also the
offensive coordinator at Oklahoma State before heading to West Virginia where
he would eventually become the head coach.
Holgorsen also made
it clear when he arrived at WVU that he will recruit the state of Texas and
areas of the midwest. With the
move to the Big 12, he feels it will improve recruiting.
"It solidifies your
future," Holgorsen said. "The Big
12 is here to stay and it's a very powerful conference. They've won national championships and
I know they set the standard from a national exposure standpoint with TV and
facilities. Kids across the
country understand what kind of football that is.
"At least we have
something that we can tell the recruits and there's no uncertainty that people
can use against us. We'll keep
recruiting the areas that we've been recruiting but we'll branch out to parts
of the southwest as well."
If WVU has its way,
this season will be the last time the Mountaineers fight for the Big East
title. With four games remaining,
Holgorsen hopes they can bring home the title in their final attempt.
"You would think you
would want to win the title anyway," Holgorsen said. "That was the goal we set forth at the beginning of the year
and we've put ourselves into position where that is obtainable, but we still
have to go out there and play to the best of our ability each and every
week. If nothing else it probably
made the bullseye on our back even bigger so we have to be prepared every
week."
Holgorsen is not the
only head coach at West Virginia that is familiar with the Big 12. Head Basketball Coach Bob Huggins was
at Kansas State for a season before making the jump to WVU in 2007. Although football seems to be the driving
force with conference realignment, this move means a lot to basketball. The Big East was considered one of if
the not the best basketball conference in America, but the Big 12 is no joke on
the court.
"I think I know a
little bit more about the conference than anyone else since I coached in the
league for a year," Huggins said.
"I think the thing our people will find out is the venues there are
incredible. When you go to
Stillwater and they're playing Prairie View, they're going to fill it. There's a great passion for basketball
at Oklahoma State, Kansas and Kansas State."
With the ongoing
lawsuit against the Big East, it is uncertain yet whether or not West Virginia
will be playing in the Big 12 next season or 27 months from now, but there is
no doubt that there is a newly found excitement in the air around the WVU
Athletic Department.
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