MORGANTOWN -
West Virginia University and Big 12 headquarters in Dallas,
Texas are separated by 1,200 miles. That distance has not prevented the Big 12
from making numerous visits to Morgantown to support one of its two newest members.
Numerous Big 12 officials attended the Gold-Blue game in
April. New Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby was in Morgantown on July 1 to
officially welcome WVU to the conference on its first day of membership. The
Big 12 also flew a banner in the skies over Morgantown saying "The Big 12 Loves
WVU."
Big 12 Associate Commissioner of Football Ed Stewart
attended West Virginia's season opener against Marshall.
"It's a rabid fan base," Stewart said of West Virginia fans.
"They are really fired up. I am eager to see how excited people are to be in
the Big 12. My being here is an opportunity to show how excited we are in the
Big 12 to welcome West Virginia."
WVU fans cheered when a video played on the scoreboard
welcoming West Virginia University to the Big 12. It featured all eight of the
Head Coaches from the schools that were already in the Big 12 indicating their
excitement to have WVU and TCU join the conference.
Stewart took in his first WVU football game and saw West
Virginia hammer Marshall 69-34. He evaluated the atmosphere both inside and
outside the stadium. Stewart indicated he felt even more strongly about how
perfectly WVU fits in the Big 12 after watching a game at Milan Puskar Stadium.
"I think it compares favorably," Stewart said. "I have said
all along because of the enthusiasm of this crowd, it is very similar to a lot
of the Universities and Big 12 campuses that your fans will have an opportunity
to visit."
Stewart walked around the sidelines during pregame warmups
and spoke with various WVU coaches. He also shared a few words with Head Coach
Dana Holgorsen on the field prior to the game.
"This is the greatest time of the year for me," Stewart said
with a smile. "That is non-conference games and bowl games because I actually
get to have a rooting interest in today's game. I am rooting for the
Mountaineers all the way. I am looking forward to seeing Geno Smith play."
What Stewart saw was Geno Smith complete 32 of 36 passes for
323 yards and four touchdowns. Smith also added 65 yards rushing and another
touchdown on a broken play.
Stewart remains busy throughout the week keeping up with all
of the changes facing college football. That includes a new television deal for
the Big 12 as well as the Champions Bowl featuring the Big 12 and SEC
champions. That bowl game is set to begin in 2014.
"We are trying to finalize our new television contract,"
Stewart stated. "We've got this new Champions Bowl initiative, which we have
received bid proposals back from so we are evaluating those and hope to be able
to announce a destination site for that game in the next few weeks or so."
New Orleans, Atlanta, Houston, San Antonio and Arlington,
Texas have submitted bids for the new bowl game.
The television deal was verbally agreed to between the Big
12 and ESPN and FOX for $2.6 billion through 2025. It could be signed by the
end of the week.
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