WVU's Road to the Big 12

[GoldRusher]

Notice, Slaton, that Nehlen said A major conference, not which one. When the next round happens, with a switch to four "super" conferences, the B12 will be the one gone, and WVU will be in the same boat again. I agree that at the time, going to the B12 looked like the only option, but looking back, would we have been better off with UL getting the nod? You guys say the ACC hates WVU, I do not know if they do or not, they had two agenda items: kill the BE, and make more money, had UL gone to the B12, WVU was the best money team left to be easily snatched up, I say if UL had gone to the B12, we would be playing our real rivals in the ACC today.

At first glance one might agree but after being passed on time and time again (mentioned in the article) I think Cincy would have prob gotten the nod.
IMO The ACC has near the same mentality as the old BigEast with perhaps Clemson, FSU, and maybe VT being the exception by having a football first mentality. We would have never been extended an invite and have had the door shut in our faces similar to the same way the old BE did with Penn State and again jmo, I think it was for the last time because I believe the ACC is now in the BigEast's old shoes, if the playoff expands to more than 4 teams then the ACC will be toast before the Big12, too many other P5's with more money want THEIR tvmarkets/schools/programs, not the Big12's.

 

[WVUDAD]

At first glance one might agree but after being passed on time and time again (mentioned in the article) I think Cincy would have prob gotten the nod.
IMO The ACC has near the same mentality as the old BigEast with perhaps Clemson, FSU, and maybe VT being the exception by having a football first mentality. We would have never been extended an invite and have had the door shut in our faces similar to the same way the old BE did with Penn State and again jmo, I think it was for the last time because I believe the ACC is now in the BigEast's old shoes, if the playoff expands to more than 4 teams then the ACC will be toast before the Big12, too many other P5's with more money want THEIR tvmarkets/schools/programs, not the Big12's.

I just dont see Cinci getting the invite to the ACC over WVU, they took UL because they were the one that gave them the most money and prestige. Had UL gone to the B12, WVU would have been the one that did that. Regardless, what is done is done, one thing for sure is that the next round of realignment will be interesting, and will not be the last. I think the B12 has the closest mentality to the BE, we saw the BE sit at 8 football teams, saying they were good with that and saw no reason to expand, same as the B12 is doing now, saying they are good with ten. The ACC lost one team to the richest, most prestigious league out there, otherwise, they seem to be pretty stable now. The B12 lost four teams to three different leagues, and three teams currently in the B12 were trying their best to get out at that time. IMO, once the shift to four "super" leagues happens, the B12 will be the one to die, I see Texas, OU, OSU, and TT going to the PAC, KU and IAST going to the B11, and Baylor, TCU, WVU, and KSU scrambling to get those last spots in the ACC or SEC, which SHOULD favor WVU. As to Houston, they had two hot periods, other than that, they were on par with Temple.

 

[bbwvfan]

UConn most likely would have received the invite. Far better basketball school than WVU or Cincy.

WVU was NEVER going to get an ACC invite. Everybody knows this…

 

[mad2mc]

UConn most likely would have received the invite. Far better basketball school than WVU or Cincy.

WVU was NEVER going to get an ACC invite. Everybody knows this…

Well, almost everybody.

 

[GoldRusher]

UConn most likely would have received the invite. Far better basketball school than WVU or Cincy.

WVU was NEVER going to get an ACC invite. Everybody knows this…

I could see that one too, in fact I think your correct, I was again thinking football first (its a Mountaineer thing L).

 

[GoldRusher]

I just dont see Cinci getting the invite to the ACC over WVU, they took UL because they were the one that gave them the most money and prestige. Had UL gone to the B12, WVU would have been the one that did that. Regardless, what is done is done, one thing for sure is that the next round of realignment will be interesting, and will not be the last. I think the B12 has the closest mentality to the BE, we saw the BE sit at 8 football teams, saying they were good with that and saw no reason to expand, same as the B12 is doing now, saying they are good with ten. The ACC lost one team to the richest, most prestigious league out there, otherwise, they seem to be pretty stable now. The B12 lost four teams to three different leagues, and three teams currently in the B12 were trying their best to get out at that time. IMO, once the shift to four "super" leagues happens, the B12 will be the one to die, I see Texas, OU, OSU, and TT going to the PAC, KU and IAST going to the B11, and Baylor, TCU, WVU, and KSU scrambling to get those last spots in the ACC or SEC, which SHOULD favor WVU. As to Houston, they had two hot periods, other than that, they were on par with Temple.

I guess it COULD happen but as long as Texas has that LHN its gonna be tough for any of the P5's that aren't desperate to get all members to agree to take it in. Time will tell I suppose, I don't see anything at all happening on that front until at least 2020 or so, so its time to make the best of our situation, win as much as possible, graduate as much as possible and spend very wisely in the arms race to remain an attractive choice should it come to that again.


If it does go down the way you think it might and WVU winds up in the SEC or BIG that would work out pretty well for most WVU fans either way but if those two pick the ACC then we wind up there? Well....yuck

 

[mad2mc]

I guess it COULD happen but as long as Texas has that LHN its gonna be tough for any of the P5's that aren't desperate to get all members to agree to take it in. Time will tell I suppose, I don't see anything at all happening on that front until at least 2020 or so, so its time to make the best of our situation, win as much as possible, graduate as much as possible and spend very wisely in the arms race to remain an attractive choice should it come to that again.


If it does go down the way you think it might and WVU winds up in the SEC or BIG that would work out pretty well for most WVU fans either way but if those two pick the ACC then we wind up there? Well....yuck

Absolutely GR. Anything could happen. How anybody can be pissed at where landed is nuts. Luck, Clements, and Nehlen did due delligence by making contacts within the ACC to find out where we stood on getting an invite. It wasn't a knee jerk reaction, as some WVU "faithful" claim it to be.

This move stopped the bleeding. What better place to land than the Big 12? It was the only place we could go and they invited us. We will have to prove ourself here and anywhere we go. We have a good fan base, but not a good market place. We have a good education process, but if we admit it to ourself, we could increase the admitence standards. It needs to start with the high schools. During Student Orientation a few weeks ago with my youngest, there was a guy I was talking to from the Clarksburg area whose son would have to take 6 semesters of math before he can even start in his major. That is unacceptable.

If the Big 12 implodes we will be back in the same position. Hopefully it won't if all the schools stick together. There are a few schools that were looking to leave the ACC. This may still be the case, for all we know.

 

[WVUDAD]

UConn most likely would have received the invite. Far better basketball school than WVU or Cincy.

WVU was NEVER going to get an ACC invite. Everybody knows this…

SO, because WVU was snubbed twice in 1950 from joining the ACC it means they will forever put more money aside just to stick it to WVU?? As you guys have said, money is ruling sports, and had UL got the B12 invite, WVU would have brought the most cash into the ACC of any of the other schools they would have been able to get quickly. Look who they had to choose from, WVU, UConn, Cinci, Temple, USF, UCF, ECU Its a no brainer.

 

[GoldRusher]

SO, because WVU was snubbed twice in 1950 from joining the ACC it means they will forever put more money aside just to stick it to WVU?? As you guys have said, money is ruling sports, and had UL got the B12 invite, WVU would have brought the most cash into the ACC of any of the other schools they would have been able to get quickly. Look who they had to choose from, WVU, UConn, Cinci, Temple, USF, UCF, ECU Its a no brainer.

They have snubbed us twice since 1990

 

[WVUDAD]

They have snubbed us twice since 1990

How do you figure? ESPN set up the meetings between Miami and the ACC, then Miami and Swofford decided to ask 'Cuse and BC, then the VA legislature got involved, getting VPI the invite over 'Cuse, WVU was steadfast in their support of the BE, as were the other schools, there is no snub there. Next was when sPitt and 'Cuse bolted, again it was discussions with those three parties, no snub. Luck and Clements sent out feelers, no vote was taken, nothing on paper, so again, no snub. You guys have a persecution complex, the ACC and Swofford were going after money, pure and simple, and if UL had been the B12 school, WVU would have brought the most bang for the buck, covered basically the same media markets as UMD, had similar travel, similar size, similar athletic history, and WOULD have got the spot UL is now in.

 

[GoldRusher]

How do you figure? ESPN set up the meetings between Miami and the ACC, then Miami and Swofford decided to ask 'Cuse and BC, then the VA legislature got involved, getting VPI the invite over 'Cuse, WVU was steadfast in their support of the BE, as were the other schools, there is no snub there. Next was when sPitt and 'Cuse bolted, again it was discussions with those three parties, no snub. Luck and Clements sent out feelers, no vote was taken, nothing on paper, so again, no snub. You guys have a persecution complex, the ACC and Swofford were going after money, pure and simple, and if UL had been the B12 school, WVU would have brought the most bang for the buck, covered basically the same media markets as UMD, had similar travel, similar size, similar athletic history, and WOULD have got the spot UL is now in.

I dunno bout that, the biggest market we would bring would be Pittsburgh and they got that with Pitt. Cincy would bring new market,at least part of it like us and Pittsburgh/DC ect.. that was part of my thinking on Cincy. The biggest obstacle IMO for UConn getting an invite is BC, same deal, great basketball, right up the ACC's ally but they already have a footprint in that market with BC.

 

[DCWV4life]

There is nothing set in stone that there will only be 4 confs, with teams like ISF, UCF, BYU, and ND and the markets they carry a 5 th conf is still a reality. If I was the Big 12 I would pick up USF and UCF now, both have great markets, Florida footprint, and IMO both teams in the right conf would flourish. Big 12 may be spread out but it still is very valuable.

 

[bbwvfan]

SO, because WVU was snubbed twice in 1950 from joining the ACC it means they will forever put more money aside just to stick it to WVU?? As you guys have said, money is ruling sports, and had UL got the B12 invite, WVU would have brought the most cash into the ACC of any of the other schools they would have been able to get quickly. Look who they had to choose from, WVU, UConn, Cinci, Temple, USF, UCF, ECU Its a no brainer.

In exactly what way does WVU bring more cash to the ACC than any of the schools you listed?

It seems a no brainer that WV is the least populated state and Morgantown the lowest market of any of them.

 

[WVUDAD]

In exactly what way does WVU bring more cash to the ACC than any of the schools you listed?

It seems a no brainer that WV is the least populated state and Morgantown the lowest market of any of them.

HUH, you were one of the ones saying that WVU is in the DC and Pittsburgh media markets. Anyway, in what dream world do you see that any of those schools brings more to the table than WVU? In exactly what way does UConn, your choice, bring more money to the ACC? The ACC lost UMD to the B11, and as far as most every category, WVU=UMD, they took UL to get the quick add, they would have done the same with us!!! WVU gets almost all of WVa, a lot of Southern PA, Western MD and VA, those other schools get but a small portion of their respective markets. Hell, look at sPitt, yes they are in the Pittsburgh media market, but how many TVs are tuned to sPitt football on Saturday?

Anyway we are where we are, and hopefully WVU will end up in a money league during the next round of realignment.

 

[bbwvfan]

HUH, you were one of the ones saying that WVU is in the DC and Pittsburgh media markets. Anyway, in what dream world do you see that any of those schools brings more to the table than WVU? In exactly what way does UConn, your choice, bring more money to the ACC? The ACC lost UMD to the B11, and as far as most every category, WVU=UMD, they took UL to get the quick add, they would have done the same with us!!! WVU gets almost all of WVa, a lot of Southern PA, Western MD and VA, those other schools get but a small portion of their respective markets. Hell, look at sPitt, yes they are in the Pittsburgh media market, but how many TVs are tuned to sPitt football on Saturday?

Anyway we are where we are, and hopefully WVU will end up in a money league during the next round of realignment.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but ESPN is still a cable station.... right? It essentially owns the ACC. The expansion of the ACC was done to increase its footprint With that known piece of information, exactly how would WVU expand the ACC's footprint?

The ACC wants a network similar to the SEC. Would WV and its cable subscribers look as attractive financially as markets like Tampa, Orlando, Philadelphia, Raleigh?

UConn adds NYC.

I recall the SEC flirtation with WVU, and ESPN was dead set against WVU due to the lack of TV sets and subscribers it could consider within its market. Has this analysis changed?

Even if nobody watches PITT in Pittsburgh as you claim, one can't just give WVU the Pittsburgh market.

That's the dream world I live in...

 

[DCWV4life]

I feel like this same conversation has been has minority's times with the sane things being said..we are in the big 12 gents..lol with the season on the horizon who cares about woulda, shoulda, coulda?

 

[WVUDAD]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but ESPN is still a cable station.... right? It essentially owns the ACC. The expansion of the ACC was done to increase its footprint With that known piece of information, exactly how would WVU expand the ACC's footprint?

The ACC wants a network similar to the SEC. Would WV and its cable subscribers look as attractive financially as markets like Tampa, Orlando, Philadelphia, Raleigh?

UConn adds NYC.

I recall the SEC flirtation with WVU, and ESPN was dead set against WVU due to the lack of TV sets and subscribers it could consider within its market. Has this analysis changed?

Even if nobody watches PITT in Pittsburgh as you claim, one can't just give WVU the Pittsburgh market.

That's the dream world I live in...

BB, where you are incorrect is in timing, YOU talked of Pittsburgh and DC markets and ESPN. The ESPN involvement was for the PLANNED expansions. In case you forgot UL to the ACC was a complete knee jerk reaction, much as WVU to the B12 was. There was only a slight amount of research done in both cases, just going after the best name they could easily get. That same knee jerk would have put WVU, the sexiest name out of the BE as the ACC's choice had UL got the B12 invite.

 

[bbwvfan]

And why would the ACC consider WVU sexy?

Since ESPN was in control of expansion, why would they favor WVU over any other school?

UofL was hardly a knee jerk reaction. It was a highly thought out selection.

 

[TexasExes98]

HUH, you were one of the ones saying that WVU is in the DC and Pittsburgh media markets. Anyway, in what dream world do you see that any of those schools brings more to the table than WVU? In exactly what way does UConn, your choice, bring more money to the ACC? The ACC lost UMD to the B11, and as far as most every category, WVU=UMD, they took UL to get the quick add, they would have done the same with us!!! WVU gets almost all of WVa, a lot of Southern PA, Western MD and VA, those other schools get but a small portion of their respective markets. Hell, look at sPitt, yes they are in the Pittsburgh media market, but how many TVs are tuned to sPitt football on Saturday?

Anyway we are where we are, and hopefully WVU will end up in a money league during the next round of realignment.

WVU is in a money league; mountaineers are making more money than they ever have and just signed a blockbuster deal for their 3rd tier rights. WVU won't make that kind of money anywhere else......

 

[WVUDAD]

WVU is in a money league; mountaineers are making more money than they ever have and just signed a blockbuster deal for their 3rd tier rights. WVU won't make that kind of money anywhere else......

Exes, I worry what will happen to WVU in the next round, when the B12 folds because the PAC came calling and Texas, OU, OSU, and TT go West. I also wonder about the near future with Holgorsen as coach, the losses are mounting, season ticket sales are down, the stadium was half empty for the final home game last year. Doesnt seem the right direction. Many on here only talk of making money, is that really all people want from their college sports? I couldnt care less how much money they make, I want to see wins, I want to see WVU play teams I care to play, and as witnessed by the 33,000 people at Mountaineer field for the IAST game, many agree.