What’s the fascination people have on this board with West Virginia and Connecticut? Of all the former Big East schools, WVU is the one that’s making the most money (Rutgers is still not getting their full Big Ten money), has been more or less relevant in football and basketball is doing good with annual games against a true blue blood. What have exactly Miami, Syracuse, Boston College, Pitt and Louisville donde since joining the ACC? How many ACC football championships do they have? Only Virginia Tech can have that argument. Yes, West Virginia hasn’t won a Big XII championship either but it’s not like the former Big East schools in the ACC are tearing it on the field. They don’t need any travel partner(s), it would be nice to have one one or two but it won’t be the end of the world if they stay on an island. They can only look at UConn, Cincinnati and South Florida to be thankful they’re in a power conference and not in the G5 purgatory.

But I’ll play along:

-WVU has football games against Texas and Oklahoma. TCU, Baylor, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Kansas State and Iowa State are not a walk in the park. They’re capable of beating WVU every Saturday which is something the Mountaineers didn’t experience in the Big East of 2005-12. Even Kansas is showing progress under Les Miles.

-The Big XII is a very strong basketball league. #1 Baylor, #3 Kansas (they might be ranked #1 on Monday), Texas Tech, TCU, Iowa State, Oklahoma State......it’s not the Big East of 2005-13 which was the best basketball conference ever but basketball is very competitive.

-With the exception of Kansas, every Big XII institution is a football first school. WVU fits culturally with most of the flagship/land grant institutions. They lost Florida exposure but gained Texas recruiting access so it’s a wash. They get to make almost $40 million. Not bad for being in an island. The new Big East is a terrible fit for WVU. With the exception of UConn, they’re all private schools in metropolitan areas without football or if they have one like Villanova, it’s at the FCS level. I guess going to MSG in March is better than going to Kansas City but other than that I can’t think of any benefit WVU and the Big East would get from each other.

Let me repeat, I am not suggesting West Virginia leave the Big 12 in football. It's their other sports I'm suggesting West Virginia leave the Big 12. Do you all think Hawaii should move all of its sports to the Mountain West while you're at it? Can you imagine their volleyball teams having to travel to Boise? Navy all its sports to the AAC? WVU football works in the Big 12, no argument there. Doesn't mean their men's golf team works in the Big 12.

(02-23-2020 02:31 PM)schmolik Wrote:  Let me repeat, I am not suggesting West Virginia leave the Big 12 in football. It's their other sports I'm suggesting West Virginia leave the Big 12. Do you all think Hawaii should move all of its sports to the Mountain West while you're at it? Can you imagine their volleyball teams having to travel to Boise? Navy all its sports to the AAC? WVU football works in the Big 12, no argument there. Doesn't mean their men's golf team works in the Big 12.

The Big East is not a good fit for them. Period. Private schools in metropolitan areas, lower payouts, nothing in common. Hawaii is not a good example because the MWC pays peanuts compared to the Big XII. Hawaii can fly to L.A., San Diego and the Bay Area since the Big West is a California based league and bus their teams. They’d still save money by not flying to Denver, Albuquerque, Boise, Salt Lake City, etc. Apples to oranges. Now, if the MWC paid at least $10 million per school and/or if Hawaii paid travel subsidies then it’d be worth having the Fighting Rainbows for all sports. WVU doesn’t have that problem in the Big XII. They’re getting paid. That’s all that matters to them. UConn flying to Dallas, Houston, Tulsa, New Orleans, Memphis, Wichita, Raleigh, Orlando and Tampa for a mere $2 million a year they were getting out of the headquarters in Providence was one of the reasons they decided travel in the Big East was better plus they do actually have a history with Villanova, Georgetown, St. John’s, Seton Hall and Providence. What works for UConn doesn’t necessarily mean it can work for WVU.

P.S. Most people don’t know Hawaii used to subsidize travel in the old WAC (before the 16 team expansion fiasco). For example, the UTEP and New Mexico basketball teams flew to L.A. under their own expense. Hawaii picked up the tab for the round trip from L.A. to Honolulu. Hawaii stopped doing that after the WAC-16 expansion so the Big West makes absolute sense to them.

(02-23-2020 02:53 PM)UTEPDallas Wrote:  

(02-23-2020 02:31 PM)schmolik Wrote:  Let me repeat, I am not suggesting West Virginia leave the Big 12 in football. It's their other sports I'm suggesting West Virginia leave the Big 12. Do you all think Hawaii should move all of its sports to the Mountain West while you're at it? Can you imagine their volleyball teams having to travel to Boise? Navy all its sports to the AAC? WVU football works in the Big 12, no argument there. Doesn't mean their men's golf team works in the Big 12.

The Big East is not a good fit for them. Period. Private schools in metropolitan areas, lower payouts, nothing in common. Hawaii is not a good example because the MWC pays peanuts compared to the Big XII. Hawaii can fly to L.A., San Diego and the Bay Area since the Big West is a California based league and bus their teams. They’d still save money by not flying to Denver, Albuquerque, Boise, Salt Lake City, etc. Apples to oranges. Now, if the MWC paid at least $10 million per school and/or if Hawaii paid travel subsidies then it’d be worth having the Fighting Rainbows for all sports. WVU doesn’t have that problem in the Big XII. They’re getting paid. That’s all that matters to them. UConn flying to Dallas, Houston, Tulsa, New Orleans, Memphis, Wichita, Raleigh, Orlando and Tampa for a mere $2 million a year they were getting out of the headquarters in Providence was one of the reasons they decided travel in the Big East was better plus they do actually have a history with Villanova, Georgetown, St. John’s, Seton Hall and Providence. What works for UConn doesn’t necessarily mean it can work for WVU.

P.S. Most people don’t know Hawaii used to subsidize travel in the old WAC (before the 16 team expansion fiasco). For example, the UTEP and New Mexico basketball teams flew to L.A. under their own expense. Hawaii picked up the tab for the round trip from L.A. to Honolulu. Hawaii stopped doing that after the WAC-16 expansion so the Big West makes absolute sense to them.

Actually UH pays travel subsidies to the other Big West schools, with the exception of about-to-join newbies UCSD and CSUB. This was a condition of admission to the Big West but considered worth the cost since travel in the WAC was becoming untenable and the WAC was at risk of collapse.

Having said that your logic still applies since the MWC schools would no doubt demand the same subsidies if UH were to move its non-football sports there, and travel in the MWC would be much worse. Plus the Big West is more competitive nationally than the MWC in several non-football sports that UH emphasizes, including baseball and men’s and women’s volleyball.

(02-23-2020 04:38 PM)HawaiiMongoose Wrote:  

(02-23-2020 02:53 PM)UTEPDallas Wrote:  

(02-23-2020 02:31 PM)schmolik Wrote:  Let me repeat, I am not suggesting West Virginia leave the Big 12 in football. It's their other sports I'm suggesting West Virginia leave the Big 12. Do you all think Hawaii should move all of its sports to the Mountain West while you're at it? Can you imagine their volleyball teams having to travel to Boise? Navy all its sports to the AAC? WVU football works in the Big 12, no argument there. Doesn't mean their men's golf team works in the Big 12.

The Big East is not a good fit for them. Period. Private schools in metropolitan areas, lower payouts, nothing in common. Hawaii is not a good example because the MWC pays peanuts compared to the Big XII. Hawaii can fly to L.A., San Diego and the Bay Area since the Big West is a California based league and bus their teams. They’d still save money by not flying to Denver, Albuquerque, Boise, Salt Lake City, etc. Apples to oranges. Now, if the MWC paid at least $10 million per school and/or if Hawaii paid travel subsidies then it’d be worth having the Fighting Rainbows for all sports. WVU doesn’t have that problem in the Big XII. They’re getting paid. That’s all that matters to them. UConn flying to Dallas, Houston, Tulsa, New Orleans, Memphis, Wichita, Raleigh, Orlando and Tampa for a mere $2 million a year they were getting out of the headquarters in Providence was one of the reasons they decided travel in the Big East was better plus they do actually have a history with Villanova, Georgetown, St. John’s, Seton Hall and Providence. What works for UConn doesn’t necessarily mean it can work for WVU.

P.S. Most people don’t know Hawaii used to subsidize travel in the old WAC (before the 16 team expansion fiasco). For example, the UTEP and New Mexico basketball teams flew to L.A. under their own expense. Hawaii picked up the tab for the round trip from L.A. to Honolulu. Hawaii stopped doing that after the WAC-16 expansion so the Big West makes absolute sense to them.

Actually UH pays travel subsidies to the other Big West schools, with the exception of about-to-join newbies UCSD and CSUB. This was a condition of admission to the Big West but considered worth the cost since travel in the WAC was becoming untenable and the WAC was at risk of collapse.

Having said that your logic still applies since the MWC schools would no doubt demand the same subsidies if UH were to move its non-football sports there, and travel in the MWC would be much worse. Plus the Big West is more competitive nationally than the MWC in several non-football sports that UH emphasizes, including baseball and men’s and women’s volleyball.

I didn’t know that. I learned something new today. Thanks!

(02-23-2020 02:31 PM)schmolik Wrote:  Let me repeat, I am not suggesting West Virginia leave the Big 12 in football. It's their other sports I'm suggesting West Virginia leave the Big 12. Do you all think Hawaii should move all of its sports to the Mountain West while you're at it? Can you imagine their volleyball teams having to travel to Boise? Navy all its sports to the AAC? WVU football works in the Big 12, no argument there. Doesn't mean their men's golf team works in the Big 12.

WVU has made it this far despite being in a far-flung town relative to its conference mates with a third-rate airport. I think they'll be fine with their annual payouts. The Big 12 isn't going to expand and the Big East wouldn't want to go beyond 11 teams at this point. Nor would BC have any reason to leave the ACC. Much ado about nothing.

(02-23-2020 01:58 PM)UTEPDallas Wrote:  What’s the fascination people have on this board with West Virginia and Connecticut? Of all the former Big East schools, WVU is the one that’s making the most money (Rutgers is still not getting their full Big Ten money), has been more or less relevant in football and basketball is doing good with annual games against a true blue blood.

Because WV to the Big 12 was a both-sides-desperate shotgun wedding, and it remains a bizarre geographical outlier 8 years later?

The Big 12 isn't going to have affiliate members for a revenue sport. We have them for sports such as wrestling and women's gymnastics, but we're not going to have them for football or basketball.

In 2011, we needed a team, and they needed a place to go, so the Big 12 and WVU established a relationship. The distance makes it awkward. It's a simply a long trip for the other 9 of us, but it's even more awkward for them, as they have to recruit athletes to play outside their region, as well as take the trips to the Midwest and Southwest. The P5 money makes it worthwhile for them. They have been a good conference member. They are also institutionally like 8 of the 10 B12 schools as both a flagship and land-grant school. It's not an ideal situation, but both sides have made it work.

They would prefer to be in the ACC, which is fine and understandable. Based on what I have seen, I don't see that happening. They are simply not an institutional fit for the Big East.

(02-23-2020 10:26 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  Would the Big 12 be interested in this? No.

Would WV? No.

Would the Big East? No.

"See, for this reason and that reason, WV doing it is MORE plausible than BC doing it" ... but BC doing it is 500% "No". If WV is "merely" 450% No for this or that reason, for any practical purpose it's still a hard No. So that's not a reason to raise it.

The only reason the first question had any interest was it was at least argued that it was a one-sided "No". But this one is quite clearly a three sided "No" on a three sided deal, making it like the Cowboy who was all hat and no cattle, except he could afford a hat.

Hey, maybe Maryland could leave their football program in the Big Ten and bring the rest of their sports back to the ACC?

...or Nebraska could keep everything else in the Big Ten but return to the Big XII as a football only?

TCU could then return to the Mountain West for football!

Rutgers could move their football back to the Big East (would anyone notice?)

Miami could play their home football games at FAU!

Georgia Tech could play their games at Mercedes Benz Stadium (oh, wait!)

Texas is my second team. Since A&M and Nebraska left I’ve slowly lost interest in the Horns. Adding West Virginia was a huge mistake for the Big XII. I have zero interest in the Mountaineers in the Big XII. I wish they would leave.

(02-23-2020 10:18 AM)gosports1 Wrote:  of all the schools that were once part of the BE, WVU is probably near the bottom of the list of those the BE would want to come bacl.

"No one signed up for the Big East to go to Morgantown, WV" - anonymous Big East coach from the Requiem for the Big East 30 for 30, 2014

I'll say it for the 1,000th time- the Big 12 should have added an Ohio Valley wing to their conference- WVU, Louisville and Cincinnati. Would have put a whole new footprint into the conference, garnered attraction from new media outlets, brought in new rivalries and interest for the conference and put eyeballs for the conference in a different region. But alas, Cincinnati is a yucky city school according to schools in Texas.

No

No

(02-25-2020 07:58 AM)Hokie4Skins Wrote:  

(02-23-2020 10:18 AM)gosports1 Wrote:  of all the schools that were once part of the BE, WVU is probably near the bottom of the list of those the BE would want to come bacl.

"No one signed up for the Big East to go to Morgantown, WV" - anonymous Big East coach from the Requiem for the Big East 30 for 30, 2014

Eh, WVU's fine. If the Big 12 blew up in a particularly weird way I'd rather them than BC, given that WVU's basketball is decent and they actually have fans.