Report: WVU “Accepted” Into Big 12

 Send This Story To A Friend

Boy the rumors and reports are flying today.  I can’t type a word before someone else makes a new claim.

Pete Thamel of The New York Times is now reporting that West Virginia has “applied and are accepted” into the Big 12 “leaving only legal entanglements from making the move official.”

The fact that WVU is already accepted — if Thamel’s source is correct — shows that Missouri is already “unofficially” out the door.  But according to Thamel:

“Legal problems are holding up Missouri’s move, as it has to negotiate an exit fee, and there is a concern among Big 12 teams about how to fill the void in their schedules that Missouri would leave.  That creates two problems, as universities will have to scramble to find another opponent, perhaps from the Football Championship Subdivision.  A victory over a team from that level would not count toward a Big 12 member’s bowl eligibility.  It will also cause the Big 12 to fall short of fulfilling its television contract.  Both could be costly for the league.”

(Technically, the NCAA allows one win against an FCS school to count toward bowl eligibility, depending on the situation.)

Thamel also reports that the Big 12 is planning to stick at 10 schools for now.  (Talk of a push to 16 teams is nonsense.)

Isn’t it amazing how schools can jump from the Big 12 and MWC to the Pac-12, from the Big 12 to the Big Ten, and from the Big East to the ACC without massive threats of lawsuits?  Yet let anyone talk to the SEC and they’re going to be forced to lawyer-up.

At this point, Missouri is still trying to work out its departure from the Big 12.  As stated earlier, we still believe MU will be able to buy its way out of that league and we believe MU will be playing in the SEC East in 2012.  That’s the goal for all involved.

A collapse of the Big East would certainly speed up the process, though, allowing WVU to fill Mizzou’s slot in the Big 12 as soon as possible.  Anybody else out there want to finish off the Big East?