West Virginia University won its legal battle with the Big East.
Yes, when all the details of the agreement are revealed there will be legitimate questions about whether it’s in the best interest of WVU to pay the Big East $20 million, even though about half of that money will come from the Big 12.
And, yes, there will always be those who say WVU is hypocritical for holding former Coach Rich Rodriguez to his contract while breaking its own with the Big East.
But ultimately, in this messy break with the Big East, West Virginia University did what it had to do, which makes the settlement a practical and financial victory for WVU.
Big East football is withering on the vine. It has largely devolved into a conference that major football programs want to leave, not join. For coaches, many of the football schools are a stopping point, not a destination.
West Virginia was one of the exceptions, but staying in the Big East would have meant risking being sucked into the vortex of football mediocrity. And once a school starts down that path, it’s difficult to recover.
Moving to the Big 12 keeps West Virginia in play with other major football programs, schools with history and tradition; institutions that are coaching destinations, not stepping stones.
The Big East has schools that play football. The Big 12 has football programs.
With Missouri leaving, the Big 12 needed another school now. West Virginia really didn’t have the option of waiting another year or two, which also explains why the Big 12 is willing to chip in substantially on the financial settlement.
Geographically, the move for West Virginia is absurd. The nearest member, Iowa State, is nearly 1,000 miles away, making travel extremely difficult for football fans and virtually impossible basketball fans for a midweek game.
But these are the times in which we live. Had logic dictated conference alignment, West Virginia, Pitt, Penn State, Syracuse, Boston College, Rutgers and a few others would all be part of the great Northeastern Conference.
Financially, West Virginia will be strained by the additional travel costs, particularly for non-revenue sports. But the potential rewards are much greater in the Big 12. West Virginia officials believe the annual payouts from the Big 12 will be in the $17-$18 million range, more than twice what it got from the Big East.
Additionally, improved conference opponents should help drive ticket sales for home games.
Legally, WVU prevailed for two reasons:
First, WVU made it clear, publicly and privately, that continuing to play in the Big East was not an option. WVU was going to play a Big 12 schedule in 2012 no matter what happened with the suit.
West Virginia gambled (although the odds were in its favor) that any potential order from a Rhode Island judge for WVU to continue to play in the Big East was unenforceable. Eventually, that fight would end up in a West Virginia court, where WVU would likely get a favorable decision.
Second, the Big East had to be getting pressure from its members about 2012 scheduling. If West Virginia was going to refuse to play Louisville, South Florida, Rutgers and other league teams, those schools had to think about filling their schedules.
The longer the legal fight continued, the more trouble those Big East schools would have finding opponents.
True, the idea of West Virginia in the Big 12 takes some getting used to, and I’ve already been warned by one Big 12 observer in Kansas City that Texas is the league’s big dog, thus generating animosity with other league members.
But this will also be an exciting transition, one where the die-hard West Virginia fans can enjoy matching up with national programs and creating new rivalries.