WVU Officially Big XII-Bound for 2012 Season, Further D*#$ing the Big East and UC

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Excuse my tardiness on this. When this was announced last Thursday I was itching to get my thoughts about it on paper so to speak. Unfortunately I wasn’t near a computer at the time and the aftereffects of late night shenanigans kept me out of action the following day. So even though it’s somewhat old news, the message hasn’t changed:

First of all, I have the utmost respect for the West Virginia athletic program. In football I’ve always seen the Mountaineers as the flagship of the Big East, consistently piling up 8-9-10+ win seasons and representing the conference in big bowl games. If you were looking for a program that knew how to do it right, you looked at the Mountaineers. Milan-Puskar Stadium is a gem of an on-campus stadium and Mountaineer fans pack it to the brim. Also I understand the desire to switch alliances from the Big East to the Big XII. If Cincinnati were in the same position I would drive down the Clifton and help scrub off the Big East logos myself. But Oliver Luck is a gigantic ass. It’s no secret that West Virginia athletic director has had a major problem with the Big East management. I mean you’d be hard pressed to find a figurehead in the Big East that didn’t speak his mind to reporters more than Oliver Luck. He even had the arrogance to call out Syracuse for leaving for the ACC just months before West Virginia announced their intentions to join the Big XII. Does anyone else see the irony in that?

Now, after a tireless series of lawsuits as to when West Virgina would be permitted to actually leave the Big East, Oliver Luck has finally gotten his way. At a price of $20 million ($15 paid by WVU, $5 by the Big XII, essentially), the Mountaineers have been granted their exit from the Big East for the 2012 season. They just couldn’t stand staying in the Big East for one or two more seasons. They had to get out now. With the loss of WVU, Big East football now has 7 teams to play conference games. Sure there are options to flip that money and give it to Boise State to help them with their Mountain West exit fee. The idea is to essentially plug them into West Virginia’s place on the 2012 schedule but nothing has been hammered out of late. Another ridiculous notion is one of home-and-home games within the Big East schedule. Project that out to the rest of the conference and Cincy could be looking at a home-and-home with Louisville for example. What the heck are they planning on doing with the Keg of Nails? Let the winner of the first game keep it then give it to the winner of the second game 3 weeks later?

Jeebus, what a cluster this has become.

With this development West Virginia has created further problems for Cincinnati’s 2012 football schedule. I wrote extensively last week about what kind of situation UC was truly in. As it stands right now the Bearcats are looking for an 11th and 12th opponent with just under 7 months to go until the season begins. This is WAY late in the game, people. Let’s hope like hell that the Big East can convince Boise State, Houston, or whoever has a functioning football program to join the conference early. Otherwise UC is in serious danger of pulling a Rutgers and loading their schedule up with FCS schools. F&%# me.

Thank you, Oliver Luck and West Virgina. Let us know when you’re done burning bridges. Some of us would like to act like rational human beings.