Morgantown, West Virginia – Ever since the Texas Longhorns and the Oklahoma Sooners announced that they would leave the Big 12 Conference for the SEC, there have been conversations and rumors surrounding where the West Virginia Mountaineers would eventually wind up.
Many West Virginians have made it known that they hope that the Mountaineers will end up playing in the ACC Conference.
Geographically and from the standpoint of playing against former Big East rivals like Pitt, Virginia Tech, etc., a move to the ACC makes a lot of sense for West Virginia. In addition, recruiting and travel for fans would be far easier in the ACC.
However, West Virginia’s Director of Athletics, Shane Lyons, doesn’t see it happening anytime soon.
Earlier today on The Mountaineer Insider podcast, Lyons said the following about West Virginia’s potential move to the ACC:
“You know, conference realignment is a two-way street. It’s not just a one-way street where the institution gets to just pick where they want to be in and they make a phone call and you’re into that conference.
There’s a lot of bureaucracy and things that happen behind the scenes I determine if they want you as a member of that conference. It’s a membership-driven organization.”
Lyons went on to say, “Right now there is no interest from the ACC to add West Virginia and there have been no talks whatsoever. We’ve been a solid member of the Big 12 Conference and that’s where we intend to stay.”
Lyons also added that he is very comfortable with the future of the Big 12 Conference: “I’m very pleased with the quality of the teams and the competitiveness that they’ll addd to the conference. We’ve added four really good teams and I look forward to the challenge of the new Big 12 Conference.”
Despite widespread rumors of West Virginia moving to the ACC in the very near future, it appears that the Mountaineers plan to continue to play in the Big 12 for some time.
