Conference realignment has been the talk of college football for weeks now. The landscape is drastically changing. The likely departure of Oklahoma and Texas from the Big 12 has schools like West Virginia scrambling to find new homes. But would it necessarily be bad for West Virginia to stick around a re-constructed Big 12 Conference?
All things considered, yes, the ACC is the best fit for West Virginia. I mean come on. Pitt-WVU, VT-WVU, UVA-WVU… the amazing matchups are endless. Unfortunately, it may not happen, despite how much it makes sense. So, what is the next step? A reconstructed Big 12 Conference.
The Big 12 has already recognized prospective teams: Cincinnati, BYU, UCF and Houston.
Conference realignment: Big 12 reportedly targeting four schools — BYU, UCF, Cincinnati, Houston — for potential expansion: https://t.co/8ZzzhnfSt1 via @247sports
— Dean Straka (@DWStraka49) September 2, 2021
Now, I am a major fan of WVU to the ACC. But realistically, that won’t happen for at least another few years. And, if the Big 12 does successfully add these teams, I personally would be very content in a reconstructed Big 12 Conference. However, long term, I do not think it would be the best fit for West Virginia.
A conference with UCF, West Virginia, Cincinnati, Houston, BYU, Baylor, Texas Tech, Iowa State, Ok. State, Kansas State, and Kansas is ABSOLUTELY a power 5 conference. Of course, all this is hypothetical. First, because of the extremely volatile college football landscape, we do not know how things will shape up over the next several months. We also do not know how the television deals will shape up. Right now, it’s all purely speculation.
In the end, yes, West Virginia should be and deserves to be in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Will they get the invite sometime down the road? Maybe. For now though, a hypothetical Big 12 Conference with the previously stated teams is nothing to have your head down about in the short term.
