MORGANTOWN, West Virginia — This right here might be West Virginia’s best possible outcome when it comes to conference realignment.
If the Big 12 ever expanded to 20 teams and went to a four-division format like this, WVU would finally get something it has been missing since joining the conference in 2012 — a division that actually makes geographic sense.
Put West Virginia in the East with Pitt, Virginia Tech, NC State and UCF, and suddenly WVU has a conference schedule filled with games its fans would actually care about on a different level. The Backyard Brawl with Pitt becomes a conference game. West Virginia and Virginia Tech could play for the Black Diamond Trophy every year. NC State gives WVU another regional opponent with a passionate fan base, and UCF provides a major presence in Florida, which certainly doesn’t hurt from a recruiting standpoint.
This would be the ideal scenario for West Virginia. pic.twitter.com/55bQ0mRATi
— The Voice of Morgantown (@voicemorgantown) October 1, 2026
Think about how much better this would be for the fans, too. Instead of WVU constantly being the geographic outlier in a conference built largely around schools hundreds and hundreds of miles away, Mountaineer fans would have multiple road trips that are realistic. Pittsburgh is basically in WVU’s backyard. Blacksburg is drivable. Raleigh is manageable. Those are games where West Virginia fans could travel in huge numbers and create the type of atmosphere that made the old Big East so much fun.
And you wouldn’t have to destroy what makes the current Big 12 great to do it. Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Louisville and Cincinnati make a very logical North. Oklahoma State, TCU, Baylor, Houston and Texas Tech fit naturally in the South. Colorado, BYU, Utah, Arizona State and Arizona make perfect sense in the West.
Then you could build the schedule around four annual divisional games while rotating games against the other 15 teams. You preserve regional rivalries while still giving everyone an opportunity to play across the entire conference.
For West Virginia specifically, though, this would be about as good as it gets outside of an invitation to the SEC or Big Ten. WVU would get the financial stability and national reach of a major 20-team Big 12 while finally regaining the regional identity that was lost when the old Big East fell apart.
Imagine a late-season stretch where West Virginia is battling Pitt and Virginia Tech for the Big 12 East Division championship, with a spot in the conference playoff or championship on the line.
That would feel like college football again.
If the next round of conference realignment eventually leads to something resembling this, sign me up. For West Virginia, I’m not sure you could draw it up much better.
