West Virginia would be a Poor Addition for the SEC
Posted on September 20, 2011 by Jacob Bunn
One would think that writers, including myself, across the college football nation would be writing about things taking place in between the white lines on Saturday. Now that we are three weeks into the 2011 college football season, stories are plentiful. But, the main headline-grabber at the moment is, once again, conference realignment.
Over the previous weekend, the Atlantic Coast Conference announced that it has formally extended membership invitations to Syracuse and Pittsburgh, which are now both in the Big East Conference. This just continues the seemingly endless carousel of major college football conferences and their Wall Street-like pursuit of certain major schools.
Because of the revelation about Syracuse and Pittsburgh, the Big East is now one step behind in the realignment negotiations, and some fear that it could end up like the Big 12 – which is falling apart. So naturally, if you are a school in a Big East Conference that seems to have a tentative future, you are going to begin searching for alternatives.
For West Virginia, a program that has been solid in the Big East for years, the answer could be a move to the SEC.
Sunday, EerSports.com, a website covering West Virginia athletics, reported that the school may be closer to an agreement with the conference than most may think.
Anthony Krumpach, a writer for the website, tweeted about the matter. He said, “EerSports.com reported earlier that WVU appears to have sent paperwork to the SEC, all signs point to WVU being accepted once A&M is settled.”
He seems to be referring to the SEC’s negotiations with Texas A&M being a key to when West Virginia may finalize a deal with the SEC. If this report is true, West Virginia would be the fourteenth team in the SEC’s expansion process.
So let’s, for the sake of an argument, assume that the report is true and that West Virginia will be entering the SEC with Texas A&M. How do you feel about the move? Is West Virginia what you think of when you consider the strength of the SEC? Personally, I do not find the move beneficial for the conference.
The SEC has won five consecutive BCS Championships and has a reasonable chance to gain its sixth at the end of this year. This is a conference that is literally on the mountaintop of the college football universe, and while other conferences are making major additions, the SEC has to maintain its prestige by following suit. I don’t think adding West Virginia is a solution to that challenge.
The Mountaineers have had success in their tenure in the Big East. Several years ago, they had a chance to earn an appearance in the BCS Championship Game, and that opportunity was blown by a season-ending loss to arch rival Pittsburgh.
Coming to the Southeastern Conference should be a cherished opportunity, available for only a privileged few. The group that comprises the greatest college football conference on earth should all possess qualities of top-notch institutions. And West Virginia has never seemed to fit that bill. Whether it is the catfight that took place between former head coach Bill Stewart and current head coach Dana Holgersen before this season, the fact that alcoholic beverages are now served in Milan Puskar Stadium, or the tradition of burning couches after Mountaineer victories, West Virginia has always appeared to be a lower-tier program that catches success every once in a while.
Before now, I have scoffed at the possibility of Florida State and/or Clemson being added to the conference, but that was only because I believe the SEC can do better than that. West Virginia, however, is not better; it’s worse. I didn’t complain about Texas A&M because I honestly believe it is a positive addition for the SEC, even though it is certainly no Texas or Oklahoma. But, the addition of West Virginia would be quantity without quality.
West Virginia is not a southern state, so why would it be a good fit for the SEC? In fact, West Virginia was severed from being part of the state of Virginia during the Civil War to be its northern counterpart.
The state of West Virginia also does not provide a television market that is comparable to some of the other possibilities on the horizon. Which would you rather add, Virginia Tech and have some of the Washington D.C. market, Missouri and have some of the Kansas City and St. Louis markets, or West Virginia and have the mountain and mine market? I know which one I am not going with.
The real issue here, though, is the fact that the SEC seems to be taking an almost passive stance in the conference expansion process. Yes, the league has made progress toward acquiring Texas A&M, but that is a far cry from Texas or Oklahoma, which are rumored daily to become members of the Pac 12 soon. Larry Scott, the Commissioner of the Pac 12, is the one pulling the most strings in the conference expansion negotiations. And surprisingly, Mike Slive, the Commissioner of the SEC, has shown little aggression to this point.
The college football landscape will be significantly altered when this process is completed, and the decisions being made by college football administrators now may affect many major intercollegiate athletic programs for half of a century. My advice is simple: Don’t get left behind.
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Email Jacob at jacob@bunnsports.com and follow him on Twitter at @JacobBunn
