The Big East is no obstacle.
Interim Big 12 commissioner Chuck Neinas said Tuesday he fully expects West Virginia to start play next season despite a hard-line stance from the Big East.
Neinas attended a reception in Morgantown officially welcoming the Mountaineers into the Big 12 on Tuesday, a day after the university filed a lawsuit against the Big East seeking to clear the way for West Virginia to start Big 12 competition next fall.
[…]
When Neinas was asked what happens if the Big East is successful in delaying West Virginia’s quick exit, “then I guess for the first time in college football history, we’ll have home and home” schedules, he joked. “Oklahoma State told me they don’t want to play Oklahoma twice.”
On a serious note, Neinas said: “We fully expect West Virginia will be there.”
Neinas, Luck and Clements tried to keep the focus on the Big 12’s newest member during the packed reception at the school’s football stadium, which included a pep band playing the Mountaineers’ fight song. Neinas even wore a striped gold tie and blue shirt in West Virginia’s school colors.
Neinas said West Virginia’s entrance into the Big 12 was contingent on the university being available next year.
“We needed a 10th member next season to fulfill our TV commitments,” Neinas said. “There’s an inventory that goes with a contract for TV, so we’ve got to be able to do that.”
[…]
Neinas said Missouri is considered a Big 12 member until it withdraws and the league will accommodate 11 football teams if necessary.
“We can do it,” Neinas said. “We don’t have it on paper. But our computers will work out to provide a schedule that will accommodate 11 teams.”
West Virginia wouldn’t simply move into Missouri’s Big 12 football schedule if the Tigers leave.
Instead, “we’re going to have to redo the schedule for a variety of reasons,” Neinas said. “We’re going to have to do some adjusting.”
More here. Among other things, we learn that there are no immediate plans to correct their inaccurate name by adding two more schools. Not really clear what their Plan B is in the event WVU is not available and Missouri has said sayonara, but that’s not my problem. In the meantime, Boise State has received clearance to switch conferences.
The Idaho State Board of Education has given Boise State permission to pursue membership with the Big East Conference, a move that would mean more revenue and give the Broncos a clear path to the Bowl Championship Series.
The board voted 7-1 Thursday to give university president Bob Kustra the authority to move Boise State’s football program out of the Mountain West Conference and into the Big East for the 2013 season.
Kustra has had ongoing discussions with Big East representatives, including during a campus visit by conference leaders last week. Boise State has not yet received a formal invitation to join, but Kustra told trustees he expects one to come in the next few days.
There are two issues to be worked out. One is for there to be some western teams to join Boise State in a Big East West division; I suppose if I can handle a ten-team Big XII and a twelve-team Big Ten, I can wrap my mind around a Big East West. Obviously, schools like Air Force, UH, and SMU would fit that bill, presumably along with Louisville and Cincinnati, if they all join in as well. The other issue is a bit stickier:
Negotiations are also taking place to secure conference membership for other Boise State teams. Kustra said he hopes to solidify membership plans with at least one western conference in the next several days. He declined to identify the conference, but said geography is a key ingredient in finding a home for basketball, volleyball, tennis and other sports.
The Bleacher Report suggests that Boise’s old conference, the Big West, would fit the bill for this. They believe BSU to the Big East is all but a done deal. We shall see.
UPDATE: The Big East says “You’re suing me? I’m suing you!”
The Big East filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit against West Virginia on Friday, four days after the university sued the conference in a bid to make a quick exit for the Big 12.
The conference said the lawsuit was filed in Rhode Island Superior Court seeking unspecified damages along with an order requiring West Virginia to stay put for 27 months in compliance with Big East bylaws.
The latest lawsuit underscores the Big East’s position “that it will vigorously pursue the enforcement of its rights and West Virginia University’s obligations,” Big East Commissioner John Marinatto said in a statement.
Marinatto noted West Virginia helped construct the bylaws and formally agreed to them.
Isn’t this fun?