I live in Big XII country and I’ve never heard that.
I hear radio reception is iffy as well!!Talk to the admins at the various schools. WVU is a millstone around the neck of a conference that was already drowning. The travel is absurd, the fanbase is poor, and the state has few TV sets.
The Big XII is in a terrible spot right now. Their options are so crappy that ESPN and Fox are willing to give them handouts so that they don't add any more schools. The league will only lasts as long as Texas desires, and their media partners are likely to incentivize Texas and OU to leave when the rights come up for renewal.
Not that it's going to happen, but the only additions I'd be O.K. with are Oklahoma and Texas. Texas won't happen because it would be admitting that little brother (A&M) was a helluva lot smarter than they were. Also they like to think they're too good for the SEC. Oklahoma would come in a New York minute, but the downside is that other than a traditionally strong program, they bring no eyeballs (rattlesnakes, coyotes, and jackrabbits don't count).Does the board think that the SEC will expand again anytime soon and who would you like to see join the SEC?
I think Oklahoma State, West Virginia and Virginia and North Carolina State would be good additions.
Thoughts?
Are these actual statistics, or just your personal opinion? Are poor people in West Virginia really that much more impoverished than poor people in Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Alabama, etc? They are all in the bottom 20% of income. I completely agree WVU in the Big 12 is absurd from a travel perspective, but the West Virginia/Pittsburgh TV market can't be any worse than Lubbock, Ames, or Manhattan.Talk to the admins at the various schools. WVU is a millstone around the neck of a conference that was already drowning. The travel is absurd, the fanbase is poor, and the state has few TV sets.
The Big XII is in a terrible spot right now. Their options are so crappy that ESPN and Fox are willing to give them handouts so that they don't add any more schools. The league will only last as long as Texas desires, and their media partners are likely to incentivize Texas and OU to leave when the rights come up for renewal.
I've lived in Arkansas for 45 years and was a witness to the Hogs jumping ship for the SEC. 95% of the Hog fans want to stay here. You always have that 5% whose nostalgia outweighs their memories. The Hogs left because Texas ran the SWC as if it was their own personal toy. The only explanation I can give for that 5% is that it is some kind of Stockholm Syndrome.I could see Arkansas leaving for the Big 12 sometime in the future and I could see Missouri going to the Big 10+2.
You might have a case with Okie Lite. But TCU is in Fort Worth. Baylor is in Waco. Even the West Texas wastelands have more eyeballs than WV.
I'm a big fan of re-alignment because Missouri is not in the east - this makes the most sense...
but I wouldn't add anybody.
SEC East:
Florida
Georgia
Tennessee
South Carolina
Kentucky
Auburn
Vanderbilt
SEC West:
Texas A&M
LSU
Alabama
Arkansas
Ole Miss
Missouri
Miss St