Big 12: here comes WVU and TCU. Who’s next?

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While Missouri exits the Big 12 Conference, on its way to the SEC, the Big 12 is set to bring in West Virginia and Texas Christian.

It’s unclear how well the Mountaineers will perform against its new conference foes, as only three Big 12 teams have played West Virginia in the past 30 years. In fact, no team from the Big 12 has traveled to Morgantown W.Va. since 1941.

The last contest between a Big 12 conference foe and WVU was in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl, when the Mountaineers took it to the Oklahoma Sooners 48-28.

But I do think adding West Virginia will be a good fit for the Big 12, as their football and basketball programs both bring something to the table for the Big 12.

WVU’s football team has had much success in the past decade, winning five Big East Conference titles and making a bowl game every year since 2002.

The Mountaineers style of offense will also fit in well with the rest of the Big 12. They love to air it out and currently rank seventh in the nation in passing with 361 yards a game, which is right up there with other Big 12 schools like Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Baylor and Texas Tech.

While the loss of Missouri and Texas A&M will take its toll on the Big 12, TCU and West Virginia will fill that void quite well. Both of those teams have shown the ability to perform at a very high level. Just ask Boise State this past weekend about TCU.

In fact, in the past five years, TCU and West Virginia have won a BCS bowl game (TCU in 2011 and WVU in 2007), something neither A&M or Missouri were able to do during their time in the Big 12.

And certainly WVU and TCU can come in and have a better season than Missouri 5-5 (3-4)  and A&M 5-5 (4-3) are having this year.

West Virginia will give the Big 12 10 teams, but it would only make sense for the conference to live up to its own name and add an additional two teams. It’s unclear now as to who those two teams could be.

Louisville could be one of those teams. The Cardinals are a growing football program that won the Orange Bowl in 2006 and a team that has seen success in recent years. Of course, Louisville has a great history with its basketball program. One negative is that they only have a mid-size televsion market that they also share with Kentucky.

Another school to consider is Houston. If the Cougars can continue playing the way they are now and build on the great season they are having this year (#11 in BCS, 10-0) they could be a very interesting team to consider in the future. Plus, the sizeable television market in the Houston, along with an enrollment of 38,000, makes Texas the only school in the Big 12 with more undergrads. Football may be the only thing Houston has to offer the Big 12, though, which could hurt their chances in the long run.

The Big 12 is set for 10 teams for the 2012 season, and with all the talk of super conferences on the horizion, it seems the Big 12 is not done expanding yet.

Their are big things in place for the future of this conference, but those will have to wait for another time. As for now, West Virginia and TCU are ready to compete in the Big 12.

 

Photo: All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks photo

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