It’s been a wild 24 hours.
The Southeastern Conference announced Missouri as its newest member late Thursday night — and then it retracted that press release from its website ten minutes later. The Big 12 then officially invited West Virginia on Friday, and a news release from the conference did not mention Missouri as a member for the 2012-13 athletic season. So, what’s the deal? The Big 12 won’t claim Missouri, nor will the SEC. Looks like the Tigers are in limbo for now. Of course, don’t expect that to last long. Soon, we’ll surely hear the announcement that the SEC has added the Tigers as its 14th program. Right?
In this crazy world of realignment apocalypse, though, everything is an unknown. For now, at least, we know that WVU is a member of the Big 12 Conference starting next summer. And that means Louisville (for now) has been shut out of the league after a dispute that pitted it against the Mountaineers — a fracas that involved Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), a UL alum — who tried to block WVU from joining the league.
Sen. McConnell’s efforts apparently did not work as the Mountaineers have won the Big 12 sweepstakes. WVU’s president said the league is a “perfect fit” for his school, and it’s certainly a move that will help Big 12 hoops. With Missouri’s likely departure, as well as the addition of the lowly TCU program, the conference needed a team with the history and recent success to bolster its basketball profile. WVU will make an immediate impact in this league thanks to passionate fan base and an established head coach in Bob Huggins. The transition from the Big East to the Big 12 won’t be difficult, although all the chartered flights from Morgantown several hours west may be.