Big East Changes Impact MU, WVU
By Grant Traylor
Major changes in college sports came about today as the Big East
Conference added Louisville, Cincinnati and South Florida starting in
2005-2006. This change will have a future impact on both NCAA
institutions in West Virginia.

The Big East announcement came as no surprise to the collegiate world
as rumors had been swirling ever since Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston
College announced their plans to move to the Atlantic Coast Conference.
This move reinforced the Big East as a basketball-heavy conference.
Conference USA’s preseason polls picked Louisville and Cincinnati to
finish #1 and #2 in conference play.

Both Marshall and West Virginia University will feel the effects of the
conference swapping. Scheduling and recruiting will be the biggest
impacts felt by WVU, but Marshall may take on a totally different look.

Marshall, who is currently a member of the Mid-American Conference, has
been in recent talks with Conference USA about joining in all sports.
These talks have become so heavy that the MU Board of Governors
unanimously agreed for President Dan Angel to pursue the conference
switch.

That conference switch came one step closer to a reality today with the
announcement by the Big East. Marshall is among several teams
mentioned to replace the Conference USA defectors. Other teams include
fellow MAC member Central Florida, Rice, Tulsa and Southern Methodist
University. Conference USA’s announcement of replacement teams is
pending approval by the Conference’s Board of Presidents. The
announcement could come as soon as Wednesday morning, but should be
made by the end of the week.

Potentially, Marshall could be a Conference USA member in 2005-2006.
The move would work well for the Herd financially and in terms of
recruitment as both measures would expand greatly. The new conference
alignments would take Marshall to places such as Texas, Louisiana and
Florida and would assist in recruiting greatly. Financially a
Conference USA tie-in would allow the opportunity for different bowl
games other than the GMAC Bowl and Motor City Bowl which is MAC
affiliated. Also, a greater TV package would be well-accepted by the
Herd administration.

West Virginia University, who is already a member of the Big East
conference, will have to accommodate for these changes and scheduling
is one facet that will be impacted. In addition to losing Miami, BC and
VT, the Big East also loses Temple after 2004. Temple will become an
independent NCAA Div. I-A team with no conference affiliations.


The Mountaineers, who have steadily scheduled newcomer Cincinnati in
the past few years, will possibly have scheduling problems once the new
conference alignments take place. West Virginia has scheduled a
two-year series with defector Virginia Tech to try and remedy the
problem but many more changes will need to be made.

Although, scheduling might get more difficult for the Mountaineers,
recruiting would get a little easier. The Mountaineers would
consistently be looked at as potential front-runners for the conference
title in football and they would keep their close ties to Florida with
the addition of South Florida. Also, rivalries with Cincinnati and
Louisville would bring more southern WV fans to Morgantown meaning more
revenue and more fan appeal.

All in all, the changes to the look in college sports are seeming to
have a major impact on our great state and the universities that
represent it. These changes have the potential to have great financial
impact and could also give the state some national recognition. It is
safe to say that today’s announcement by the Big East will definitely
change the way that collegiate sports are looked at not only
nationally, but locally as well.