West Virginia to Big 12 Deal Far From Done

By Tim Taliaferro in Sports on October 25, 2011 at 7:31 pm | 1 Comment

Talk of West Virginia joining the Big 12 is “very premature,” according to a source close to the negotiations.

Multiple media outlets are reporting that the Mountaineers are on the brink of joining the Big 12. ESPN, USA Today, and the New York Times all quote sources who say the deal with WVU is either done or nearly so.

Pete Thamel of the NYT goes so far as to say “the Mountaineers had applied and are accepted.”

But a deal with WVU is not done, and no decision has been made by the Big 12 presidents, a source told The Alcalde Tuesday.

Adding West Virginia, Louisville, BYU, or the University of Houston would bring the total number of teams in the Big 12 to 11. Missouri might soon announce it’s ditching the Big 12 to follow Texas A&M to the SEC, which would bring the Big 12 back down to 10, even though Big 12 officials are leaning heavily on the Tigers to stay.

Should the Big East implode, Notre Dame could join the Big 12 as an associate member (meaning everything but football), according to reports.

Creative Commons photo by nicoleversetwo via Flickr.

Tags: Big 12, conference realignment, louisville, missouri, texas longhorns, west virginia