Well, here we go again. It's spring so that must mean conference realignment is a front burner issue again. 

 

If you thought all of the movement for schools around the country ended when West Virginia University joined the Big 12 a few years ago you were wrong. 

 

It seems as though another round of shuffling is upon us. The good news for Mountaineer fans? West Virginia is safe ... for now. 

 

Unlike the chaos back in 2012, this round will have less of an impact on WVU. This is a discussion about who joins WVU and the Big 12, not where will West Virginia go. Less stressful for sure, but still important.

 

I won't dive into all of the layers of this topic today (it would take 10,000 words to try and get to all of it). If you're interested in this though, I'm fairly certain we will be talking about conference expansion almost nightly on the Northside Automotive Statewide Sportsline through the spring and summer. 

 

For now, let's look at a key point or two as it relates to West Virginia.

 

DISCLAIMER: I'm not in favor of expansion. I love that the Big 12 plays a true round robin in both football and men's basketball. I like seeing each opponent during the football season and playing each team twice in basketball. I also understand how this stuff works. I know conference expansion has do with a lot more than just on-field or on-court matchups. I get that we are most likely headed for expansion and I understand the argument in favor of it. I just don't like it. 

 

With my personal beliefs out of the way, let's look at this from a West Virginia perspective.

 

Should West Virginia welcome expansion?

 

Yes. With some qualifiers:

 

The two teams joining the conference reside in the eastern time zone. 

 

West Virginia has spent the last four seasons as a geographic outlier in the Big 12. Every other school resides in a different time zone. Official league releases always refer to central time.  

 

What time is listed on an official league release may be a minor issue in the grand scheme of things, but I think it illustrates the nonsensical geographic setup that comes with being in a league where your closest "rival" is 900 miles away. 

 

I'm sure DePaul fans felt the same way about BIG EAST releases always referencing eastern time back in the day, but I digress.  If this league is going to expand, give me Cincinnati and UConn. Two schools that at least have some history with West Virginia and have their clocks set to the same time Mountaineer fans do. 

 

Adding two teams in the eastern time zone helps keep West Virginia from being such an outlier. 

 

I know many around the league feel BYU should be added. From a purely selfish (West Virginia) point of view, I don't want to see this league go further West. And don't even get me started on all of the other compromises member schools would have to make in order to accept BYU. I won't go through the pros and cons of each school being mentioned, but also count me out on Houston. I think the last thing this league needs is another Texas-based school. 

 

Would expansion help West Virginia competitively?

 

The answer is probably, yes. If we operate under the assumption that an expanded Big 12 would be split into two divisions, then it would seem logical that West Virginia could more easily win a DIVISION than the entire league. And once you win a division and then only need to win one game for a league title ... well, we know how West Virginia can do in one game, big game moments.

 

As most fans are well aware, West Virginia is just 15-21 in league play since joining the Big 12. The Mountaineers have not been a legitimate title contender into the final weeks of the season yet.

 

Not playing every team in the league every year may actually help WVU.

 

Former Iowa state head football coach Paul Rhodes, made a point of saying in his final press conference that he thought expansion would be the best thing for the Cyclone program.  His theory was that the schedule "lightens up" if two league teams are added. A 12-team league would create an unbalanced schedule. Gone would be the days of playing every team in the league. 

 

In Rhodes' opinion, Iowa State would have a better shot at competing in a league that offered an unbalanced schedule. History shows he is probably right. Iowa State won the Big 12 North in 2004 courtesy of an unbalanced schedule. That year the Cyclones did not play Oklahoma, Texas or Texas Tech, who was ranked 18th nationally.

 

Need more examples of an unbalanced schedule helping a team? 

 

We just saw Iowa ride an unbalanced schedule all the way to a Big 10 championship game. Last year, the Hawkeyes won 12 games while not having to face Ohio State, Michigan or Penn State. They didn't draw Michigan State until the league championship game. 

 

See Missouri in 2013 and 2014 for a similar success story. 

 

West Virginia's path to a league title would certainly be easier if said path included Cincinnati and UConn rather than Oklahoma and Baylor in a given season.  An unbalanced schedule may mean you don't get to watch West Virginia play Texas, Oklahoma or Baylor every year, but it could help WVU's winning percentage.

 

Is that a fair trade? Would you like that setup?

 

As I said above, this was just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to conference expansion. We'll dive into some of the other issues around this topic in upcoming posts.

 

Leave a comment below or send me a tweet @BradHowe07 and let me know if you are in favor of Big 12 expansion.

 

Editor's Note: Photos by Ben Queen of www.benqueenphotography.com.