MORGANTOWN — Because the aura of additional enlargement gathers across the Huge 12 because it tries to maintain tempo with the altering energy construction in faculty athletics, one wonders if it may well achieve this with the soccer scenario as it’s shaking out.
We head into the summer season with it wanting increasingly possible that the convention which West Virginia calls its residence is prepared for an additional spherical of enlargement because it loses its two richest and most traditionally highly effective soccer faculties in Oklahoma and Texas to the already wealthy, deep and vibrant SEC, whereas including a hodgepodge of Energy 5 wannabes in Cincinnati, Houston, BYU and Central Florida.
Essentially the most prevalent rumor is that Colorado is able to soar within the close to future to the Huge 12 from the seemingly doomed Pac-12 and convey its prime time coach Deion Sanders with it, hoping the group he has molded there in his first 12 months is really prepared for prime time in additional methods than one.
As soon as that happens, the considering is that Arizona and Arizona State will comply with, together with one different college, maybe Connecticut from the Northeast or Gonzaga — most likely just for basketball — from the far west.
This might full Commissioner Brett Yormark’s imaginative and prescient of a nationwide footprint for the Huge 12, a imaginative and prescient primarily based way more on advertising the product that’s Huge 12 athletics than on the product itself.
In some ways, it’s a marketer’s dream for basketball. Already with the SEC the nation’s greatest basketball convention, the Huge 12 may carry itself on its basketball because it sells tee-shirts, hoodies and prime time winter TV … however the actual measuring stick for a convention is present in soccer.
Soccer is the money cow. It’s the picture of the convention and, traditionally, the most effective of these groups have gathered within the Huge Ten with Ohio State and Michigan and Penn State and such historic franchises resembling Wisconsin and Illinois and Michigan State main the way in which whereas the SEC has gained maintain the geographical benefit of the southeastern United States and soared into the management of faculty sports activities by the soccer applications at Georgia and Alabama and a like band of soccer mad applications from like faculties with the identical instructional, cultural and athletic profiles.
What the brand new Huge 12 lacks — even with 16 members, ought to that come to go — is the large soccer factories which have pushed faculty sports activities, with all due apologies to Dr. James Naismith.
When one seems at it from a soccer standpoint, the historical past of the sport resides elsewhere and with it the 100,000-seat stadium, the trophy circumstances stuffed with nationwide soccer titles, essentially the most historic moments and the income which have grown out of the game.
Checklist a High 15 historic soccer applications and also you most likely give you a listing that appears one thing like this (in no explicit order): Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Oklahoma, Texas, Notre Dame, Florida, Florida State, Nebraska, LSU, Miami and Southern Cal.
None of these faculties are members of the Huge 12.
In truth no college presently within the Huge 12 — together with this 12 months’s new foursome and the potential faculties that may carry its complete to 16 groups — has ever gained a nationwide championship.
In truth, of the High 15 Energy 5 faculties in all-time victory totals, solely No. 15 is a member of the present or proposed 16-team Huge 12 … and that is the college that provides WVU hope of being a soccer energy dealer throughout the present convention setup.
See, that faculty is WVU at No. 15 amongst Energy 5 faculties in all-time victories with 772.
It has yet one more win than Texas A&M, seven greater than Virginia Tech and 14 greater than Pitt.
In truth, with Texas and Oklahoma gone to the SEC with their 936 and 934 victories respectively, WVU is by far the chief in all-time soccer victories among the many present 12 Huge 12 groups.
TCU is subsequent with 680 whereas Cincinnati ranks third with 656.
Even ought to the rumored enlargement of Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State and whomever comes by, WVU would stay on the high. The Buffaloes would carry 719 wins with them to rank second to WVU’s 772.
This gives motive for actual optimism that WVU may emerge as a serious participant in any configuration the Huge 12 turns into. If the Mountaineers can regain the mojo soccer program they as soon as had, they might almost definitely have the ability to be a convention soccer energy.
That may carry with it larger and higher bowls, extra TV and nationwide consideration.
The reality is that the Mountaineers could also be at a crossroads of their historical past and that athletic director Wren Baker’s teaching choice figures to wind up being a very powerful choice he ever makes in his profession.
He’s evaluating Neal Brown, whose profession has not taken off because it had been hoped when he was named to interchange Dana Holgorsen, and whether or not he’s the person to steer the group into the brand new Huge 12 is the one actual query this season holds.
Actually, there are applications within the Huge 12 which can be able to rising to the highest of the convention. To not be forgotten — though many want it could be within the shadow of a 65-7 loss to Georgia within the nationwide championship closing — is that TCU went all the way in which to the title recreation.
The Horned Frogs have proven over time {that a} small, non-public college can compete on a nationwide degree and with out Oklahoma and Texas to take care of, go into the brand new Huge 12 on stronger footing than WVU.
Oklahoma State and Baylor even have proven themselves as nationwide names in faculty soccer and are deep in historical past resembling WVU, every now reborn in a convention that’s extra balanced.
Colorado may construct itself into a faculty able to successful the Huge 12 if it escapes the shackles of the Pac-12 and Cincinnati not solely may proceed its climb however present WVU with a badly wanted rival.
And BYU is a novel entrant into the combo who can in a Energy 5 setting construct its soccer program to new heights.
However all of that is being executed on a degree beneath the SEC and the Huge Ten and the ACC, whereas shaky at greatest, does have applications resembling Clemson, Florida State and Miami that give it a soccer aura that the Huge 12 now not possesses.
There may be additionally one other fear issue with the brand new Huge 12 in that in contrast to the Huge Ten and SEC, it’s not made up of like faculties, mixing large and small, non-public and public and blended instructional status.
WVU has been spurned previously by the Huge Ten and the ACC as a result of they felt it didn’t slot in. Proper or improper, that was the explanation.
The one convention that has remained fully true to its historic tradition by realignment has been the Huge East, which was constructed on smaller, non-public faculties with a basketball bias resembling Villanova, St. John’s, Georgetown and so on.
It has accepted itself for what it’s and lived with it.
Principally, convention tradition taking something away from the athletic fields is numerous bunk. It has little to do with what the convention brings and the actual motive it exists, which is strictly monetary on this new period, however it’s value contemplating in any dialog in regards to the Huge 12’s probability to realize nationwide acceptance as a soccer energy convention.
Now in an period the place the recognition of basketball is hovering, the brand new Huge 12 might be an influence dealer regardless of how the ultimate configuration comes out.
Ought to the Huge 12 soak up UConn and Gonzaga to go along with Kansas, WVU, Cincinnati, Houston, Baylor that might be contenders for the nationwide championship in any given 12 months.
The convention leaders are leaning closely upon having a balanced soccer convention that may develop with a nationwide footprint, however whether or not it may be on a degree with the Huge Ten and SEC is uncertain.
However, then once more, the Huge 12 wasn’t taking something away from these two conferences with Oklahoma and Texas.
