Expansion stuck in the middle of a rambling column.
Charleston Gazette/Mitch Vingle:
Bringing us to the Big 12 as a whole.
If you don’t think there are always moving parts within college athletics, you haven’t spoken to the proverbial movers and shakers.
WVU president E. Gordon Gee is among them. And among other things, he’s on the Big 12 expansion committee.
Here’s what he had to say on Monday about possible expansion:
“We’re kind of on a hiatus period,” Gee said. “We wanted to see how the conference fared in the College Football Playoff this year.”
Indeed, beauty is in the eye of the beholders: Gee and others on the committee. They see elegance and refinement this season. That’s on the heels of an ugly 2014-15, which saw no Big 12 team make the playoffs.
This season, Oklahoma made the grade. And guess what? Whatever wheels were grinding toward Big 12 expansion has slowed. At least for now.
“Since Oklahoma made the playoffs,” Gee said, “some of the impetus for expanding isn’t there. I’d say about half the presidents are in favor of expansion and half are not.
“I don’t know when the next meeting is, but I know we’re still doing a lot of research and will have a vigorous discussion on it. It’s just low-key now because of Oklahoma.”
He pointed out the league actually fared well this past season, and he’s correct. In the Sagarin computer rankings, the Big 12 finished No. 2 to the SEC West. (For some reason, Sagarin sometimes breaks up conferences into divisions.)
Gee also pointed to the early-season Big 12 basketball success. WVU is a part of that success at No. 11 in the Sagarin and in both Top 25 polls.
Overall, the Big 12 is No. 1, according to the latest computer ranking, in front of No. 2 ACC, No. 3 Pac-12, No. 4 Big Ten, No. 5 Big East, No. 6 SEC, No. 7 Atlantic 10, No. 8 American and No. 9 Mountain West.
Anyway, Gee said to expand or not to expand “is really a split decision.”
The WVU president, you may or may not know, is a proponent of expansion. Heck, there are whispers he’d be in favor of moving from 10 to 14 — rather than 12 — schools. He went through the process as president of Ohio State and understands the benefits and drawbacks.
http://www.wvgazettemail.com/sports/20151221/mitch-vingle-big-12-wvu-looking-for-bowl-beauty
Charleston Gazette/Mitch Vingle:
Bringing us to the Big 12 as a whole.
If you don’t think there are always moving parts within college athletics, you haven’t spoken to the proverbial movers and shakers.
WVU president E. Gordon Gee is among them. And among other things, he’s on the Big 12 expansion committee.
Here’s what he had to say on Monday about possible expansion:
“We’re kind of on a hiatus period,” Gee said. “We wanted to see how the conference fared in the College Football Playoff this year.”
Indeed, beauty is in the eye of the beholders: Gee and others on the committee. They see elegance and refinement this season. That’s on the heels of an ugly 2014-15, which saw no Big 12 team make the playoffs.
This season, Oklahoma made the grade. And guess what? Whatever wheels were grinding toward Big 12 expansion has slowed. At least for now.
“Since Oklahoma made the playoffs,” Gee said, “some of the impetus for expanding isn’t there. I’d say about half the presidents are in favor of expansion and half are not.
“I don’t know when the next meeting is, but I know we’re still doing a lot of research and will have a vigorous discussion on it. It’s just low-key now because of Oklahoma.”
He pointed out the league actually fared well this past season, and he’s correct. In the Sagarin computer rankings, the Big 12 finished No. 2 to the SEC West. (For some reason, Sagarin sometimes breaks up conferences into divisions.)
Gee also pointed to the early-season Big 12 basketball success. WVU is a part of that success at No. 11 in the Sagarin and in both Top 25 polls.
Overall, the Big 12 is No. 1, according to the latest computer ranking, in front of No. 2 ACC, No. 3 Pac-12, No. 4 Big Ten, No. 5 Big East, No. 6 SEC, No. 7 Atlantic 10, No. 8 American and No. 9 Mountain West.
Anyway, Gee said to expand or not to expand “is really a split decision.”
The WVU president, you may or may not know, is a proponent of expansion. Heck, there are whispers he’d be in favor of moving from 10 to 14 — rather than 12 — schools. He went through the process as president of Ohio State and understands the benefits and drawbacks.
http://www.wvgazettemail.com/sports/20151221/mitch-vingle-big-12-wvu-looking-for-bowl-beauty
