Has anyone checked to see if WVU AD Oliver Luck is really just some guy who hangs out on message boards and blogs? I mean, for a guy who has a law degree and claims to have positive business experience, he just really likes to spout off. The Big East seems to be his primary target.

In case you missed it there are all sorts of possible reconfigurations to the BCS being tossed about. Getting rid of automatic qualifiers. Letting the big BCS bowls go back to their old system of tying in with conferences directly. Having the BCS only handle the #1 vs. #2 game. All of which is not good for the Big East.

It puts the Big East in the precarious position of not having a big selling point of having a direct path to the big money bowls. It hurts the overall appeal of the Big East’s bowl line-up. And it further weakens the Big East in dealings with Notre Dame. ND is the only thing that keeps the bowl line-up as high as it is, without impeding a Big East BCS Bowl bid.

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Lots of open tabs. Some with direct Pitt stuff. Others not so much.

Attendance, attendance, attendance. The Wednesday UConn non-attendance issue was a popular topic of angst. I’m not going to rehash the reasons/excuses. I didn’t make the trip, but I knew that even before I ordered season tickets. Chris Dokish looks at Pitt’s (paid) attendance relative to many factors to conclude, that things aren’t really that bad. I’m just not too worked up over it. Especially when I look at the conference to where Pitt is heading.

Miami tried to one-up Pitt on their Thursday night game. They at least had a beautiful evening. Then there was Maryland on a Saturday (click to see the picture).

Eric Prisbell wrote that there “appeared to be no more than 10,000 fans at Byrd Stadium.”

“Saturday’s abject eyesore, where lower-level tickets at Byrd Stadium were going for a penny on StubHub? That’s more than frigid, rotten weather. That’s unacceptable,” Mike Wise columnized.

At least Pitt’s tickets on StubHub were 99 cents. We will fit right into the ACC.

Honestly, I’m not too stressed on attendance. It’s frustrating at times, but the fact is there are a lot of Pitt fans hanging back right now. Frustrated by the past decade, maybe even the past 30 years. Happy to cheer and support the the team (and even buy tickets), but not quite willing to make that final action of going to the games. The only way it changes is with Pitt winning.

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The one odd thing about WVU filing a lawsuit so quickly (and filled with mistakes and typos) is why? Why go so drastically to the lawsuit? Not even an attempt to negotiate. This is some serious bridge burning. Not even the attempt to negotiate, make a bigger monetary offer. Nothing. It couldn’t purely be, because the Big East made previous statements about holding Pitt and Syracuse to 27 months.

If anything, trying to strong-arm their way out of the Big East would only force the Big East to dig in their heels a bit more. They can’t take a chance on then having to contend with more litigation from Pitt and Syracuse.

Well, what if the Big 12’s offer to WVU was contingent upon the Hoopies being in the Big 12 by 2012?

Neinas said West Virginia’s invitation to the Big 12 is contingent on the Mountaineers being available for the 2012 season. What? What does that mean? Does that mean if WVU can’t get out of its Big East commitments, the deal is off? Is that why West Virginia spent virtually no time negotiating with the Big East and went straight to a lawsuit? Big East bylaws declare a buyout ($5 million in this case) and a 27-month notification. What does the Big 12 do if West Virginia is handcuffed to the Big East in 2012?

“We needed a 10th member next season to fulfill our TV commitments,” Neinas said. “There’s an inventory that goes with a contract for TV, so we’ve got to be able to do that.”

In other words, the Big 12?s cushy cable contract with Fox Sports is kaput if the league has only nine members. If that contract loses some (or all) of its value, the Big 12 is back in anarchy mode.

It’s always about the money.

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WVU filed a lawsuit in its own state yesterday against the Big East. If you feel like wading through it, you can read it here (PDF). I’ve looked it over, but I haven’t practiced law in nearly a decade. So my opinion that it is pretty flimsy, but for the fact that they are attempting to have it litigated in West Virginia, is not really that of an expert. Would it surprise anyone to learn that the Circuit Court judges in Monongalia County, West Virginia all received their J.D.’s from WVU? Didn’t think so.

The gist of the case seems to be that the Big East is incompetently run, that the departures of Pitt, Syracuse and TCU means the Big East is not the conference they really joined, and that with those departures the Big East is doomed to lose their AQ status in the future. All of which, may (is) true, but irrelevant when it comes to the contract that WVU not only signed, but actively constructed:

…former West Virginia president David Hardesty, a lawyer, wrote the current Big East exit penalties, which include a $5 million departure fee and that 27-month waiting period.

I encourage everyone to read the analysis of the lawsuit by Brian Ewart of VUHoops.com. It’s a solid piece from a guy actually practicing law. I think he’s right about this primarily being about trying to force the Big East to negotiate an exit price, but I don’t think the Big East will back down on holding WVU (and Pitt and Syracuse) for at least one year.

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Yes, I know what the press release from the Big 12 says.

The Big 12 Conference Board of Directors have voted unanimously to accept West Virginia University as a full conference member effective July 1, 2012. The Mountaineers will begin competing in the Big 12 beginning with the 2012-13 athletic season.

And yes, I know what the Big East press release says:

West Virginia is fully aware that the Big East Conference is committed to enforcing the 27-month notification period for members who choose to leave the conference.

I’m also aware of a rumor that the Big East would let the schools out early for a $21 million check.

Simply put, the Big East isn’t going to release WVU, Pitt or Syracuse early at this point.

Not out of spite. Not for negotiation of money. Not to see if the will change their mind. They are not releasing these schools because the Big East needs to survive.

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Was in the middle of working on this post. It was going fine. Nearly finished. Exploring the idea of the rumors that both Louisville and WVU were going to announce a move to the Big 12 by next week. What it would mean to Big East survival (or not), that the departures could accelerate chance of Pitt getting to the ACC sooner — or have to wait longer b/c they need the bodies, and whether the possibility of 11 teams in the Big 12 suggested that maybe Notre Dame to the Big 12 in all but football could be a reality.

Then… KABOOM!

West Virginia has been invited to join the Big 12 Conference, college football industry sources told CBSSports.com Friday.

The Mountaineers will accept the invitation, sources said. The Big 12 is expected to officially announce the invitation later today.

The Big 12’s board of directors voted Friday morning and chose West Virginia over Louisville. They will stay at 10 schools, a source said.

So now we are back to where things were on Tuesday.

That’s a shame for Louisville (and for Pitt and Syracuse).

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There was a report — quickly debunked — over the weekend of a possible tri-merger of the Big East, Mountain West and Conference USA. Turned out the report was based on a possible plan that Mountain West and C-USA that never really had any juice.

Well, it looks like they are still trying to pitch it.

Commissioners from the Mountain West Conference and Conference USA are scheduled to meet with the head of the Big East Conference on Wednesday to discuss the formation of one 28- to 32-football team super conference to try to gain automatic Bowl Championship Series status.

The Mountain West and Conference USA already have agreed to merge by either next year or in 2013. The Big East has automatic BCS status, but is in danger of losing it after 2013 and has been exploring adding teams from the Mountain West and Conference USA in an attempt to salvage it. But the two Mountain West members face hefty exit fees should they leave — Boise State up to $21 million and Air Force up to $9.6 million — that could dissuade them from jumping to the Big East.

Seeing an opportunity, Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson and Conference USA’s Britton Banowsky will make the proposal to the Big East’s John Marinatto in New York to create a mega conference.

And this was scheduled before the West Virginia news broke.

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Well, so much for that basketball post I was hoping to do. Or something on the football game that is tomorrow night.

It looks like the Big 12 isn’t waiting for Mizzou the make up their mind. Everything but a formal announcement at this point has West Virginia heading to the Big 12.

The person said Tuesday that the Mountaineers had “applied and are accepted,” leaving only legal entanglements from making the move official. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal had not been formally announced.

The same thing is being reported locally in West Virginia.

WVU would be subjected to the Big East Conference’s exit fee and 27-month wait before it could leave. WVU was part of the unanimous vote last week to increase the exit fee from $5 million to $10 million. However, since no one has joined the Big East since that decision, WVU would only have to pay $5 million.

The details of WVU’s move are still being finalized — specifically when WVU could leave the Big East and join the Big 12, but the sources told the Daily Mail the decision has been approved on both sides.

WVU personnel are to meet Tuesday to discuss the resolution and an announcement could be made soon, likely as soon as Missouri says it is leaving the Big 12.

Man, are Hoopie fans going to be pissed when someone does the math for them, and they have it explained to them how long they may have to wait in the Big East. If they don’t storm the Providence offices and burn it to the ground.

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I feel a little conflicted. As a Pitt guy, I know it is in Pitt’s best interest to get out of the Big East and to the ACC ASAP. Unfortunately, it increasingly appears that the only way that can happen is for the Big East to die, and die soon.

Don’t get me wrong. I have no sympathy for the Big East itself. Nor is this about the basketball schools. My conflicted feelings are for the football programs that will beleft behind. The ones that have no where to go or will have to wait and sweat a while. The ones that are just there waiting for the Sword of Damocles hanging over their head to fall and strike them down

We have been sweating this out for years. When the Big East was raided in 2003, it has been a countdown for when the end would come. It has lasted longer than expected. The conference Pitt is heading to is different from expected in 2003, but Pitt is moving on. Meanwhile, the Big East fault lines are being laid bare.

For yet another day, the Big East tried to have a meeting to discuss getting new members and other issues. And for yet another day, nothing came of it.

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Need to get to the Utah game and some more basketball stuff, but too many tabs related to the expansiopocolypse that need clearing.

While the college sporting world waits on the decision of Mizzou, Boston College’s AD Gene DeFilippo felt like popping off a bit about how influential he was in the ACC realignment committee. The comments that got all the attention were the ones pertaining to how he and BC were the reason UConn didn’t get an invite, but Pitt did along with Syracuse.

While Syracuse presented no problem, UConn did — to BC, which was still fuming over what it perceived to be vitriolic comments made when BC was finally invited to join the ACC and started competing in 2005. UConn and Pittsburgh filed a lawsuit against BC, and Calhoun made comments about never playing BC again.

DeFilippo does not deny that BC opposed the inclusion of UConn.

“We didn’t want them in,’’ he said. “It was a matter of turf. We wanted to be the New England team.’’

The other was the role of a certain Mouse Monopoly in the decision on who to invite for expansion.

BC athletic director Gene DeFilippo, who was part of the 12-member ACC expansion committee, adamantly denied that the move was dictated by basketball interests, but he did concede that the effects of it may boost that sport more than football.

“It had nothing to do with basketball,’’ said DeFilippo. “It was football money which drove expansion. It was football money and securing our future.’’

…

The overwhelming force behind the move, DeFilippo insisted, was television money.

The ACC just signed a new deal with ESPN that will increase the revenue for each school to approximately $13 million. With the addition of Pittsburgh and Syracuse, said DeFilippo, another significant increase will come.

“We always keep our television partners close to us,’’ he said. “You don’t get extra money for basketball. It’s 85 percent football money. TV – ESPN – is the one who told us what to do. This was football; it had nothing to do with basketball.’’

The UNC blog, Carolina March points out this creates a conflict in the narrative of the actual story. The story starts with a premise that the ACC expansion move was dictated in no small part because of basketball driven jealousy of all the attention the Big East gets. That, of course, would favor UConn over Pitt. Especially when you factor in the women’s basketball side of things as well.

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Burning up all over Twitter.

TCU is getting an invite to the Big 12, regardless of what Missouri does. Press conferences and announcements coming today.

Quickie analysis.

Good for TCU. This makes sense, and is where they should be. Since they had given the MWC notice of leaving the conference last year, they can be playing in the Big 12 in 2012. No waiting.

Good for Texas A&M and possibly Missouri. This assures that the conference will have at least 8 teams for 2012. That means keeping BCS bid with minimum number of teams. It makes negotiating an exit in time for 2012 easier for both teams. Still will pay plenty of money for the early exit, but conference isn’t forced to hold them.

Also good for Jamie Dixon. That is still his alma mater. I know I would have been feeling a lot of guilt if I had been the one to help facilitate the move to the Big East, only to see Pitt take the opportunity to go to the ACC. All out of his hands, but still had to be gnawing at him a bit.

Bad for Pitt and Syracuse. Since TCU will not be a member of the Big East in 2012, the Big East will be at 8 members with Pitt and Cuse. The minimum to maintain an automatic bid issue makes leaving next season almost impossible unless there are two other teams the conference can bring in by next fall. Even if Navy joins immediately (big if right now), that only takes it to 7 without Pitt and Cuse.

At this point, Pitt has to hope that Mizzou does get into the SEC; and the Big 12 goes to 12 grabbing Louisville, WVU and Cinci. Only way Pitt and Syracuse isn’t playing in the Big East next year with this news is with the complete disintegration of Big East football.

Good and bad for Big East. Obviously losing a potentially valuable addition — though it does explain the weekend leak of interest in SMU if they had an inkling of this happening — and keeps them in a precarious position. Good because while TCU doesn’t have to give 27 months notice, they still pay Big East $5 million.

It seems like forever that the Big 12 has been evaluating its options. Will it expand to 10 teams or 12? Is Mizzou staying or leaving for the SEC? What happens then? If Mizzou stays, then what? Texas wants the Big 12 at 10. Oklahoma prefers 12 teams. Is BYU really going to join? Is TCU on or off the table? If Mizzou leaves, does it make it more or less likely to go to 10 or 12.

What does the SEC do if Missouri doesn’t take their embrace? Stay at 13? Grab an ACC team? Will they be able/willing to take one from a state they already have a presence (Florida or South Carolina)? Settle for WVU?

And if the ACC does lose a team? Well, then UConn is there with bags packed. Rutgers trumpeting their NYC market proximity — while hoping no one looks too closely.

Then it is down to the Big East. Just trying to stay above water for a little bit longer.

Everyone likens it to dominoes falling. I see it as a “Choose your own adventure” story. Each option taking you to a different story and ending.

Since I can’t seem to quit the unhealthy fascination with the subject, time for a rundown.

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Just some other stuff to get out there.

UConn. Really? Didn’t your state’s governor learn anything from the Missouri governor trying to get his state school into the Big 10?

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, speaking to reporters outside his Capitol office, said he no longer expects the ACC to act quickly after adding Pittsburgh and Syracuse from the Big East earlier this month.

“I think there was expectancy built up initially that this was quickly going to be resolved,” he said. “That’s clearly not the case. The ACC has the first decision to make and that’s whether they’re going to stay at 14 teams or stay at 16. I know that there’s one team, one school that they would like to get into the ACC that would guarantee them going to 16 teams and that’s been speculated to be Notre Dame. I suspect that that’s true. I don’t know how likely that is to happen or not happen. Although, I tend to think it’s not terribly likely.”

Malloy said if Notre Dame isn’t interested the ACC must decide if there is any compelling reason to expand again.

“Beyond that, then you fall back to the Big East,” he said “The Big East then has to rebuild itself to fill the loss of the two teams that left and has to worry about its ability to compete on the major sports of basketball and football in particular, as well as how do we make that work for student athletes.”

Well played, governor. I’m sure announcing that UConn will settle to fall back into the Big East will do wonders for the effort to rebuild the conference. It just enhances that image of stability.

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Kind of fun being in the eye of this at the moment. It’s all swirling around Pitt, but at this point the only thing landing on Pitt is the name-calling. Here’s the thing Pitt fans: many of us decry when others — players, management, PR flacks,  others in the media have a thin-skin about things. Same rule applies for us. There has and will be crap flown towards Pitt. Not all of it particularly intelligent or well-thought out. Not much of it you will like.

Hard, though, it may be, deal with it. Don’t take it personally. You can offer the facts. You can point out the obvious evidence. Just don’t let yourself get too worked up over the silliness. Pitt is going to be painted as the bad guy. It’s the simple narrative. Some will go over the tops, others treating it like Pitt just part of the general problem.

Let me take you through the run down in case you missed some of it.

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Maybe. We’ll see. Wow. I don’t know.

This could be big.

Syracuse University and the University of Pittsburgh, two bedrock members of the Big East Conference, are engaged in talks about joining the Atlantic Coast Conference, according to a source with direct knowledge of the talks.

No one from Pittsburgh, Syracuse or the A.C.C. denied the conversations were taking place. Officials from all three entities declined to comment on the matter.

The person with knowledge of the talks declined to speculate on a timetable or the seriousness of the discussions. But in this delicate time for conferences and their futures, the discussions between the 12-team A.C.C. and two Big East members is significant.

The discussions show how the creeping trend toward 16-team super conferences that has concerned so many college athletics officials appears to be inching closer to reality.

As always, who knows for sure. But, wow. This would be huge. No question Pitt and Syracuse would and should go if the invite happens.

Not enough details, though, in the story to say much about it other than, “that would be swell.”