West Virginia's possible acceptance in the Big 12 appears to be on hold.
The West Virginia Gazette reports that the Big 12 Board of Directors has what the newspaper called "put the brakes" on plans to expand. The report comes after West Virginia issued a Tuesday night statement saying no news conference had been scheduled to announce a move to the Big 12, and that a visit by Big 12 officials to the West Virginia campus, scheduled for Wednesday, also has been called off.
The New York Times reported Wednesday that West Virginia was in a "holding pattern."
At least one coach has to be pleased with that development.
Texas Tech coach Tommy Tuberville, aka the Sooner Slayer, says the Big 12 should have looked to a school much closer to its footprint for its newest member.
Louisville offers simpler travel and less complex logistics, Tuberville told ESPN 103.3 FM in Dallas.
"It’s hard to get to West Virginia. Man, I don’t know whether these people realize … because you’ve got to go to Pittsburgh and then you’ve got an hour and a half ride to Morgantown," Tuberville said. "It’s a great place. It’s just an excellent college town and they play very good football. I’ve coached many games there. It’s a heck of an atmosphere."
Tuberville was complimentary of the Mountaineers, repeatedly emphasizing it's a solid fit as a football program. But everything else?
"I thought it would be Louisville. I thought they would be a better fit for the situation for the Big 12," he said. "West Virginia’s going to be great. It’s just the distance and travel is going to be different for everybody and just being able to get there and for fans to get in and out."
Tuberville said he told Tech officials he'd be OK with either school in the conference, but which would you prefer? BYU is still a factor in Big 12 expansion, but for these purposes, we'll narrow it down to the Big East teams discussed here.
Vote in our poll.