West Virginia's Departure from Big East Could Be Imminent

Dick "Hoops" Weis of the NY Daily News has reported that West Virginia's recent cancellation of the 2012 FSU game is an attempt to speed up the process for their entrance into the Big 12 next season.

The highly-regarded Weis writes that the Big East could request a preliminary injunction to stop WVU from leaving, but he claims: "More likely is a lucrative settlement in which West Virginia leave and then combined with the Big 12 chip in to pay the Big East damages in the area of $20 million dollars."

Mike Casazza of the Charleston Daily Mail agrees with Weis and explains the Mountaineers dropped FSU because there would be no room for the Seminoles with a Big 12 nine-game conference schedule.

Casazza believes a "split from Big East is nearing for WVU."

Like Weis, Jerry Hinnen of CBS Sports also thinks there's a chance the Big 12 would help WVU with the exit fee. In his Feb. 6 article he writes that Big 12 Commissioner Neinas said if West Virginia needs some financial assistance from the Big 12 in order to pay its exit fee, the league "would talk with WVU about it."

The three writers think the long and irritating dispute between WVU and the Big East is about to be resolved—they could be correct.

WVU has certainly known, and it seems the Big East is coming around to understand this type of disagreement is damaging to college football and could affect schedules for years to come if an agreement is not reached.

WVU has continually said it is going to play in the Big 12 in 2012. Hinnen even goes further when he writes, "There's no way West Virginia dismisses Florida State unless the Mountaineers are absolutely certain they won't be a part of the Big East in 2012 and has a guarantee from the Big East."

He says it could happen Thursday.

He thinks the two sides could have already reached a proposed settlement and that they'll submit it to the judge that requested the mediation scheduled for this week.

What happens to Big East

If we're on the verge of the split between WVU and the Big East, Commissioner John Marinatto has to realize that his conference will be down to seven teams for the 2012 football season.

This will make it necessary for each team to add another game to its schedule (a sixth non-conference game).

Such a scheduling demand could prove extremely difficult just seven months before the start of the season. It could lead to Big East teams stocking their schedules with extra FCS teams.

There's also a chance one of these teams could pick up Florida State, currently in a search of replacement for WVU on their 2012 schedule.

What happens to Pitt and Syracuse

Like WVU, Pitt and Syracuse are exiting the Big East. These two are headed to the ACC but unlike WVU, they have chosen to honor their contract with the Big East and leave in 2014, when the conference's 27-month waiting period has expired.

What could an early WVU departure mean to these two teams?

USA Today's Erick Smith writes, "It is possible that the Mountaineers leaving early could open the door for the Syracuse and Pittsburgh to exit before 2014."

Leaving early could mean for the 2013 season, when the Big East adds five new teams to their schedule, or it could mean leaving for the 2012 football season.

The Big East certainly doesn't want these two to leave for the 2012 football season. This would cause chaos for the Big East and turn scheduling into a nightmare.

If Marinatto has a strong feeling that Pitt and Syracuse would follow WVU's lead and try to get out next year, it could cause him to take his dispute with the Mountaineers to court, and bypass any mediation process.

Why can't WVU wait one more year

One has to wonder if WVU can't fulfill its Big East contract, as Pitt and Syracuse indicated they would, why then would they not wait one more year to leave when the Big East adds five new teams?

One has to wonder why they would leave FSU struggling to add a quality home game in 2012 because they just notified them they were cancelling.

Dick Weis may have said it best: "The Big 12 has reportedly told West Virginia it needs the Mountaineers in the league to secure its lucrative TV deal."

Hooray for conference realignment!