West Virginia Big 12: Reportedly Done Deal, But Is It Smart For Mountaineers?

With the Big East crumbling around them, the West Virginia Mountaineers are reportedly ready to make the jump to the Big 12 following next season. For all intents and purposes, this would likely kill the Big East as an automatic-qualifying conference.

From West Virginia's perspective, I think this is a no-brainer. While the Big 12 has begun to lose a bit of its mystique with the likes of Texas A&M and Missouri ready to move to the SEC, the presence of Oklahoma and Texas still makes it an attractive conference.

For the past few seasons, the Mountaineers have essentially been a big fish in a small pond anyway. The Big East has been a laughingstock in terms of BCS conferences and rarely have more than one team in the Top 25.

More often than not that team has been West Virginia, so it seems like the right time to make the move. The Big East has made a last-ditch effort to salvage the conference's validity by inviting teams like Boise State, Navy, Air Force and others. Despite that, the Big East is a sinking ship that is on the verge of capsizing. 

There is honestly nothing keeping the Mountaineers in the Big East at this point, so it would be irresponsible of the program to not at least consider making a move to a superior and more stable conference. Even West Virginia's greatest rival in Pittsburgh is moving to the ACC, so the Mountaineers have no reason to stay.

The Big East will obviously be wounded greatly from a basketball perspective with all this movement, but football is the biggest money maker and thus it takes precedence. The move should be a lucrative one for West Virginia, and that is honestly the only thing that counts in college football.

West Virginia is an excellent football program, but the perception that it is continually competing against inferior competition means that it can only go so far while being a member of the Big East.

Not only will the move be great for West Virginia monetarily and in terms of reputation, but it should aid greatly in recruiting. I doubt that too many blue chippers are dying to play in a conference with as much uncertainty as the Big East at this point.

Moving to the Big 12 will greatly expand the Mountaineers' recruiting base, as they will be able to pick up solid prospects that teams like Texas and Oklahoma pass over. The allure of playing against some of college football's historically great programs will only serve to help West Virginia in terms of recruiting as well.

Overall, provided the Big 12's bell cows stay put as expected, the move would be a clear win for West Virginia. It would almost certainly doom the Big East, but at the end of the day, West Virginia needs to do what is best for itself as a program and that clearly entails abandoning the Big East.