West Virginia Football: Will Mountaineers Return to Independent Status in 2014?

What has West Virginia done? Have they shot themselves in the foot?

Two weeks ago they accepted an invitation to join the Big 12 conference that was based on their making the move for the 2012 season.

They announced  they'd be able to exit the Big East and promised the Big 12 they'd be there on time.

The Mountaineers have a contract with the Big East that runs through 2013 and until that time they won't be able to leave.

The Big East and West Virginia authored bylaws eight years ago which makes it mandatory for any team wanting to leave to have to pay a $5 million to exit and wait 27 months.

West Virginia filed a suit against the Big East last Monday claiming the contract is invalid because the Big East didn't protect their legal interests, and they claim it was voided when the Big East accepted $2.5 million as a partial down payment for the exit fee.

Big East Commissioner John Marinatto says these allegations are false and he is going to hold West Virginia to the contract upon which they agreed.

On Friday Marinatto and the Big East sued West Virginia for attempting to breach the contract.

Where Does That Leave West Virginia?

Where does this all leave West Virginia, especially if the Big 12 can't wait for the Mountaineers to exit the Big East?

If they can't win, what appears to be a frivolous suit meant to increase their bargaining power, or if they can't reach a settlement where the Big East releases them, what happens?

What happens if the Big 12 loses Missouri and gets raided by the Pac 12 and they walk away with Texas, Oklahoma, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State?

The Mountaineers have already applied and been turned down by the ACC.  The ACC just expanded to 14 teams with the addition of Pittsburgh and Syracuse.

The ACC hasn't turned down Rutgers or UConn, but they're not interested in West Virginia.

Once again, what if the Big 12 can't wait for them? 

So that leaves the Big Ten and the SEC, two conferences that just recently expanded (SEC added Texas A&M, the Big Ten added Nebraska).

The Mountaineers haven't exactly been on the radar of these two and there may be no rush to bring in more teams.

It's pretty well noted if the SEC goes from 13 to 14 teams, Missouri is going to get the call. 

The Big Ten may be happy to stay with the 12 teams they now have.

So where does that leave the Mountaineers?

Well, they've probably created a huge rift with the Big East and what are the chances of smoothing everything over are not looking good. 

The Big East has plans to get to 12 football playing schools and it might be a great fit for the Mountaineers, but they've made it clear they want out of the Big East and are unhappy with how they've been treated by the conference. 

West Virginia was an independent from 1968 until they joined the Big East in 1993.  Will they once again become an independent?

Will they join Conference USA if it still exists?

As an independent, the Mountaineers will probably still be able to schedule Pittsburgh and some other quality FBS teams.

But it may not be that easy to guarantee good schedules every year, just ask Notre Dame.

So what will happen to the Mountaineers?  Where will they be playing their football in 2014?