Multiple media outlets reported Tuesday that West Virginia will leave the Big East Conference to join the Big 12 Conference.
The Mountaineers are expected to be the Big 12’s 10th member. The Charleston Gazette reported they will join the conference whether Missouri, which has been rumored to be on the verge of leaving for the Southeastern Conference, remains in the league or not.
Reports on Tuesday claimed that Big 12 officials will be in Morgantown today, and a press conference is expected to take place as early as this afternoon.
However, WVU issued a statement late Tuesday night stating there would be no press conference.
“Contrary to media reports, there is no press conference scheduled for Wednesday concerning WVU’s athletic conference affiliation. There are no further comments at this time,” the statement read.
The reported move comes just a week after West Virginia voted in favor of the Big East raising the exit fee from $5 million to $10 million.
WVU will not be held to the $10 million fee if it leaves now, as the increase in the exit fee would be put in place only if the Big East was able to execute its expansion plan.
When West Virginia will be allowed to begin Big 12 play is still unclear because of the Big East’s 27-month waiting policy that it is currently keeping Pittsburgh and Syracuse from joining the Atlantic Coast Conference.
If West Virginia does leave for the Big 12, it would be the fourth school this fall to announce its exit. TCU also announced its intentions to join the Big 12 earlier this month.
West Virginia football coach Dana Holgorsen said Tuesday that he has not had any input on any possible moves for the University. His focus has been solely on the Mountaineers’ game against Rutgers this weekend.
“I don’t have any dealings with that. If I had an opinion, I don’t even know who to call,” Holgorsen said. “If I called (WVU Athletic Director) Oliver (Luck) and (WVU President) Dr. (James P.) Clements, they would probably say, ‘You need to worry about Rutgers,’ which is 100 percent true.”
Holgorsen, who coached in the Big 12 with Texas Tech and Oklahoma State, also said that none of the coaches in the conference he knows have reached out to him.
“All my connections (in the Big 12) are coaches,” he said. “What do you think they’re doing this week?”
The first-year head coach did talk about some of the differences he’s encountered in his first season at WVU in the Big East compared to what he used to face in the Big 12.
“It’s different. If you look all the Big 12 teams … they’re all spread,” Holgorsen said. “I’m only two games into what I’ve seen in the Big East, but from what I’ve seen, it’s a little different. It’s still a little tougher, old school mentality (in the Big East).”
The Big 12 offers all the varsity sports that WVU has, with the exceptions of rifle and men’s soccer.
Currently, the West Virginia men’s soccer team is heading into the final stretch of its regular season ranked No. 18 in the country.
It’s likely that the Mountaineers will have to follow Kentucky and South Carolina and affiliate its men’s soccer program in a different conference than the rest of the varsity sports. While Kentucky and South Carolina belong to the SEC, the two schools play their men’s soccer games in Conference USA.
WVU head coach Marlon LeBlanc declined comment until anything has been made official.
The rifle team currently is a member of the Great American Rifle Conference and is ranked No. 1 in the country.