Over the weekend Pitt and Syracuse jumped from the Big East to the ACC, effectively sinking the Big East and causing the other members to look for greener pastures. UConn has made an effort to get into the ACC, as has Rutgers. While schools like Georgetown, St.Johns, and Villanova have to await their fate due to the fact that they don’t have FBS football programs that conferences are looking to scoop up in order to save themselves from oblivion.
The Big 12 members are in the same position as the Big East and if Texas and Oklahoma decide to head west to the Pac-12 and bring Oklahoma State and Texas Tech with them, schools such as Missouri and Kansas will be on the outside looking in.
So where does that leave the SEC? Well according to reports, both Missouri and West Virginia are contemplating moves to the conference, with WVU even applying to join already. As a student here, I can safely tell you that the Mountaineer fans would like nothing more than to play UK in conference play every year. The past two seasons have seen the schools match up on the hardwood, with each school taking a game. Football wise West Virginia seems to be a step above the UK program right now, but that’s easy to say when they aren’t playing in the most talented conference in the nation. Still, it’s tough to see how the basketball squads wouldn’t become rivals as soon as WVU joined the conference. Only Kentucky, Vanderbilt, and Florida seem to have any consistency as of late, and WVU would be a great addition on the hardwood.
Similarly Missouri is looking to join the SEC in order to save their program from purgatory. Like WVU, their basketball team is one of the best in their conference and would immediately provide a boost to the SEC basketball profile. If they joined , the Tigers would probably be a top 5 team in the SEC, behind Kentucky, Florida, Vandy, and WVU. Alabama, Arkansas, and Auburn are all programs on the rise, but none boast the recent success that Mizzou does. It would be interesting to see how Coach Cal would prepare for the pressure that Mizzou tends to use for all forty minutes.
Both of these teams will be fierce competitors in the SEC, and WVU will be tough in both football and basketball. One thing is for sure, Coach Cal and the Big Blue Nation have to be excited for a new challenge.
