Louisville vs. West Virginia: Did the Big 12 make a mistake by turning down the Cardinals?

The Daily Texan

​Back in October 2011, the Big 12 made a huge mistake when it selected West Virginia to become the Big 12’s 10th member instead of Louisville. Near the conclusion of Year 1, it seems that the move may have blown up in the Big 12’s face.

​West Virginia finished the 2012 football season at a mediocre 7-6 including a loss to Syracuse in the Pinstripe Bowl. Louisville went 11-2 while winning the Big East and capped off the season with a victory over the Florida Gators in the Sugar Bowl.

​In men’s basketball, West Virginia finished eighth in a weak Big 12 conference with a 13-19 overall record and missed the postseason. Louisville, on the other hand, finished the year 35-5 while winning the national title. The team's addition would have certainly strengthened the Big 12 in basketball and made it no longer just Kansas’ conference.

Louisville was named The Most Profitable College Basketball Team by CNBC a few weeks back, and would have been a huge addition for the Big 12. The Cardinals' three Final Fours since 2004 ties the Big 12’s total over that time (Oklahoma State 2004, Kansas 2008, Kansas 2012).

In women’s basketball there isn’t much of a comparison. The Mountaineers went 17-14 this season, losing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament while the Cardinals went 29-9 and lost to Connecticut in the national title game, knocking off the Big 12 champion Baylor Bears along the way.

​Then you have baseball, where again Louisville is clearly supreme. The Cardinals are ranked No. 8 in the country with a record of 28-7, while the Mountaineers are 20-17.

And to think Tom Jurich, Louisville's director of athletics, nearly went so far as to beg for admittance into the conference but it was not meant to be. Instead the Big 12 chose West Virginia and its 871-mile commute to the nearest conference foe (Iowa State) as opposed to the 545 miles from Louisville to Lawrence (home of the University of Kansas Jayhawks).

​So on top of it not being a smart move due to athletics, it was geographically a decision that made little sense. If the right decisions were made, the Big 12 would probably have two BCS teams, a team in the Final Four for both men’s and women’s basketball and three teams currently in the top 25 of baseball.

I know that it has only been one season, and West Virginia has time to turn it around but it seems like the Big 12 admitted the wrong team into the conference. Time will tell which would have been the better move, but after year one it is Louisville by a large margin.

I dont like this either/or stuff. They should have taken WVU AND Louisvile AND Cincy. Case closed. Oh and 545 miles is closer than 871 but come on now both are still pretty far which is why they needed both schools plus Cincy.

To be fair on the football side, if you reversed schedules, I think things would have looked closer to even. Louisville ended the year great, but wasn't impressive at points early (even though they won out). I doubt they would have ended up with a record significantly different than West Virginia playing West Virginia's schedule (although it certainly could have been a little better).

That said, things would have been better for most if you reversed the moves. The only reason West Virginia wasn't in the ACC before was academics. With the ACC willing to ignore that, adding West Virginia gives them a slightly higher football add (over the past decade at least), a good rivalry (Backyard Brawl), and a closer team. Meanwhile the Big 12 (if it got Louisville) gets a team that's not 800 miles from its closest neighbor, and gets another basketball power (won't mean nearly as much in the ACC as it would in the Big 12, even though the Big 12 is strong too).

With all that said, I don't think either side is really unhappy.

Bottom line...WVU is happy in the Big XII...Louisville is escatic in the ACC.

(04-17-2013 08:51 AM)Maize Wrote:  Bottom line...WVU is happy in the Big XII...Louisville is escatic in the ACC.

This X2

And the ACC is in love with our new BFF's from the south bank of the Ohio.

It was really dumb for the big 12 not to take both to at least get to 11. I think you probably could make the case taking TCU was mistake too but that's not as clear cut.

(04-17-2013 08:51 AM)Maize Wrote:  Bottom line...WVU is happy in the Big XII...Louisville is escatic in the ACC.

Yes but...

I really felt like the Big 12 exploited both Louisville's and WVU's need to be in a conference. They shouldn't have used the schools against each other or taken advantage of the situation they were in. The Big 12 could have made great partners but instead they wanted to throw there power around with desperate programs. Now at the meager benefit of a few dollars they have a team on an island fighting with a financial uphill battle and lost out on a quality school that could have added to the conference.

The story is the selfishness of the Big 12. They could have done themselves and both Louisville and WVU a huge favor by adding them both. But a few dollars and a domineering attitude prevented them from making the right decision.

(04-17-2013 10:00 AM)ULdave Wrote:  

(04-17-2013 08:51 AM)Maize Wrote:  Bottom line...WVU is happy in the Big XII...Louisville is escatic in the ACC.

Yes but...

I really felt like the Big 12 exploited both Louisville's and WVU's need to be in a conference. They shouldn't have used the schools against each other or taken advantage of the situation they were in. The Big 12 could have made great partners but instead they wanted to throw there power around with desperate programs. Now at the meager benefit of a few dollars they have a team on an island fighting with a financial uphill battle and lost out on a quality school that could have added to the conference.

The story is the selfishness of the Big 12. They could have done themselves and both Louisville and WVU a huge favor by adding them both. But a few dollars and a domineering attitude prevented them from making the right decision.

Would you really want to be in the B12 though? The ACC offers you traditional recruiting grounds and much shorter road trips.

The ACC will be a really fun conference with the new adds to go with a great line up. After looking at the new AAC line up, most former Big East Schools like WVU will,and are traveling now to Texas and Oklahoma also. Guess it all works out in the end.

(04-17-2013 10:10 AM)TexanMark Wrote:  

(04-17-2013 10:00 AM)ULdave Wrote:  

(04-17-2013 08:51 AM)Maize Wrote:  Bottom line...WVU is happy in the Big XII...Louisville is escatic in the ACC.

Yes but...

I really felt like the Big 12 exploited both Louisville's and WVU's need to be in a conference. They shouldn't have used the schools against each other or taken advantage of the situation they were in. The Big 12 could have made great partners but instead they wanted to throw there power around with desperate programs. Now at the meager benefit of a few dollars they have a team on an island fighting with a financial uphill battle and lost out on a quality school that could have added to the conference.

The story is the selfishness of the Big 12. They could have done themselves and both Louisville and WVU a huge favor by adding them both. But a few dollars and a domineering attitude prevented them from making the right decision.

Would you really want to be in the B12 though? The ACC offers you traditional recruiting grounds and much shorter road trips.

Absolutely not. My point is that short sighted greed is a bad thing in conference realignment.

Louisville is much better off all things said and done. The Big 12 however missed out and there is a lesson to be learned there.

(04-17-2013 10:00 AM)ULdave Wrote:  

(04-17-2013 08:51 AM)Maize Wrote:  Bottom line...WVU is happy in the Big XII...Louisville is escatic in the ACC.

Yes but...

I really felt like the Big 12 exploited both Louisville's and WVU's need to be in a conference. They shouldn't have used the schools against each other or taken advantage of the situation they were in. The Big 12 could have made great partners but instead they wanted to throw there power around with desperate programs. Now at the meager benefit of a few dollars they have a team on an island fighting with a financial uphill battle and lost out on a quality school that could have added to the conference.

The story is the selfishness of the Big 12. They could have done themselves and both Louisville and WVU a huge favor by adding them both. But a few dollars and a domineering attitude prevented them from making the right decision.

What's new? It's the Big XII. Like Blake Shelton states in his country song..."this is Austin."

It's an editorial opinion, and you know what opinions are like...

The decision was made based on recommendations from the network execs, exactly like the ACC's decisions. So it is what it is...

That said, Louisville had a great year this season. More power to 'em...

It's good to be the king...

(04-17-2013 12:02 PM)ULdave Wrote:  

(04-17-2013 10:10 AM)TexanMark Wrote:  

(04-17-2013 10:00 AM)ULdave Wrote:  

(04-17-2013 08:51 AM)Maize Wrote:  Bottom line...WVU is happy in the Big XII...Louisville is escatic in the ACC.

Yes but...

I really felt like the Big 12 exploited both Louisville's and WVU's need to be in a conference. They shouldn't have used the schools against each other or taken advantage of the situation they were in. The Big 12 could have made great partners but instead they wanted to throw there power around with desperate programs. Now at the meager benefit of a few dollars they have a team on an island fighting with a financial uphill battle and lost out on a quality school that could have added to the conference.

The story is the selfishness of the Big 12. They could have done themselves and both Louisville and WVU a huge favor by adding them both. But a few dollars and a domineering attitude prevented them from making the right decision.

Would you really want to be in the B12 though? The ACC offers you traditional recruiting grounds and much shorter road trips.

Absolutely not. My point is that short sighted greed is a bad thing in conference realignment.

Louisville is much better off all things said and done. The Big 12 however missed out and there is a lesson to be learned there.

Maybe the Big XII is sincere in saying that 10 is the right number for them and that they have no interest in going to 12.

Reasonable minds can disagree when it comes to weighing the pros and cons, so I'm not assuming that they were exploiting anyone or that they were being short sighted. Frankly I think that conferences of 14-15 as we have now and may go beyond are absurd. Once a conference gets that big, it's nothing but a scheduling and negotiating collaborative.

This is a dumb article. WVU had a great run in their last year in the Big East and beat ACC champ Clemson by 70 points in the Orange Bowl on their way to the Big XII. Louisville ended last football season in defeating BCS superpower Florida and winning the NCAA Tournament this month. A better and fair comparison would be 5 years from now, then that will be apples to apples.

Only time will tell what conference got the better school, the Big XII or the ACC. One season won't tell us much.

(04-18-2013 02:04 PM)UTEPDallas Wrote:  This is a dumb article. WVU had a great run in their last year in the Big East and beat ACC champ Clemson by 70 points in the Orange Bowl on their way to the Big XII. Louisville ended last football season in defeating BCS superpower Florida and winning the NCAA Tournament this month. A better and fair comparison would be 5 years from now, then that will be apples to apples.

Only time will tell what conference got the better school, the Big XII or the ACC. One season won't tell us much.

If Charlie Strong and Rick Pitino are still at Louisville, and Holgerson and Huggy Bear are still at WV, Louisville will still come out ahead in 5 years, imo.

(04-18-2013 02:39 PM)cuseroc Wrote:  

(04-18-2013 02:04 PM)UTEPDallas Wrote:  This is a dumb article. WVU had a great run in their last year in the Big East and beat ACC champ Clemson by 70 points in the Orange Bowl on their way to the Big XII. Louisville ended last football season in defeating BCS superpower Florida and winning the NCAA Tournament this month. A better and fair comparison would be 5 years from now, then that will be apples to apples.

Only time will tell what conference got the better school, the Big XII or the ACC. One season won't tell us much.

If Charlie Strong and Rick Pitino are still at Louisville, and Holgerson and Huggy Bear are still at WV, Louisville will still come out ahead in 5 years, imo.

Like I said, time will tell but the odds are in Louisville's favor (for now). Five years from now will be fair to compare both programs and see which one is stronger.

(04-18-2013 02:39 PM)cuseroc Wrote:  

(04-18-2013 02:04 PM)UTEPDallas Wrote:  This is a dumb article. WVU had a great run in their last year in the Big East and beat ACC champ Clemson by 70 points in the Orange Bowl on their way to the Big XII. Louisville ended last football season in defeating BCS superpower Florida and winning the NCAA Tournament this month. A better and fair comparison would be 5 years from now, then that will be apples to apples.

Only time will tell what conference got the better school, the Big XII or the ACC. One season won't tell us much.

If Charlie Strong and Rick Pitino are still at Louisville, and Holgerson and Huggy Bear are still at WV, Louisville will still come out ahead in 5 years, imo.

We shall see, cuse...

(04-17-2013 08:51 AM)Maize Wrote:  Bottom line...WVU is happy in the Big XII...Louisville is escatic in the ACC.

What he said!

(04-17-2013 09:15 AM)bluesox Wrote:  It was really dumb for the big 12 not to take both to at least get to 11. I think you probably could make the case taking TCU was mistake too but that's not as clear cut.

Would've been better off taking UL, UC, Pitt and WVU to get to 12 and leaving TCU in the American.