It's official. West Virginia is the newest member of the Big 12 Conference.
The Mountaineers didn't have to wait the mandatory 27 months before leaving the Big East, but for you Pitt and Syracuse fans out there who think this will create a path for your teams to follow WVU out the door, think again.
The Mountaineers really, really, really must have wanted out of the Big East because they negotiated a $20 million buyout.
Last week, Pitt AD Steve Pederson was on record as saying the Panthers wouldn't pay any more than $5 million to get out of their Big East committment so they can join the ACC. I guess that means they're staying for a little while longer.
Oh well, at any rate, Pitt and WVU have apparently played their last football game for a very long time.
I mean, no matter how much the fans may want it, the handwriting is on the wall. West Virginia has to play nine conference games in the Big 12, and since one of their annual non-conference games is going to continue to be against state rival Marshall, that doesn't leave much room for the Panthers. Every school likes to play at least two cupcakes a year, so it looks like Pitt and WVU are going to have to find new brawling partners.
I'm sure both schools will eventually find new rivals within their respective conferences, but it's a shame to see the Brawl go, at least for now.
As a Pitt fan, I'm happy to say I got to witness the Panthers' last victory over the Mountaineers back in 2008 at Heinz Field. But, also as a Pitt fan, I'm mad to say that WVU has the eternal bragging-rights beings that they won the final two games in the series.
Oh well, I'm not even 40 years old yet, and I've already seen the Panthers lose two of their biggest rivals in WVU and Penn State.
But, that's life in big time college athletics.
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