What the CAA and Big 12 Have in Common

Happy Lupercalia to you all, may you enjoy high testosterone and estrogen levels.


On this wonderful day of random girls walking around with flowers and even larger than normal amounts of completely obnoxious PDA, I put a simple question to you:


What do the Big 12 and Colonial Athletic Association have in common? Anyone? Anybody?



Let's start with the BXII, who just got some pretty great news: Morgantown, WV is almost heaven.  The 304 is officially cheering for a Big 12 team (unless you're in Huntington), as West Virginia and the Big East have officially announced their 20-million dollar divorce.  WVU will pay 11 million, and the Big 12 will pick up the rest of the bar tab.  And it's that simple.  Facebook relationship statuses have been changed. The Mountaineers and the Big East are no more.

Fresh off the heels of that news, WVU's new conference was quick (and I mean lightning fast) to release their 2012 football schedule, complete with TCU and WVU's entire conference roadmap.  Though most of it had already been finalized, the West Virginia court issues were considerably slowing things down.  Now the schedule can be completely finalized with the Mountaineers' games present and accounted for.  WVU plays a fairly balanced schedule next fall. Notable games:

9/29 (B12 opener): Baylor @ West Virginia
10/6: West Virginia @ Texas
11/3 TCU @ West Virginia
11/10 West Virginia @ Oklahoma State
11/17 Oklahoma @ West Virginia


Like I said, it's pretty balanced.  In fact, it's downright favorable, with WVU's overall schedule featuring seven home games.  Not bad for your premiere in a new conference.

Now, regarding the November 10 matchup of West Virginia and Oklahoma State:

1. It's actually not that farfetched to think WVU could be undefeated in early November (only two road games in conference, Texas and Texas Tech, plus Marshall, JMU, and Maryland all at home)

2.  You're watching the two most prolific offenses on college football next year

3. It's Dana Holgorsen's return to the school and team he formerly coached.

All that adds up to one thing: buy your tickets now for college gameday in Stillwater, Oklahoma on November 10, 2012.


For the Big 12 complete schedule, click here.
For WVU's complete schedule, click here.



Now, onto the CAA.  Remember them?  They're that SEC-like conference of Division 1AA football and that basketball conference that has had two separate final four teams in the last five seasons.  They are the conference that JMU is in, and that I must partially cover in an actual newspaper and not this online soapbox.  What's that, my non-captive audience?  You want to know what's going on with the CAA before The Breeze tells you on Thursday?  Yeah, okay, I guess I can do that.

The Colonial has just recently (as in, information released in the last 24 hours) signed a TV deal with NBC's new sports broadcasting channel. You know, the one I frequently trash on twitter becuase it'll probably never be as big as ESPN? Yeah, that one.  And by TV deal, I mean five years of the most extensive coverage the CAA has ever, bold italicized underlined EVER, had.  The deal not only covers national coverage of football and men's basketball, but also additional regional coverage of multiple other sports. 

The CAA is the first conference on any level to sign with NBC.  I have learned from very credible sources how difficult it has been for JMU and the CAA to negotiate media rights with ESPN.  For a conference that has been wildly successful in the last 5-10 years, they certainly don't get respected like it.  So yes, take this as a wag of the finger- probably the middle one- toward ESPN. And rightfully so. We've taken are business elsewhere, and Adam Smith wouldn't have it any other way.


So what do the CAA and Big 12 have in common?


Well, they're both random girls walking around with bouquets of flowers.  Happy Valentine's Day, CAA/Big 12.  It's sure to be a memorable one.