Post by elp525 on Nov 3, 2011 4:48:37 GMT -5
Thursday November 3, 2011
by Mike Casazza
Charleston Daily Mail
MORGANTOWN - When Dana Holgorsen was told for a second time last week West Virginia was headed to the Big 12 Conference, the Mountaineers' football coach gathered his team and told them that what they thought was true last Tuesday was finally true Friday.
"We brought the guys together for about 30 seconds and told them it was official, but then we told them it doesn't mean anything," Holgorsen said. "It doesn't mean anything with this week and it doesn't mean anything next week."
The 24th-ranked Mountaineers are instead focused only on the goal they had at the start of the season. They want to win the Big East title. If that means taking the 2011 conference championship with them to the Big 12 next year, so be it, but the future does nothing to the present.
WVU (6-2, 2-1 Big East) plays host to Louisville (4-4, 2-1) at noon Saturday. The noon kickoff at Mountaineer Field will be televised on the Big East Network.
"With that said, as a program, I'm excited, I can assure you that," said Holgorsen, who spent seven seasons as an assistant at Texas Tech and one season at Oklahoma State inside the Big 12. "I understand the Big 12 and what they're about from a national perspective, from a facilities perspective and from an academic perspective.
"The amount of changes and challenges that are going to take place here at West Virginia is something that will take a long time to get done. It's a huge task - it's not an overnight fix. It's great to be able to solidify our future and what we need to do to put ourselves in a position to be successful."
As a football member of the Big East since 1991, WVU eventually developed the best football facilities in the conference and venues for most of its other sports to at least rival the best the league had to offer.
The Mountaineers won't compare quite as favorably right away in the Big 12.
Milan Puskar Stadium will have only the seventh-largest capacity in the Big 12, although some of the schools ahead of WVU don't have much of an edge.
WVU has an indoor practice facility with a 70-yard field and a low ceiling that prevents kicking and punting and special teams drills. Holgorsen also said in the preseason he prefers to practice on the grass practice field because it's easier on the body, but was worried about practicing there too much and wearing out the surface.
He said the Mountaineers not only will identify and address challenges across the board, but that they'll have to if they want to compete.
"It's a step up now," he said. "The Big East is the most competitive conference I've been in. Period. From top to bottom, it's the most competitive conference I've been in - within the conference. The Big 12, as far as setting the standard from a facilities standpoint, from a recruiting standpoint, from a TV exposure standpoint, to an academic standpoint, is something that they set the bar very, very high.
"I know that West Virginia is capable of adding to that. From a fan-base perspective, from how many people go to the games, it's something we're going to have to evaluate and try to make it as good as we can to be able to compete."
WVU also goes from being one of the most financially successful teams in the Big East to residing in the middle of the Big 12. In 2009-10, WVU led the Big East in football revenue ($29.46 million). Pitt was second at $22.51 million. The Mountaineers had the third-lowest football expenses ($14.33).
Their football revenue would rank fourth behind Texas ($95.74 million), Oklahoma ($58.81 million) and Oklahoma State ($33.21 million). WVU's football expenses would rank fifth in the Big 12 behind Texas ($24.5 million), Oklahoma ($23.19), TCU ($22.6) and Texas Tech ($15.78).
WVU's athletic department revenue was $62.03 million in 2009-10 and trailed only Louisville ($87.73 million) and Connecticut ($63.04 million) among Big East football schools. The Mountaineers were also third in the league in athletic department expenses ($56.6 million) and trailed Louisville ($87.78 million) and Connecticut ($62.94 million).
In the Big 12, WVU's athletic department revenue would be fifth behind Texas ($150.29 million), Oklahoma ($104.33 million), Kansas ($70.02 million) and Oklahoma State ($70.13 million). WVU's overall athletic expenses would rank fourth in the Big 12 behind Texas ($125.97 million), Oklahoma ($96.27 million) and Kansas ($70.02 million).
"I would tell you Texas is No. 1 and nobody can compete with Texas in terms of money spent, though if you look at the Big 12 and the money other people are spending, they're doing a very good job competing with Texas on the field, on the basketball court and on the baseball diamond," WVU Athletic Director Oliver Luck said.
"Texas does get a lot of money, no doubt about that, and I'm sure Texas is very proud of that, but I think a the end of the day, we can be very, very competitive. The Big 12 is a great conference with great athletic programs and great academic programs and some real juggernauts when you look at the different sports. I have all the faith in the world our coaches and our student-athletes will rise to the challenge."
It's a new task for fans, too.
WVU and Big 12 officials have praised the way fans of the Mountaineers travel to road games and postseason competition, but regular-season trips in the Big 12 are more difficult because of the added distance between WVU and a Big 12 opponent. Iowa State is the nearest Big 12 campus and it's more than 850 miles from WVU. The longest road trip in the Big East is about 950 miles to South Florida.
Holgorsen said the travel variable for the teams was "overrated," but is a valid concern for fans.
"From a fan's perspective, it's probably a little more challenging," he said. "If you're a fan that will drive five hours, but not 10 hours, then it may be a problem. They may need to start looking into booking flights a year in advance to get cheap flights.
"All the places that we'll be playing will be places that we can get to. It's air travel, but it's all gone to air travel anyway. There are some fun venues, you know. I can assure you that. There are a lot of good places and there will be a lot of fun times ahead."
by Mike Casazza
Charleston Daily Mail
MORGANTOWN - When Dana Holgorsen was told for a second time last week West Virginia was headed to the Big 12 Conference, the Mountaineers' football coach gathered his team and told them that what they thought was true last Tuesday was finally true Friday.
"We brought the guys together for about 30 seconds and told them it was official, but then we told them it doesn't mean anything," Holgorsen said. "It doesn't mean anything with this week and it doesn't mean anything next week."
The 24th-ranked Mountaineers are instead focused only on the goal they had at the start of the season. They want to win the Big East title. If that means taking the 2011 conference championship with them to the Big 12 next year, so be it, but the future does nothing to the present.
WVU (6-2, 2-1 Big East) plays host to Louisville (4-4, 2-1) at noon Saturday. The noon kickoff at Mountaineer Field will be televised on the Big East Network.
"With that said, as a program, I'm excited, I can assure you that," said Holgorsen, who spent seven seasons as an assistant at Texas Tech and one season at Oklahoma State inside the Big 12. "I understand the Big 12 and what they're about from a national perspective, from a facilities perspective and from an academic perspective.
"The amount of changes and challenges that are going to take place here at West Virginia is something that will take a long time to get done. It's a huge task - it's not an overnight fix. It's great to be able to solidify our future and what we need to do to put ourselves in a position to be successful."
As a football member of the Big East since 1991, WVU eventually developed the best football facilities in the conference and venues for most of its other sports to at least rival the best the league had to offer.
The Mountaineers won't compare quite as favorably right away in the Big 12.
Milan Puskar Stadium will have only the seventh-largest capacity in the Big 12, although some of the schools ahead of WVU don't have much of an edge.
WVU has an indoor practice facility with a 70-yard field and a low ceiling that prevents kicking and punting and special teams drills. Holgorsen also said in the preseason he prefers to practice on the grass practice field because it's easier on the body, but was worried about practicing there too much and wearing out the surface.
He said the Mountaineers not only will identify and address challenges across the board, but that they'll have to if they want to compete.
"It's a step up now," he said. "The Big East is the most competitive conference I've been in. Period. From top to bottom, it's the most competitive conference I've been in - within the conference. The Big 12, as far as setting the standard from a facilities standpoint, from a recruiting standpoint, from a TV exposure standpoint, to an academic standpoint, is something that they set the bar very, very high.
"I know that West Virginia is capable of adding to that. From a fan-base perspective, from how many people go to the games, it's something we're going to have to evaluate and try to make it as good as we can to be able to compete."
WVU also goes from being one of the most financially successful teams in the Big East to residing in the middle of the Big 12. In 2009-10, WVU led the Big East in football revenue ($29.46 million). Pitt was second at $22.51 million. The Mountaineers had the third-lowest football expenses ($14.33).
Their football revenue would rank fourth behind Texas ($95.74 million), Oklahoma ($58.81 million) and Oklahoma State ($33.21 million). WVU's football expenses would rank fifth in the Big 12 behind Texas ($24.5 million), Oklahoma ($23.19), TCU ($22.6) and Texas Tech ($15.78).
WVU's athletic department revenue was $62.03 million in 2009-10 and trailed only Louisville ($87.73 million) and Connecticut ($63.04 million) among Big East football schools. The Mountaineers were also third in the league in athletic department expenses ($56.6 million) and trailed Louisville ($87.78 million) and Connecticut ($62.94 million).
In the Big 12, WVU's athletic department revenue would be fifth behind Texas ($150.29 million), Oklahoma ($104.33 million), Kansas ($70.02 million) and Oklahoma State ($70.13 million). WVU's overall athletic expenses would rank fourth in the Big 12 behind Texas ($125.97 million), Oklahoma ($96.27 million) and Kansas ($70.02 million).
"I would tell you Texas is No. 1 and nobody can compete with Texas in terms of money spent, though if you look at the Big 12 and the money other people are spending, they're doing a very good job competing with Texas on the field, on the basketball court and on the baseball diamond," WVU Athletic Director Oliver Luck said.
"Texas does get a lot of money, no doubt about that, and I'm sure Texas is very proud of that, but I think a the end of the day, we can be very, very competitive. The Big 12 is a great conference with great athletic programs and great academic programs and some real juggernauts when you look at the different sports. I have all the faith in the world our coaches and our student-athletes will rise to the challenge."
It's a new task for fans, too.
WVU and Big 12 officials have praised the way fans of the Mountaineers travel to road games and postseason competition, but regular-season trips in the Big 12 are more difficult because of the added distance between WVU and a Big 12 opponent. Iowa State is the nearest Big 12 campus and it's more than 850 miles from WVU. The longest road trip in the Big East is about 950 miles to South Florida.
Holgorsen said the travel variable for the teams was "overrated," but is a valid concern for fans.
"From a fan's perspective, it's probably a little more challenging," he said. "If you're a fan that will drive five hours, but not 10 hours, then it may be a problem. They may need to start looking into booking flights a year in advance to get cheap flights.
"All the places that we'll be playing will be places that we can get to. It's air travel, but it's all gone to air travel anyway. There are some fun venues, you know. I can assure you that. There are a lot of good places and there will be a lot of fun times ahead."
