With speculation surrounding the addition of a tenth team to
the Big 12 Conference, US Senators have expressed their views on whether West
Virginia or Louisville should join the league.
The Big 12 is leaning toward the addition of West Virginia
and could make the final decision regarding their addition within the week.
According to Senator Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, West
Virginia University has been invited and accepted into the Big 12 and was
chosen “on the strength of the program—period.”
Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky intervened on
Louisville’s behalf, according to The New York Times, causing an uproar from
both Rockefeller and Joe Manchin, Senators from West Virginia.
Manchin issued a statement arguing for an investigation into
the truth behind the McConnell’s influence.
"If these outrageous reports have any merit – and
especially if a United States Senator has done anything inappropriate or
unethical to interfere with a decision that the Big 12 had already made – then
I believe that there should be an investigation in the US Senate, and I will
fight to get the truth," Senator Manchin said. "West Virginians and
the American people deserve to know exactly what is going on and whether
politics is interfering with our college sports."
Because of the uproar surrounding the selection of West
Virginia over Louisville, it seems likely the Big 12 may consider the two
schools as a package deal entering into the Big 12.
These additions would likely hinge on Missouri’s decision to
depart the Big 12 for the SEC. That departure would leave the conference with
two openings to fill to maintain a viable league of 10 teams, still two away
from the appropriate conference nomenclature.
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