Whenever the Missouri Tigers get around to actually leaving the Big 12, the West Virginia Mountaineers will be next up, according to the New York Post's Lenn Robbins. WVU, along with the Louisville Cardinals and BYU Cougars, has long been an object of the Big 12's reported desire (reported desires!).
Robbins also notes the Big 12 could expand to as many as 16 teams, which sounds more believable than the 10-team vision the conference has been attempting to sell.
Mighty damaging blow for the Big East, which would lose a better football program and fan base than Syracuse or Pitt and be down to -- gulp -- Cincinnati, UConn, Louisville, USF and Rutgers in football.
The conference's reported plans to pick up the Boise St. Broncos, Navy Midshipmen, Air Force Falcons, SMU Mustangs, Houston Cougars and Central Florida Knights would not only fall short of the 12 they're after, meaning they'd need to reconsider the Temple Owls or try harder to recruit the Army Black Knights, I'm not sure if it would be strong enough to remain a BCS conference.
For more on the 'Eers, visit West Virginia blog The Smoking Musket. And stay tuned here for more conference realignment news.