Welcome to the Friday Feedback, which fixed up the time machine this week and went back to September 2011. We were prompted, of course, by Oliver Luck regaling Brett McMurphy with Luck’s “favorite story that hasn’t been written.”

What Luck shared was interesting: There was thought given to a Big East/Big 12 merger and that thought gained some traction.

I love time capsule and anthology stuff, so that was fun to look at from a different place and at a different time. But unless you’re new here, you’ll remember we talked a whole lot about that way back then. I mean, it was literally part of the first story I filed on the expansion debacle. And not only that, but Bob Huggins was on board with the idea.

Anyhow, that idea had legs here from the beginning and it never went away — but it was never confirmed the way Luck did for McMurphy.

Why?

That’s a good question. I remember going on the radio a day or two after that and getting mocked … as the guest. I hung up. Haven’t been invited back since. (I was in a weird place then, I guess. You’ll remember that followed a messy argument on the air with a college football coach over another matter.)

I really didn’t know Oliver back then. He’d been on campus a while, but most of our interactions were … well, they wouldn’t put me in a position to expect him to tell me secrets. Are you firing Stewart? Are you hiring Holgorsen? Are you aware the replacement was kicked out of a casino? Are you aware the incumbent is torpedoing the replacement? 

So on and so forth.

The idea came from somewhere else. And it was out there and people were talking about it because it was nuanced and unusual and bold and sort of irresistible. Still, not everyone wanted to believe it, and to be honest, it had its demerits and those led to detractors.

I’m not sure what heights of popularity it ever reached and I always suspected the Big 12 wasn’t in love with the idea of Gen. Marinatto rowing ashore and saving the village. I always suspected the Big 12, perhaps stubbornly, believed it’d be OK. I’m also pretty sure the way Luck and Jim Clements involved and proved themselves appealed to those who would soon be their new brethren.

But what cracks me up about this as I revisit it is it wasn’t written about very much. When it was, it was derided. JackBo devoted a lot of space to the possibility and people thought he was overdosing on argyle. I remember editing one of his columns and then Tweeting that people’s heads were going to explode when they read it a day later. I got bludgeoned for that, because the column wasn’t new as much as it was insistent, and people hungered for something new every day.  But that was my point. It wasn’t new information that was going to split skulls. It was this lingering idea abut a merger that people weren’t wrapping their minds around that’d do the mind boggling.

Turns out that was my favorite story that no one wanted to believe.

Onto the Feedback. As always, comments appear as posted. In other words, don’t screw up.

MontanaEer said:

This will be fun:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pK5HmuCMBM

I’m irate the student section egregiously and unforgivably dropped the ball on an entire season of Remi Dibo. There’s no way that didn’t play a part in him leaving for France. There wasn’t a giant Zeus Lester head in the crowd. I never saw a beach cruiser. No one wore plaid flannels buttoned to the top. When he checked into the game, the Coliseum never told us “Dibo coming. Di-bo!” Then again, I never got to use my “When the Remi’s in the system, ain’t no tellin’ Will I brick ’em? Will I swish ’em?” line. But my point is this can’t happen again. So help me go if the kids whiff on Billydee Williams. I’ll never, ever, ever forgive them. 

PeterB said:

re: Riddick and Gardner-Webb: by end of summer, do you mean before or after camp starts? ’cause he’s one and done, right?

He is a one-year guy. I don’t think he’s graduating from G-W until just before camp. He’s on campus and working out in the weight room here, though he’s not as immersed as he could be in the defense. 

I love you, Doug! said:

Distance from Indianapolis to East Lansing, Mich.: 254 miles.
Distance from Indianapolis to Morgantown, W.Va.: 379 miles.

Not THAT much “closer to home,” Eron.

It’s two hours closer, which is a third of the trip from Indy to Morgantown. More importantly, IU and Purdue are really close for his family, and Ohio State, Northwestern and Illinois are all inside three hours. 

Bobby Heenan said:

I was wondering where we might try to play McDonald – he was heavily recruited with an impressive highlight tape and offer list (Oregon, South Carolina, Clemson et al). I thought we were looking at him as a safety, but out of HS he was projected as a LB.

I think that’s a notable loss just due to his upside, but you can’t keep ‘em all.

… I never saw that kid on the field, which may be part of this, but I have no clue where they were using him. I think Davonte James was nonplussed about where he was being used in the spring, too. It happens. 

Kevin said:

I sometimes wonder if the Big 12 has a little buyer’s remorse in taking us over some (one in particular) other options available at the time and wish WVU’s 2 revenue sports weren’t struggling right after we got into the conference. I guess the positive is that there is time for the programs to improve and be as good as their reputations are before the tv contracts that drive realignment come up again.

I know ADOL has his detractors, but I think overall he’s done a lot of good and can be proud of what he accomplished during his time at WVU.

As it was happening, WVU was the team with, arguably, the better here-and-now stuff in sports and the Mountaineers were smart to sell themselves on what they’d done and what they were doing. Louisville’s pitch was a little obtuse — “We’re coming. Just watch.” — and I think that’s the part that elicits regret, if it exists. I oftentimes think expansion and realignment was so much about appearance that it was preferable to boast about things that were real and not planned. 

Clarence Oveur said:

The poor decision Luck made in his handling of the Holgorsen and Stewart situation is far outweighed by what he’s done overall for WVU athletics.

There isn’t a debate to be had on this subject. He’s given the AD a legitimate, secure revenue stream and has put our athletic programs in a position to compete with the best schools in the country. WVU is now able to do things that it really has never been able to do in the past.

You can’t ask for much more than that. Now if only football and hoops would start upholding their end of the bargain…

I don’t know, was it a bad idea hiring Holgorsen? I say no, because he was a big-time success who was going to get a job. Luck wanted to be with him and not against him. That’s fine. I don’t agree with, and I never agreed with, coach-in-waiting, but that’s me. Luck studied models, which he’s prone to do, and thought he could do what Oregon and Wisconsin did. I always go back to this, so sorry if it’s a familiar refrain, but do you really think Luck explored the worst-case scenario and thought the eventual reality was an option? I can’t believe he did. And if we’re being honest, did anyone expect soldierly Bill Stewart to do the turn he did? I suppose that’s open to debate, and hindsight is empowering, but I can’t torture Luck for that. That said, this is a Russian nesting doll business. You really can’t separate issues, and that did happen. I think it’s fair for people to want to be won over after that, but I wish people would allow for that possibility.

anxiouseer97 said:

We are lucky as heck to have Luck as our AD. Now, let’s see how well he can hold Holgorsen and Huggins accountable. The former deserves another season (I think); the later has me concerned that he’s lost “it.” Whatever “it” is.

Agreed, but how about … bank accountable? Their contracts are enormous and in many ways prohibitive. That’s in the nesting doll, for sure. 

The 25314 said:

I’ll say he should have been fired.

But I’m actually really excited for our 3rd “young” team in a row. Imagine how much they could grow throughout the season! And then we’ll be perfectly positioned with a young team coming back in 2015.

He means Holgorsen, but there’s no way he can use the “young team” line this season. Not with a straight face. WVU has 55 players with Big 12 game experience. WVU had 33 before last season. That’s an entire starting lineup of depth that’s been added and developed. They’re not young. 

smeer said:

I wonder about team unity. when the star gets paid big bucks and the grunts get nothing, when white athletes get more offers than black. . . . it happens in the NFL but at least two things are different – everybody on the team is bringing home a paycheck and (hopefully) the guys are a little more mature/recognize that they are getting paid to tow the line. will the guys feeding at the promotion trough throw some leftovers to the guys on special teams/practice tackling dummies?

well also – the pros have agents to direct deals. whose gonna be the clearing house for college players being asked to use their photo for pepperoni rolls? and whose gonna set the decency standards – shirtless? underwear ads? bikini ads? . . .

pandora’s box . . .

I think there’s potential for chaos on campus, but I think — or, I hope — they’d usher in licensing agreements (basically, an operating manual) like they have in pro leagues. 

Carlos Danger said:

Pandora ‘s Box is now officially open….and things will never be the same. You know, I go back and forth on this. As a parent trying to help their daughter through graduate school, even though she has an assistantship, we are taxed to the max for funds. I understand what a full scholarship would have meant for her at all levels of her education. So, there is value, life changing value, in receiving a full scholarship to any D1 university. On the other hand, the greed that drove the conference realignment phase of the last 5 years, makes me want these schools and their “TV Partners” to pay. They showed no remorse for any school that may be left behind and consolidated the power and the wealth with a select few because said schools spent a certain amount on Division I football and thus deserved to be included in the clique. Because we were deemed worthy to join the clique we now play football in Texas. And Oklahoma. And Kansas. What all of these conference commissioners and school presidents failed to realize was that the immense weight of the billions of dollars they had negotiated from their “TV Partners” would be summarily carried on the backs of college athletes. Sad. Part of me really hopes that those athletes get paid just to screw the insolent administrators who fought for dollars over reason.

Well said. There is a lot to wrestle with here.

lowercase jeff said:

i am totally baffled as to why protecting “college sports as we know it” is even on the to do list. college sports as we know it is a broken model.

That’s true. I think what I have my eyes on is how changes to the top lead to changes at the bottom. It would be unfortunate, to me, to see the wealth accrued and coveted at the top be manipulated in a way to affect people at the bottom who are only loosely affiliated with this entanglement. Are sports dropped? Maybe. Is funding for teams or even scholarships clipped? Probably. And for what? What did they do?

Josh said:

I’m the CEO of a multi-billion dollar company that just so happens to favor my alma mater. I intend to sign EACH player to a endorsement contract and pay them ALL thousands, if not more. I can and I will. New recruits can expect the same deal as soon as they commit. To me, just wearing the uniform of my alma matter makes them worth it.

That’s dramatic, but not impossible.

Clarence Oveur said:

The fact that certain recruits were paid and given certain benefits over their teammates didn’t seem to hurt team unity at SMU, to cite one example.

Just because something is potentially difficult and will require some creative thinking to navigate the landscape (such as paying collegiate athletes) doesn’t mean that it can’t or shouldn’t be done.

I can imagine that other developments in collegiate sports over the years have led to similar Doomsday predictions, and yet here we are. College athletics are going to change, that much is certain. To what extent is unclear. That uncertainty shouldn’t scare people away from potential viable solutions.

I agree that just because it’s new doesn’t mean it’s untenable. The schools and/or conferences that are the most successful with this will be the ones that adapt quickly and cleverly. I do think you can see tense conditions on campus. Maybe the soccer players aren’t jealous that the football players are gobbling up all the scholarships … but maybe the soccer coach is bent out of shape that guys on full rides in football are also taking up all the extras at the expense of guys on partial scholarships in soccer.

Ron – from Morgantown said:

White broccoli ? That’s hilarious . Don’t go to krogers hot deli , they have purple cauliflower. Given the eatery I own I think I know what these athletes covet for food – pizza and wings and chicken fingers .

What student-athlete will you choose to be your spokesperson???

Sammy said:

Not sure where to put this but I woke up to an epiphany/bad dream. Envision this scenario:

Clint Trickett starts and stays healthy, backed up by Logan Moore, while — wait for it — Paul Millard redshirts.

We then go into 2015 with a three way competition between William Crest, Skyler Howard, and Paul Millard. Paul Millard is your starter in 2015.

Don’t shoot the messenger.

You’re dead.

JPWVURFL said:

Nice to see, though that’s an agressive timetable to deal with. Having it up and ready in 5 months seems a little implausible. If they have great weather, just maybe. It’s not a huge structure to construct, but it’s some renovation inside the Puskar Center, along with digging into the land that will take a little time.

This also must be showing confidence in how they believe the IMG contract will hold up. By the way, any more on that front? Friday was a decision date, correct?

As long as it starts soon, it should be fine. There’s not much to do inside the Pusar Center. They’re adding on, so it’s a hallway or a doorway that needs to be added. The major work has to be done inside — seats, acoustics, screens, wiring, etc. — and that doesn’t depend on the weather. I think they’ll have a hard time botching this one. As for IMG, it’s hard to get anyone to talk about it, but I believe both sides asked for an extension last week. Then the judge will need and take time to rule.

I love you, Doug! said:

CHUGUNOV UNDER-RECRUITED QUARTERBACK WILL BREAK YOU.

спасибо!

SheiYbuti said:

This can only help with recruiting, as this generation of prospects should now regard Huggins as being more hip.

Or not. Who knows?

I love you, Doug! said:

Expect a second hip surgery within the next couple months after he’s rehabbed this one. They usually come in pairs.

This was the most responsible thing I saw written in relation to the surgery all week. I had to include it. 

jtmountaineer said:

ILYD could be alluding slyly to Harris and Henderson

Bang!

UnLucy said:

“We have enjoyed the hip and its contributions to Mountaineer basketball,” says Huggins. “We wish the hip the best in its future endeavors.”

Beautiful … but in need of proper attribution.

jtmountaineer said:

That joke looks awfully familiar…

James Tate Hill @JamesTateHill · 22h

@mikecasazza Said Huggins: “I appreciate the old hip’s contributions to Mountaineer basketball and wish it well in its future endeavors.”

Enjoy the weekend!