West Virginia and UCF, Joined at the Hip for the CFB Playoff and Conference Affiliation

West Virginia and UCF are not often discussed together, but that’s the case today. They are joined in a fight for the opportunity to be a part of a conference with stability and the best chance to be a part of the college football playoff.

Brian Smith | Aug 29, 2021

West Virginia and UCF, Joined at the Hip for the CFB Playoff and Conference Affiliation /

For the record, West Virginia President Gordon Gee just happens to have a vote on the management committee, the same group that votes on the playoff. Right now, he’s leaning towards saying no to the college football playoff expanding. Considering it needs to be a unanimous vote to expand the playoff system, his vote matters.

That impacts UCF because the current landscape really hurts the Knights’ chances of reaching the college football playoff. So here’s the connection.

It’s well known that UCF has been rumored to join the Big XII for years. However, not knowing exactly how the money or voting would work for the playoff, leaves much to be desired for non-SEC teams like UCF. With the Big XII on life support, there is also concern from West Virginia’s perspective. However, President Gee could be a key person to help his Mountaineers, as well as the Knights.

Timing and Signing on the Dotted Line, UCF and other Group of Five Schools

As for schools looking to join a Power Five conference like UCF or Cincinnati or Brigham Young, there could be some pause on their side as well. Should they quickly jump at the Big XII if offered the chance?

What should each school want in terms of financial guarantees? Is that even possible to know from their current positions?

At the end of the day, until a school such as UCF knows that it’s joining a conference that possesses long-term stability, why would they join?

Make the SEC Come to the Table

Talk to us. That's what President Gee’s vote basically allows to happen by holding out and voting no. Rationally, President Gee, like any college president presiding over a school that’s not affiliated with the SEC, wants to know where all the shuffling schools will align themselves and how they could help West Virginia. That’s understandable.

Will UCF be a new member with the Big XII and what benefits does a school in Orlando bring to our conference? How could Brigham Young help the Big XII? Does Cincinnati add value to the Big XII? Does the ACC add new members? Will the Big XII lose Kansas to the Big 10?

Those types of basic questions that likely need to be answered before President Gee would say yes to expansion.

How Long Before We All Know?

Expediting this process will not be easy. It’s a challenge at best, to make this work within the year. Remember, making everyone happy is really hard because every school and conference will be out to help themselves.

UCF could be the first school to make a decision if offered by the Big XII, perhaps Kansas jumps to the Big 10 first. Maybe there’s just a lot of arguing behind closed doors. The latter point is the most likely thing to happen, for now.

While this is all frustrating for college football fans, that’s the big business side of college football. Without revenue that works for each school, the cookie can crumble and crumble quite fast. That’s why these decisions are so tirelessly considered. To that end, here’s a video further explaining President Gee’s power with his vote:

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