Think there’s nothing at stake for West Virginia in the Big 12 championship game on Saturday? Think again.
West Virginia fans have at least 250,000 reasons to root for BYU to upset Texas Tech on Saturday. And there’s potential for even more if the Cougars and the Red Raiders can make a run in the College Football Playoff.
Here’s why: the payouts from the College Football Playoff. Each team that makes the 12-team field is worth $4 million to the Big 12. SEC fans get extremely annoying when they all root for each other in the postseason, but they do it for a reason: they know that each win brings in more money for their own school. Even though West Virginia is home for the holidays, the Big 12’s success means that the Mountaineers collect a paycheck from the conference.
Read More: Why a BYU Win Helps West Virginia Football
If BYU makes it to the playoff by beating Texas Tech, the Red Raiders are going too. Texas Tech has done enough to be one of the top 12 schools. It’s on its way to the playoff win or lose. And if the Red Raiders don’t go alone, that means a minimum of $8 million divided among the league’s 16 schools.
It could get better from there for the Mountaineers. First-round winners get another $4 million. If Texas Tech loses to BYU, it likely drops into a hosting slot in round one, where it might play the likes of Tulane, Virginia or James Madison. All of those are winnable games that could land the conference another payout.
If a team reaches the semifinals, that’s another $6 million added to the payout. If the Red Raiders and/or the Cougars make a run in the playoff, West Virginia could wind up with over $1 million from the postseason that it didn’t come anywhere near qualifying for.
Conference Affiliation Pays Off — To an Extent
This is one of the best reasons that a rising tide lifts all boats. West Virginia has a long way to go to get the program to respectability. Right now, getting extra money from the Big 12 helps a lot. The Mountaineers can take the money from the playoff and bowl games to invest elsewhere.
That said, West Virginia’s extra cash doesn’t help it much against its Big 12 rivals. Every Big 12 member will get the same amount of money. If West Virginia collects $2 million from the Big 12, for example, so will Oklahoma State, Baylor, Arizona and so on.
Related: WVU Football Wrapup
But the Mountaineers also don’t necessarily compete against their conference rivals in recruiting. They have more to worry about from the ACC. As Mitch Rogers pointed out, James Franklin has hit the ground running in Blacksburg. West Virginia really could use a boost to make sure it has more money than Virginia Tech.
The easiest way to do that is getting more teams in the playoff. And if the ACC doesn’t get one at all — Duke could help with that — West Virginia could be picking up money denied to the Hokies and other regional recruiting rivals.
So for this Saturday, the Mountaineers’ rooting interest is clear: it’s BYU all the way.
Baloney. College football is already becoming a travesty because of money and if the almighty dollar is the reason to root for a team it’s even worse than that. A couple of million dollars doesn’t make that big of an impact these days anyway especially when every other conference member would get the same amount. Root for the team you want to win.