Mountaineer Field vs. Big 12 Stadiums

I spent a good bit of time yesterday (only because the football games on in my area stunk from 1-4) doing research on the Big 12 stadiums and how they stack up to Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium.

Was I surprised at my findings? Not really. However, others may be… I’ll be posting the chart and a small write-up after the jump.

As you can tell, Texas & Oklahoma are the dominant football stadiums in the Big 12, and rightfully so. WVU is in the middle of the pack with Mountaineer Field, not too far from Oklahoma State and Texas Tech. A 1,000 seat expansion would do the trick there. Then, after Mountaineer Field is where the not-as-dominant football schools (although Kansas State may take exception to that this year in football) are. Even Iowa State, who isn’t exactly the Big 12’s “creme de la creme” has 55K capacity. TCU’s Amon G. Carter Stadium will officially be at 50,000 capacity starting next season, their first in the Big 12.

The most disheartening statistic was that none of the Big 12 stadiums have beer sales. Is that a Big 12 rule, or is that a rule each school chooses to have? The SEC has a conference-wide rule that forbids beer sales at their football stadiums, not sure about the Big 12.

The only thing that seems to stick out for many fans I have spoken with about a potential Big 12 move is travel. Yes, it is going to cost considerably more to travel to the midwest as opposed to the northeast and Florida. But, I don’t think WVU will be the “lone wolf” in the east for that long. Media rumblings still have Louisville and Cincinnati as #11 & #12. But, we won’t know for sure until someone official actually speaks up and says something.

Mountaineer Fans, are YOU ready to enter the Big 12 House Party? Looks like the Old Gold & Blue will fit in perfectly in the Big 12, except for that whole travel deal.