West Virginia Baseball Snubbed By NCAA Selection Committee

Welcome, By-Godders, to the Shotgun/Throwdown, WVU's best place for sports links, information, sophomoric humor and daily distractions.

Football:

What-Ifs in Mountaineer Football History | #WVU125
Consider some of the counterfactuals at West Virginia University: What if Bobby Bowden had chosen to stay at WVU in 1976 instead of going to Florida State at a time when Florida was on probation and Miami’s grid program was struggling in the mid-1970s?

Baseball:

Mountaineers among ‘first 3 out’ for NCAA baseball field | WV MetroNews
West Virginia was bypassed for an NCAA tournament at-large bid Monday, relegated to one of "the first three teams left out," according to selection committee chairman Joel Erdmann.

Early losses to mediocre foes doom WVU | Exponent Telegram
It was hard to believe that the West Virginia Mountaineers could be so low while flying so high, yet it was somewhere around 30,000 feet as they were flying home from Oklahoma City that they NCAA’s selection committee had snubbed them.

West Virginia Athletics:

Lyons Unveils 2016 WVU Sports Hall of Fame Class | WVU Athletics
Seven outstanding contributors to Mountaineer athletics make up the 26th class of honorees in the West Virginia University Sports Hall of Fame, announced today by Director of Athletics Shane Lyons.

Around The Big XII:

Big 12 Expansion not-Q&A: The Case for Michigan | Bring On The Cats
In our ongoing effort to find the best two (or four or 32) teams to join the Big 12 conference, we have unearthed some surprising candidates. Today, we veer away from the norm. Today's installment is not a Q&A session, but a simple and modest proposal from EDSBS stalwart commenter, minor internet celebrity, and die-hard Michigan Man blanx (@jblanx). Really, it's hard to argue with his sentiment.

Big 12 Expansion: Why NOT Michigan | Bring On The Cats
Michigan in the Big 12 may be a tongue-in-cheek proposal, but here are the real reasons Michigan is a terrible fit.

Baylor hires the steady Jim Grobe as acting head coach | SBNation
The former Wake Forest head coach will reportedly lead Baylor's current coaching staff for the season.

Firing Art Briles is a start, but Baylor hasn't gone far enough | ESPNW
Baylor can't move forward with old pieces in place, Jane McManus writes. Any employee who participated in the actions detailed in the report -- or knew about them -- must go.

WVU’s E. Gordon Gee on Baylor and lessons learned | Charleston Gazette-Mail
WVU president E. Gordon Gee, reached this week after Briles’ ouster, said he understands — and sincerely wants to make sure such sins aren’t repeated in Morgantown.

Are the bad old days coming back to Baylor football? | Charleston Gazette-Mail
Enveloped by uncertainty, Baylor football is facing the possibility of a lost season, NCAA sanctions and the program slipping back toward the losing ways that predated Art Briles’ tenure as coach.

Baylor recruiting is collapsing amid scandal, *and* top freshmen might not enroll | SBNation
This is what happens to a program when it doesn't clean up a mess ASAP.

Around The NCAA:

A life and legacy of service | SBNation
Ten years after his death, Pat Tillman continues to change the world.

Ranking all of the NCAA's allegations against Ole Miss football by zestiness | SBNation
Some of the charges against Ole Miss are serious. Others are not.

Mountaineers looking to add depth at defensive end | Charleston Gazette-Mail
When West Virginia was in need of immediate cornerback help, the coaching staff went out and added Iowa graduate transfer Maurice Fleming. Even with the season a mere three months away, the Mountaineers may be looking for a similar late add at another position of need — defensive end.

Today's Miss Throwdown is a beautiful model from Florida. CLICK HERE for Paige Watkins' Instagram.