West Virginia AD Lyons Ponders The Big 12 Conference's Future

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

West Virginia Athletics:

WVU AD Lyons ponders Big 12’s future | Charleston Gazette-Mail
Shane Lyons was in Phoenix at the beginning of the week while another round of conference expansion obsession began. Soon, West Virginia’s athletic director will be back on campus, and not long after that he’ll be in front of university president Gordon Gee.

Football:

White's jersey belongs retired at WVU | Exponent Telegram
What better day to push for at least the retirement of Pat White’s numero cinco jersey and, better yet, retirement of the No. 5 from use on any WVU football jersey in his honor?

Around The Big XII:

Report: Memphis Tigers making a case to join Big 12 | ESPN
With Big 12 expansion set to be a talking point during the summer months, Memphis is a making a push to be considered.

Report: Texas pressure is holding up Big 12 expansion | Burnt Orange Nation
A desire to keep the Longhorn Network intact may be the driving force behind the Texas desire to keep the conference at 10 teams.

Big 12 Expansion: It Will Happen, But When? | Wide Right & Natty Lite
The Big 12 is relying on a data firm to tell them what most of us already know: expansion is profitable. So where does the Big 12 go from here and is it sustainable?

Big XII Talking Conference Realignment...Again? | Crimson And Cream Machine
A unique situation and problem manifested itself with the inception of the College Football Playoff. Witnessing the Ohio State Buckeyes take the final spot over the Baylor Bears or the TCU Horned Frogs, many assumed the lack of a league championship game was to blame.

Report: Expansion likely for Big 12 as conference recognizes the need for change | Vanquish The Foe
The Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby clearly acknowledged a need for action, while the tenor of Big 12 meetings was reportedly pro-expansion.

Big 12 Expansion Could Improve Playoff Chances By 10-15 Percent | LandGrant Gauntlet
40,000 simulations say that conference expansion would boost the Big 12’s Playoff hopes 10-15%

Big 12 'Stats and Trends': Offensive efficiency | ESPN
We start our Big 12 'Stats and Trends' series by looking at which teams are consistently efficient on offense, examining points per drive numbers.

Big 12 Basketball 2016-17: Predicting the Champ, Contenders and Pretenders | Wide Right & Natty Lite
See where each team is likely to finish next season.

The Mayor of Houston on Season Opener Against Oklahoma, "We’ll win by 14" | LandGrant Gauntlet
Houston’s Mayor is very confident in the Cougars’ season opener against the Sooners.

Around The NCAA:

USF football went from bad to awesome overnight. Is awesome the new normal? | SBNation
In two months, USF went from listless to smoking hot, and head coach Willie Taggart went from life on the hot seat to interviewing for an SEC job. Is this the new normal, or will turnover in the trenches lead to post-breakthrough regression?

The AAC East title goes through Philly, and Temple might have the upside to win it again | SBNation
Under Matt Rhule, Temple went from 10 losses to 10 wins in just two years, and the Owls will have a shot at a second straight AAC East title if the offense grows more efficient and another defensive play-maker or two emerge.

That time FAMU nearly made it in college football's top level, but the timing was all wrong | SBNation
Billy Joe turned Florida A&M into an FCS powerhouse and had visions of something bigger.

Florida State, Nebraska, and Florida owned college football in the 1990s | Football Study Hall
A look back at the 1990s in college football, in which three programs (Florida State, Nebraska, Florida) accounted for a vast majority of the decade's best teams.

PODCAST AIN'T PLAYED NOBODY: Ugh, fine, let's talk about Laremy Tunsil | SBNation
In the longest ever PAPN, Bill and Godfrey talk about old Phil Steeles, the Big 12's latest dumb debate, scheduling, 1940s pettiness, the Laremy Tunsil draft drama, and the first ever game of Blind Box Score Bingo.

AAU season is in full swing. These are the top recruits in the class of 2017 | SBNation
From DeAndre Ayton to Trevon Duvall, One Shining Podcast discusses the names you need to know in the class of 2017.

In case anyone missed this one...

Today's Miss Throwdown is an American model and the first of many hopefuls for Sports Illustrated's 2017 Swimsuit Edition. CLICK HERE for Alexis Ren's Instagram.