The play WVU meme in the revenue sports is tired and we need to give it a rest.
Basketball - We simply are not at WVU’s level. We were way ahead of WVU from the late 60s through when they finally started playing us, and were about even for more than two decades. WVU demanded excellence and moved up to a respectable second tier program. They are never winning the national championship or competing for true five-stars, but they are way better than we are. We are making a token effort. WVU would win, nine years out of ten, at least six or seven of those by blow out margins. No thanks.
Football - When we played, WVU was at the mid-major Leastleftovers level. Whatever their false claims in the lapdog media, they were playing to about one-third empty seats most games. We sold those seats for them. For us, they sold our (far fewer) unsellable seats. The TV is a wash, because the games belong to the home conference and there is no extra money in it for either. WVU is being left behind in a conference whose only commonality is that no one else wants these programs. A conference where there are only 2 states where the member is the most important program in that state. In other words a mid-major. As it did in the Leastleftovers and Big Least eras, the perception that what goes on in this league is somehow the same as what goes on in major conferences is very important to WVU. Losing to Marshall is the last thing they want to do, and they would, with great regularity. No thanks.