I think that these are two fine additions to the conference.

Unlike football, you only need a few good players to make a difference in basketball. TCU definitely has a chance to improve their hoops program if they can land a few impact players. Gary Patterson is just 51, so there's plenty of time for him to continue his good work on the football side.

WVU has good programs in both of the flagship sports, with a passionate fanbase and good history. The only negative is distance, and frankly that's more of an issue for their fans than it is for the remaining Big 12 teams. I do hope that we expand back to 12 or even 14 to fill in a mid-eastern presence for the conference.

As for what we've lost, A&M is a big school with some unique traditions and a passionate fanbase, but their on-field and on-court performance rarely seemed to match their potential. Missouri also had some solid teams during their Big 12 tenure, but they weren't worldbeaters, either. While they have an energetic lunatic fringe, their fanbase as a whole hasn't seemed as engaged as they could be. It could be that the move to the SEC will give them the lift they need, although I think that on the gridiron they'll find things to be a lot different than they were in the Big 12.