Mountaineer nation could finally breathe a sigh of relief this week.
After months of rumors and anxiety, weeks of litigation, an eight-figure settlement and enough conference realignment to cause 60-degree weather in Morgantown in January, WVU is finally a member of the Big 12.
With the move to a football-rich conference, a chunk of marginal income is coming West Virginia's way, and with that, some changes will be made across the athletic department.
Nearly every team, of course, would like a piece of the pie, but first on the pecking order should be a major overhaul at Hawley Field.
From personal experience, I can say I have played on Division III, NAIA and even high school fields of higher quality than Hawley Field.
If you don't believe me, just ask athletic director, Oliver Luck.
"Look at Big 12 baseball facilities and compare them to Hawley Field," Luck said. "I think most West Virginia fans would hang their heads in shame."
Next year, it will be the lowest capacity park in the Big 12, with many parks more than doubling the capacity of Hawley's uncomfortable metal bleachers, which seat about 1,500.
After "Extreme Makeover: Ballpark Edition" comes through Morgantown, the revamping of the WVU athletic department will likely head to the links.
Last Wednesday, The Times West Virginian reported that, according to a source within the WVU athletic department, men's golf would be reinstated for competition in the Big 12.
The addition of a men's golf program is an inexpensive way for the Mountaineers to become accustomed to the Big 12 culture, where four programs are in the top 50 of the most recent rankings, including No. 1 Texas.
All additions, of course, will be contingent on West Virginia's adherence to Title IX.
All schools must keep the gender ratio of their athletic programs equivalent to the gender ratio of the student body.
Since WVU's student body is about 55% male, the athletic teams must reflect that, as well.
While the addition of men's golf is seemingly in the works, there have also been talks of the addition of two other men's programs, track, cross country and tennis.
These would also be two economic additions to the athletic department, as they would be able to share facilities – and perhaps even coaches – with WVU's current women's track, cross country and tennis programs.
With the influx of men's programs, a women's program or two may need to be added, as well.
Ideally, a softball team could be brought on in conjunction with the cosmetic surgery for WVU baseball.
The Big 12 is a notoriously strong softball conference, currently boasting three teams in the top 15 of the ESPN.com/USA Collegiate Softball rankings, not including No. 5 Missouri and No. 15 Texas A&M, who will depart next season for the Southeastern Conference.
Plus, adjacent parks could be built with a common area for fans, as well as a shared facility for the athletes and coaches.
While the West Virginia athletic department is in a state of growth, keeping cost down is still important.
The addition of men's golf, of course, would make the addition of women's golf financially feasible.
Again, it will all boil down to meeting the requirements of Title IX.
But with the recent unstable status of the NCAA conference structure, nothing is out of the question.
It is also important to remember that as WVU adapts to the Big 12, the Big 12 will also be changing with the additions of the Mountaineers and TCU. They're still dealing with the departures of the Tigers, the Aggies and the losses of Nebraska and Colorado during the previous year.
Men's soccer could theoretically be added in the future if the Big 12 decides to expand beyond 10 teams.
Kansas State is the only school in the Big 12 without women's soccer, so the facilities would not be an issue for most programs.
Who knows, with the addition of two of the nation's top rifle programs, TCU and WVU, the rest of the Big 12 could add rifle as well.
After all, three of the Big 12's ten mascots now carry firearms.
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