Former West Virginia athletic director Oliver Luck says the Mountaineers’ move to the Big 12 in 2012 was a geographic fit but a possible relocation to the SEC may have been possible had Missouri passed on college football’s mecca that same year.

Luck, who has held his new title of the NCAA’s new executive vice president of regulatory affairs for the past year, recently spoke with Connect Bridgeport and opened up about the circumstances surrounding the Mountaineers’ money-making transition from Big East to Power 5 during his tenure.

The ACC was never a viable option, but the once widely-circulated SEC rumor had legs:

“The SEC was a little bit different. Missouri took a long time to decide what it wanted to do and I think they were on the fence for six, seven, maybe eight months. Some thought Missouri was waiting for an offer from the Big 10 or may stay in the Big 12,” said Luck. “Had they stayed or had they become a member of the Big 10, we may have had an opportunity – and I emphasize the word maybe – to be in the SEC. The thing is nobody really knew what would have happened. What we do know is that Missouri’s move closed that door.”

According to Luck, the SEC never officially invited the Mountaineers but could’ve had the Tigers moved elsewhere.

The rest of Connect Bridgeport’s Q&A with Luck can be found, here.