File photo Since the first arrival of Rich Rodriguez in 2001 WVU has had six first-team AP All-Americans, including defensive tackle Darius Stills, above, in 2020.

MORGANTOWN — The Associated Press came out with its 2025 All-America Football team on Monday, as strong an indication that the college football season is just around the corner as the first robin is an indication of spring or the first snow is an indication of the arrival of winter.

It’s generally considered one of the happiest times of year, announcing the arrival of the Fall Follies of Football as much as the Ides of March indicate that another edition of March Madness is upon us.

But this year’s AP All-American selections should come with a warning label to the Big 12 and all the teams that play within that conference — which very much includes West Virginia — that it’s out of step with the times and in danger of being left behind.

The AP All-America team I made up of 27 first-team members on offense, defense and specialists.

There’s a story in the breakdown of those 27 members: SEC 12; Big Ten seven; ACC four and Big 12 ?.

How many? Two.

That doesn’t cut it … and it only gets worse when you look at the 54 members of the first and second teams: SEC 21; Big Ten 15; ACC 10 and Big 12 two.

Not a single Big 12 player appears on the second team.

And West Virginia has not a mention, which has become a rarity for the Mountaineers, who have over the years become a fixture on AP All-America teams, selected at the season’s end.

Since the first arrival of Rich Rodriguez in 2001 WVU has had six first-team AP All-Americans — LB Grant Wiley, (2003); RB Steve Slaton and C Dan Mozes (2006), WR/returner Tavon Austin (2012), DT Darius Stills (2020) and OT Wyatt Millum (2024).

In addition, they have placed eight players on the second team and eight more players on the third team.

But this year, the whole conference of 16 teams has had two pre-season AP All-America selections — OT Spencer Fano of Utah and WR Jordyn Tyson of Arizona State.

Pitt, for crying out loud, has two AP Preseason All-Americans itself, as many as the entire conference in which WVU resides.

That’s it, two players from two schools that weren’t even members of the Big 12 last year.

No defensive players. None. Nada. Nil. Zip. Zero.

This may not have been surprising a decade ago when the Big 12 was considered the most exciting offensive conference in college football, but today there is no true offensive skill position player to capture the nation’s imagination and, perhaps, because top line defensive players are not in demand to stop rather ordinary offenses across the league.

Here’s a dare… try to name the starting quarterback at each Big 12 school. Go ahead. Even half of them would do.

Truth is, WVU hasn’t even announced a starting QB.

So, what do you have? There are 322 starting positions on offense, defense and specialist positions 16 Big 12 teams and two — just two — of the first or second team AP All-Americans.

That is sad and it suggests that the Big 12’s emphasis has been on everything BUT creating football greatness.

What in the name of Tavon Austin, Pat White, Steve Slaton, Stedman Bailey, Geno Smith, Grant Wiley, Bruce Smith, the Stills brothers, David Sills V, Quincy Wilson and Avon Cobourne is going on in the Big 12.

Theory, or if you prefer, is that the Big 12 miscast its view from the game being the focus of the conference and placed its emphasis on the event.

To be personal for a moment, I wouldn’t pay a peso to see a Big 12 game in Mexico and I can have my postgame beers just as happily in a Morgantown bar rather than in Ireland.

And as entertaining as professional wrestling may be, does it really add to a college football rivalry or does it take away from it?

Just asking for a friend.

Concerts get as much attention as games. Uniforms have become fashion statements when Penn State seems to still do pretty well with its traditional unis.

Balance sheets have replaced box scores as must-read material for school and conference executives. To watch your favorite team play as often as not you must tune to a pay streaming source as free TV, which was what took the game from South Bend, Indiana, and Lubbock, Texas, and lifted it to every home and barroom across America.

On Friday, Oct. 3, WVU plays at BYU in a game that doesn’t begin until 10:30 at night in West Virginia.

Seth Meyers’ Late Night on NBC show will end before that game does.

It’s time for the Big 12 to reclaim its place in the world of college football.