West Virginia University's football program picked a very good time to become relevant again.
Those that followed the Big 12 expansion mess know of what I write.
Throughout the process, conference decision-makers were knocked and part of the criticism was not taking Louisville, now No. 5 in football, when the Cardinals were available, before they joined the ACC. An extension of that was criticism by some that Louisville, not WVU, should have been taken back in 2011.
Now, though, much of the latter criticism has been quelled. The Mountaineer football team is 7-1, No. 11 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll and No. 10 in the Amway Coaches poll.
The quiet, however, is surely temporary. As a geographic outlier, every time the Mountaineer football program takes a dip, every time Louisville or expansion candidates like Cincinnati, BYU, Houston, etc., have a better season, fingers will be pointed east. Criticism will be leveled.
So WVU athletic director Shane Lyons has quite a task on his hands: Keep his athletic program relevant. Constantly.
That's certainly why he's been patient to see how the Dana Holgorsen Experiment turns out. He has no choice but to make correct coaching calls, especially in light of reports of a shaky Big 12 foundation. If down the road Oklahoma and/or Texas take a powder, if this whole Big 12 shatters, WVU has to be attractive to other Power 5 conferences.
"You do [have to stay relevant]," Lyons said in an interview with the Gazette-Mail. "You're not thinking today or tomorrow. You're thinking a year from now, three years from now, five years from now. That's staying relevant. What do we need? How do we grow? How do we continue to get better?"
Part of that has to do with infrastructure. Puskar Stadium has received a facelift and there's ongoing work to the Coliseum.
"We're trying to get through our current projects," Lyons said. "But as soon as they are done, we have other things to do. It's one thing after another."
WVU must constantly monitor its program. Mountaineer fans have done a nice job cleaning up their act in regard to hospitality. And that needs to continue. Also, the school itself must learn lessons, even if from others. Baylor is under such scrutiny, even lately, that The Oklahoman columnist Berry Tramel asked in print on Monday "Is it time for the Big 12 to boot out Baylor?" He gives compelling reasons for the league to do just that. All schools, not just WVU, would be foolish not to examine domestic and sexual assault policies.
But, of course, West Virginia also needs a healthy pulse in the field of play to stay relevant, to stay attractive.
And right now it has just that.
"We're in a very good spot right now," Lyons said. "Women's soccer won the Big 12. Hopefully, it will go in the NCAA tournament as a No. 1 seed. Hopefully, they'll have a deep run. Hopefully, they'll win it.
"Both basketball teams are ranked in the Top 25. Football, obviously, is ranked. Rifle is No. 1. A lot of things are going well."
Indeed on this day no one within the Big 12 can criticize the selection of WVU. The aforementioned women's soccer team is indeed entering the NCAA tournament ranked No. 1 nationally and as a No. 1 seed. The Mountaineers are a Top 10 football team, at least according to the coaches.
And look around the WVU campus. The baseball team there has become very respectable under coach Randy Mazey. It lost to TCU in extra innings in last season's Big 12 championship game in Oklahoma City and finished 36-22.
In men's hoops, Bob Huggins guided his team to a second-place Big 12 finish both in the 2016 season and conference championship. The Mountaineers are starting this season ranked No. 20. Mike Carey's women's hoops team begins No. 22.
Understand we're discussing visible programs here. That's what most fans will judge. But if someone does want to dig a little deeper, well, there's that No. 1 rifle team with popular Olympic gold medal winner Ginny Thrasher. Coach Jason Butts guided the women gymnasts to a second-place Big 12 finish. Also, Sean Cleary has done a very, very nice job with cross country and Sammie Henson is making waves in wrestling.
So no one within the Big 12 - or within the media - can criticize WVU's place in the Big 12 on this day.
Lyons' challenge, though, is to keep it that way over the long haul. His charge is to keep the Mountaineers pretty in the eyes of Power 5 conferences.
That will take careful planning. It will take correct coaching choices. And it will take a dedicated staff and university to implement rock-solid policies and monitor them.
It's not an easy goal to reach. Not at all.
It is, however, an attainable one.