The mechanisms of conference realignment that sent Pitt to the ACC — the same ones that found West Virginia a new home as the Big East Conference disintegrated and provided Penn State with a stable, more lucrative platform — are the same forces that drove the Panthers further apart from their traditional rivals.
Individually, each of the three regional foes is in a more advantageous position. There’s a certain sense of isolation, however, that comes with each institution residing in a separate conference. For Pitt, the present situation creates a gulf, one that can make the paltry 75 miles to West Virginia and 135 miles to Penn State feel like Magellan’s circumnavigation of the Earth.