And even then, VT was one of the first to do it by joining a northeastern conference. The Northeast, the Midwest, and the South are very distinct regions with different cultures, and conference members didn't mix well across them before the 90s. And even since there are challenges.

I keep thinking that what Boston College did in 2003 by agreeing to join the ACC, a southern conference, was ground breaking. John Swofford even said when they had the press conference to welcome BC in 2005 that we have no experience with Catholic Schools at the time. It has worked out well, and Notre Dame, Pitt and Syracuse followed a decade later, but it was still ground breaking.

West Virginia sits at the intersection of the Northeast, the South, and the Midwest. They would have an easier time with cultural adjustment in any of the regions. But BC was definitely eastern. Miami was eastern too because South Florida isn't southern. But that was a little easier.