West Virginia governor posts hilarious reaction to idea of suing Indiana for hiring Darian DeVries

West Virginia’s state government has threatened legal action against the NCAA. Governor Patrick Morrisey held a press conference on Monday to decry what he called the “National Corrupt Athletic Association.”

The threats came after a perceived NCAA Tournament snub for the Mountaineers, who were left home from the Big Dance. Things got even worse less than 48 hours from that snub.

On Tuesday, coach Darian DeVries left to take the head coaching job at Indiana. It was a one-two blow to the gut.

Needless to say, social media had a little fun at the expense of West Virginia. NBC Sports insider Nicole Auerbach took a bit of a shot across the bow, tweeting that the governor might threaten to sue Indiana next.

Morrisey was paying attention. He quickly responded in kind.

https://t.co/Ftxkvy4Hpx pic.twitter.com/hvpFmVwLky

— Governor Patrick Morrisey (@wvgovernor) March 18, 2025

Of course, there’s likely no legal ground for a suit against Indiana. Coaches get poached all the time and unless there are some nefarious contractual dealing, nobody ends up in court.

Morrisey’s tweet is almost assuredly having a good laugh at the whole situation. Still, West Virginia is likely not laughing at all.

Many bracketology experts considered West Virginia one of the worst-snubbed teams in the NCAA Tournament selection process this season. The Mountaineers were 19-12 this season and 10-10 in conference play.

West Virginia was 6-10 against Quad 1 opponents this season and 9-0 against Quad 3 and 4 foes. A solid resume, to be sure.

However, the selection committee ultimately decided to award other bubble teams such as North Carolina, Texas and Xavier with a ticket to the Big Dance instead. On Monday, Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark released a statement in defense of WVU.

“I was surprised and disappointed to see West Virginia not receive a bid to the NCAA Tournament,” Yormark stated, via ESPN’s Pete Thamel. “In addition to their six Quad 1 wins, the Mountaineers won 10 conference games in one of the toughest leagues in the country. West Virginia deserved a spot, and fans across the country agree.

“Coach DeVries and his team did an incredible job fighting adversity and winning big games all season. Regardless of this disappointing outcome, I’m incredibly proud of how they represented the Big 12 all season.”

Legal action aside, it was a disappointing finish to a very positive season for West Virginia. Now it’s on to finding a new head coach.

On3’s Grant Grubbs also contributed to this report.