Scott Rotruck, Chesapeake vice president and WVU alum, happy to be part of Big 12

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Scott Rotruck was thrilled when West Virginia joined the Big 12 Conference because of what it meant for his alma mater’s athletic programs.

But the conference change was also a welcome change for Rotruck personally and professionally; he is Chesapeake Energy’s vice president of corporate development and state government relations, and travels regularly from his home in Morgantown to corporate headquarters in Oklahoma City.

“I’m very, very pleased we got to join the Big 12,” Rotruck said before Saturday night’s OU-West Virginia game on Mountaineer field.

“But for me personally, it’s wonderful. We’re getting into some new rivalries, but not only new rivalries, but new friendships. There are new opportunities to conduct business from place to place.”

Rotruck graduated from West Virginia in 1977.

“I’m very proud of it; I’m proud of the Mountaineers,” he said. “I think both of our states have a lot in common. … There is a lot of good rivalry there.”