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For starters, UConn was the largest national brand in the conference and gave the American a huge presence in the northeast. While UConn men’s basketball team has struggled recently, it did win a national championship as recently as 2014, and Geno Auriemma and the women’s basketball team are established as the best program in the country.
Wichita State athletic director Darron Boatright said there’s no denying it is a blow to the conference.
“To say it isn’t is complete garbage,” Boatright said. “They are a fantastic national brand and operate some great programs, and their men’s basketball program is in a resurgence, which would have led to financial gain for the entire conference.
“It hurts, but we sure understand it. You have to go through and evaluate your institution and what’s best for it, and the term ‘best’ can be defined in many different ways.”
Not too long ago, it was Boatright who was evaluating the state of his athletics program in the Missouri Valley Conference and determining the AAC would be a better fit for the Shockers moving forward. From that perspective, he can relate.
“We hate to see them go, but I don’t blame them if they believe that’s what is best for them,” Boatright said. “They were a fantastic partner of ours and an ally of ours when we were going through the process of trying to get an invitation into the American. I’ll never forget that and our institution will never forget that either. Connecticut will always have a friend in the Shockers.”
‘We hate to see them go’: WSU athletic director opens up about UConn’s departure from AAC
Wichita State athletic director Darron Boatright said there’s no denying it is a blow to the conference.
“To say it isn’t is complete garbage,” Boatright said. “They are a fantastic national brand and operate some great programs, and their men’s basketball program is in a resurgence, which would have led to financial gain for the entire conference.
“It hurts, but we sure understand it. You have to go through and evaluate your institution and what’s best for it, and the term ‘best’ can be defined in many different ways.”
Not too long ago, it was Boatright who was evaluating the state of his athletics program in the Missouri Valley Conference and determining the AAC would be a better fit for the Shockers moving forward. From that perspective, he can relate.
“We hate to see them go, but I don’t blame them if they believe that’s what is best for them,” Boatright said. “They were a fantastic partner of ours and an ally of ours when we were going through the process of trying to get an invitation into the American. I’ll never forget that and our institution will never forget that either. Connecticut will always have a friend in the Shockers.”
‘We hate to see them go’: WSU athletic director opens up about UConn’s departure from AAC
