Wichita State Emerges As Potential Basketball Only Add To AAC (Officially Official)

[Drew]

Wichita State Emerges As Potential Basketball Only Addition To AAC


"Wichita State has emerged as a potential basketball-only addition to the American Athletic Conference, but obstacles are still standing in the way of a potential marriage, multiple sources told FanRag Sports.

Four separate sources told FanRag Sports that the Shockers were both brought up as potential basketball-only members at the latest league meetings.

The addition of Wichita State wouldn’t guarantee much financial benefit to the other programs in the American Conference if it was added to the league, but the impact it would have from a basketball perspective would be immense.

The American Conference has struggled to gain national respect since its creation prior to the start of the 2013-14 season despite having four teams earn bids to last year’s NCAA Tournament.

“It’s going to be a matter of what the programs and administrators want to do,” one source said. “Everyone wants to benefit financially, but everyone will have that eventually if the league gets better.”"

 

[Drew]

Report: Wichita State mentioned as possible addition to American Athletic Conference

More reputable source

 

[shizzle787]

I wanted this. I hope it happens. Wichita State should take the deal and forget about football.

 

[shizzle787]

I would bet a considerable amount of money we were behind this.

 

[shizzle787]

Realignment and Wichita State: Best Possible Outcome - Page 195
They are mostly excited though some want NBE.

 

[VAHuskyFan]

Realignment and Wichita State: Best Possible Outcome - Page 195
They are mostly excited though some want NBE.

Win/win for us and them. Their conference RPI is a disaster. AAC is a step up. And they help nudge us up towards being an actually decent basketball conference.

Wichita State doesn't move the needle for NBE, isn't a fit, and isn't worth the risk of regression. Even if they regress some in AAC, they're still a top half team that boosts our RPI.

 

[shizzle787]

Win/win for us and them. Their conference RPI is a disaster. AAC is a step up. And they help nudge us up towards being an actually decent basketball conference.

Wichita State doesn't move the needle for NBE, isn't a fit, and isn't worth the risk of regression. Even if they regress some in AAC, they're still a top half team that boosts our RPI.

I want them if we either keep an 18-game schedule (and are guaranteed to play UCF, USF, ECU, Tulane only once and everyone else twice every year) or go to a 20-game schedule (and only play two of the ugly quadruplets twice a year).

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

Win-win, hope it happens. We need some BB beef in the AAC to make the conference respectable, this is a step in that direction.

 

[CTMike]

I hate everything about this god forsaken conference.

 

[Nostical]

I hate everything about this god forsaken conference.

I understand, but until you can afford that awesome new house you covet you might still want to fix the one you're currently living in if the faucets are dripping.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

So what happens when Marshall leaves or they regress and they are just another Tulsa?

With the TV money being as bad as it is I don't really see the point in adding another member even if they are a partial member,

 

[CTMike]

I understand, but until you can afford that awesome new house you covet you might still want to fix the one you're currently living in if the faucets are dripping.

General point taken, but Wichita State won't fix what ails us, and we are talking ourselves in to willingly accepting Witchita State as a peer. Some serious Stockholm syndrome stuff.

 

[billybud]

Their Prez (Bardo) has been talking about re establishing the football program...but getting into a conference comes first...

“We really need to think about conference alignment and football as two separate questions,” Bardo said. “… What we really decided is that the conference question is the question, because that affects the institution at a very high level. Then, let’s get the football question after we get the conference question.”




Read more here: Wichita State president John Bardo needs conference resolution before moving on football

 

[Adios]

Since the Big East's inception in 1979, the conference has served as a platform for programs to boost themselves. As always proven in college, have to go through hazing. Geno is doing brilliantly. No conference will want to leave us where we are and allow for the AAC to become dominant in women's basketball.

As crazy as this might sound to some of you, there's definitely been mention of wondering whether even Big Ten presidents will regret taking Rutgers over us in high places over in Chicagoland.

 

[BugsyCT]

The American Athletic Conference Needs to Expand

Suggesting Nova and Georgetown upgrade to FBS? For real?

 

[Ha Who]

The American Athletic Conference Needs to Expand

Suggesting Nova and Georgetown upgrade to FBS? For real?

Must be having egg nog with the Dud

 

[businesslawyer]

Since the Big East's inception in 1979, the conference has served as a platform for programs to boost themselves. As always proven in college, have to go through hazing. Geno is doing brilliantly. No conference will want to leave us where we are and allow for the AAC to become dominant in women's basketball.

As crazy as this might sound to some of you, there's definitely been mention of wondering whether even Big Ten presidents will regret taking Rutgers over us in high places over in Chicagoland.

And learning that the Big Ten "regrets" taking Rutgers gets us what exactly? Would I have gone to the Tulane game to end the season if I knew that Rutgers was safely in the Big Ten, but the Big Ten had regrets?

 

[Ldandy]

Since the Big East's inception in 1979, the conference has served as a platform for programs to boost themselves. As always proven in college, have to go through hazing. Geno is doing brilliantly. No conference will want to leave us where we are and allow for the AAC to become dominant in women's basketball.

As crazy as this might sound to some of you, there's definitely been mention of wondering whether even Big Ten presidents will regret taking Rutgers over us in high places over in Chicagoland.

Two things.

1)I'm not sure any P5 Conference would care if the AAC became know as the dominant league for Women's Basketball. There simply isn't enough money in the product to ruffle anybody's feathers. Places like Storrs, Knoxville, or South Bend where fan followings for the women's game match or even exceed that of the men's game simply don't exist in the majority of markets. More often than not women's basketball is relegated to second tier status in sports fandom. It is what it is. Uconn is completely unique in The AAC in that it has no peers. It is akin to Alabama Football being placed in The Sun Belt. The conference wouldn't suddenly be great because the greatest team in the land was a part of it.

2)Rutgers Regret. I think anyone with a functioning brain can deduce that Uconn is vastly superior to Rutgers in the majority of sports a conference might value. Unfortunately for Uconn, this last realignment of The B1G had nothing to do with competitive excellence and everything to do with generating dollars. The BTN made that one time ugly stepchild look pretty darn attractive. The lure of potential academic and athletic recruiting in the large and populous state was certainly attractive to both presidents and AD's alike. Where I say don't give up hope is that the conference's end game has yet to be revealed. As delivery mediums evolve, and cord cutting becomes more prevalent, the old model of leveraging cable subscribers to generate revenue will take a hit. Streaming quality product to direct paying customers will become more common place. This is where a program like Uconn can bring major value. Great teams providing product people will pay to watch.

 

[Adios]

Regrets get us nowhere. But I know conferences value national championships won by members of the conference. It goes without saying that women's basketball isn't as popular as men's basketball or football, but it is still the third most popular sport, so it does have some cache, even in perception.

Alabama and the Sun Belt are different worlds. The AAC doesn't have that level of disparity. We're being dominated in football right now, and we have the most valuable and highest revenue earning athletic department. ODU has 3 titles in women's bball and they just elevated their football program to FBS. Just mentioning them because they'd very likely be considered if the AAC does add more schools.

Just a little historical tidbit for fun.

Charles N. Lowrie - Wikipedia

Lowrie designed the 20th century master plan for University of Connecticut's campus in Storrs, Connecticut.[4][5] He made the first master plan developed for University Park, Pennsylvania State University.[6] He was also involved in city planning for Columbus, Ohio[7] Lowrie made preliminary plans for a competition for a Roosevelt Memorial in Washington, DC, which was eventually never built.

Crazy world we're in.

 

[The Funster]

I understand, but until you can afford that awesome new house you covet you might still want to fix the one you're currently living in if the faucets are dripping.

To be fair it's not like the faucets are dripping it is more like there aren't faucets and we have to crap in an outhouse.

 

[shizzle787]

To be fair it's not like the faucets are dripping it is more like there aren't faucets and we have to crap in an outhouse.

Well at least Wichita State is now a bathroom. Still wouldn't have a sink in the bathroom though.

 

[Ldandy]

Regrets get us nowhere. But I know conferences value national championships won by members of the conference. It goes without saying that women's basketball isn't as popular as men's basketball or football, but it is still the third most popular sport, so it does have some cache, even in perception. JMO but your perception on the over all popularity of women's basketball might be influenced by being around the greatest women's basketball team in the history of the game. That type of success is going to build a following that is hard to match elsewhere. How was support before Geno had things rolling? How is it elsewhere in The AAC? I'm not implying that the game is unimportant, its not, just that conference realignment decisions wont be influenced by it.

Alabama and the Sun Belt are different worlds. The AAC doesn't have that level of disparity. We're being dominated in football right now, and we have the most valuable and highest revenue earning athletic department. ODU has 3 titles in women's bball and they just elevated their football program to FBS. Just mentioning them because they'd very likely be considered if the AAC does add more schools. I think my analogy stands. The Uconn Women dominate The AAC. They do so in a manner that to me would resemble Alabama playing in The Sunbelt. They would still be the greatest team in the land, but the conference wouldn't be among the best simply because they were a part of it.

Just a little historical tidbit for fun.

Charles N. Lowrie - Wikipedia

Lowrie designed the 20th century master plan for University of Connecticut's campus in Storrs, Connecticut.[4][5] He made the first master plan developed for University Park, Pennsylvania State University.[6] He was also involved in city planning for Columbus, Ohio[7] Lowrie made preliminary plans for a competition for a Roosevelt Memorial in Washington, DC, which was eventually never built.

Crazy world we're in.

 

[whaler11]

The MVC used to be such a great conference. Losing Creighton and Wichita ends that. Too bad.

 

[huskymedic]

SI/Thames: Why Wichita State is destined for bigger conference

>>Conversations with sources around college sports this week revealed Wichita upgrading its league—likely to the American Athletic Conference—as a distinct possibility in the near future. This could happen in as soon as the next few months or may take a year or two. But the odds are increasing that the Shockers will end up somewhere else, with the AAC offering the highest profile and making the most sense. “It wouldn’t be a genuine response if I said we weren’t concerned,” Elgin said. “We want them to stay. Losing Creighton was a blow to the league. Losing Wichita State would be the same.”<<

 

[Drew]

I guess I'm in the minority here but I think this could be a really intriguing and promising move for the American. WSU has enjoyed phenomenal success in basketball for a MVC team and has proven they are ready for a step up in level of play not just from their on the court success, but also their investment in the program (Marshall makes $3.3m/year, nice arena with plans to upgrade even further, Koch $$) and fan support. They are a natural rival with Tulsa from being in the MVC together forever ago and Would be a fan base that actually travels to the conference tournament more likely than not.

Depending on how they work the financials, I think this could be a really good thing for the AAC and Wichita both.


Link for arena upgrades: Millions pledged for Koch Arena expansion project