American Athletic Conference

[Cdizzle]

I'm not the biggest baseball fan, but baseball doesn't seem to get mentioned much and we already make a huge investment there.

Do we really want to be in the MWC baseball conference?

At this point, pretty sure baseball is just along for the ride. Woof.

[shockmonster]

It's not surprising that the MWC Comm hasn't talked to WSU yet. I would bet that Bardo has visited with Presidents, not Anyone else. If Bardo wants a traditional student experience, he will probably want football. However the big donors have to want it too. Bardo may be able to settle for just a change of conference for basketball. But Bardo is rattling the phones/offices of Presidents, not lower. This may take some time and patience but the Valley isn't his goal.

[_kai_]

He is not driving the bus for the MWC, the AAC or the BE. He is the one knocking on the door but he can not force his way on to these other conferences. The Commissioners and Presidents of these other conferences are driving the bus in regards to WSU moving to one of those conferences. Dr. Bardo is the salesman but the buyer has the ultimate power and control.

Yes, Dr. Bardo is obviously driving the WSU bus, but he is not driving the main bus where the decision making and power truly lies.

Ahhhh I thought you were talking in regards to WSU. Yeah, totally agree with you from that standpoint that the other Presidents are driving the bus in terms of allowing WSU to get in.

[1972Shocker]

Ahhhh I thought you were talking in regards to WSU. Yeah, totally agree with you from that standpoint that the other Presidents are driving the bus in terms of allowing WSU to get in.

So if you are anxious to sell your product to a reluctant buyer you do whatever you can to enhance your product and make it move valuable and desirable to the buyer. IMHO finding a new conference is the driving force behind studying the feasibility of adding FBS football. 3G has taken care of the necessary enhancements for men's BB. If all you really wanted was to enhance the the student experience you could just add FCS football and play in the MVFC which is one of the best, if not the best, FCS conference in the country.

If WSU does bring back football I assume the would have to start playing FCS football for a number of years. If we move immediately to an FBS conference where would we play our FCS football? Hard to beleive the MVFC would welcome WSU with open arms in that scenario. If there are no options to move to an FBS conference immediately then I'm confident the MVFC would have us and maybe they even have to take us as long as we are still MVC members. However, in that scenario I think WSU needs to be prepared for the possibility that they will be stuck at the FCS level for the long-term.

Pretty hard to handicap this without any knowledbe of what, if any, behind the scenes discussions and negotiations that may or may not have already occurred.

[Jtaylor]

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/writer/dennis-dodd/25576548/wichita-state-interested-in-joining-mountain-west-may-bring-back-football

[WstateU]

My main goal (if my goal mattered) would be to leave the Valley in order to keep WSU basketball trending in an upwards direction. If it takes football to do that, that's fine, but not something I'm avid about one way or the other. I would support a football team whenever possible, but it would never take the place of basketball in my book.

If Dr. Bardo says we need to bring back football to complete his vision and plan, I’m ‘all in’; if he says ‘no’ to football, I’ll forever put my football dreams to rest. :(
I can’t thank him enough for at least running it up the flag pole. Stay tuned, the fun has just begun. :)
In Bardo I trust!

[ShockerFever]

Im amused at the jealousy of other Valley fans about WSU making the national headlines once again. WSU is in at least a position to better itself and get into a conference that isn't full of anklebiters.

The only hope the other 9 schools have is that they don't slip a couple of rungs on the ladder and fall into the Summit League or even Division II.

[shoxtop]

Im amused at the jealousy of other Valley fans about WSU making the national headlines once again. WSU is in at least a position to better itself and get into a conference that isn't full of anklebiters.

The only hope the other 9 schools have is that they don't slip a couple of rungs on the ladder and fall into the Summit League or even Division II.

Careful. Not long ago we were clinging to those same rungs.

[Cdizzle]

Meh. The gap between what Loyola and Drake are, and what WSU was in it's darkest hour, is still a height too tall for Tekele Cotton to reach.

WSU may suck again. But will always keep trying. And has the resources and support to eventually turn that in to something again.

[ShockerFever]

Careful. Not long ago we were clinging to those same rungs.

D-2 rungs? We have the most stable athletic department in the conference. We consistently are superior in a lot of our programs. We pump money into them and we have support.

You can point to a season or two in any sport that was in the dumps but we are in no way, shape, or form similar to any other program in the Valley. We're more different than we are similar.

How many all sport trophies do we have now?

Men's basketball has kept this conference in the spotlight and has carried it. No other current program can compare our stretch to their best.

Please.

[AndShock]

Drake has literally had 4 winning conference records in 45+ years. Putting us on the same level as that is a level of delusion now even Redbird fans could reach.

[WstateU]

D-2 rungs? We have the most stable athletic department in the conference. We consistently are superior in a lot of our programs. We pump money into them and we have support.

You can point to a season or two in any sport that was in the dumps but we are in no way, shape, or form similar to any other program in the Valley. We're more different than we are similar.

How many all sport trophies do we have now?

Men's basketball has kept this conference in the spotlight and has carried it. No other current program can compare our stretch to their best.

Please.

[Shocker1976]

As concise and on point an answer as seen posted on ShockerNet

[1972Shocker]

Actually it would probably be nice to be in a conference where we did not dominate the All-Sports Trophy the way we have done in the Valley in recent years. After a while you have to question whether you are really being tested to your full potential. Although I guess we can always strive for an average finish of 1.00 one of these days.

[AndShock]

http://www.kwch.com/content/sports/378175631.html

Fred getting in on the action.