What is a National Championship really worth...

[ShockerFever]

Let's not derail an interesting question with a bunch of criticisms about bringing up a national championship. Everybody is in agreement that winning it all is not probable, just possible. The fact that we are playing as well as we are and have been mentioned by some "expert's" as Final Four contenders, allows me to create a thread like this without looking totally insane (or more insane than I usually look).

Think about it for a moment, what good is a basketball national championship to a school without football, stuck in a horrible conference, filled with schools managing barely solvent athletic programs... in the long run? National championships are great, but they are not even on my wishlist. I want to compete for the top recruits and play the best teams in the country every year. I want to go to Koch Arena and watch legitimate, top-flight, basketball teams, not Evansville and NIU.

If Wichita State wins a national championship, Drake, Indy St, NIU, E-ville, and the rest of the trash will be arriving at 21st and Hillside right on queue the following season like nothing happened. **** that! Until 2008, the ChickenHawks had basically won one relevant national championship and the memory of the one in '88 was fleeting. In the meantime (20 years) they played at the highest level and was continually ranked top 10 every year. I want to build towards that level and I wanna use my magical/mythical national championship to make the first couple necessary steps.

P.S.

Look at the schools graduating from C-USA to the big time? I want to cry.


T


...:cool:

These are the types of posts that make me glad Cold is back on this site.

[SHOXAAC]

Let's not derail an interesting question with a bunch of criticisms about bringing up a national championship. Everybody is in agreement that winning it all is not probable, just possible. The fact that we are playing as well as we are and have been mentioned by some "expert's" as Final Four contenders, allows me to create a thread like this without looking totally insane (or more insane than I usually look).

Think about it for a moment, what good is a basketball national championship to a school without football, stuck in a horrible conference, filled with schools managing barely solvent athletic programs... in the long run? National championships are great, but they are not even on my wishlist. I want to compete for the top recruits and play the best teams in the country every year. I want to go to Koch Arena and watch legitimate, top-flight, basketball teams,not Evansville and NIU.

If Wichita State wins a national championship, Drake, Indy St, NIU, E-ville, and the rest of the trash will be arriving at 21st and Hillside right on queue the following season like nothing happened. **** that! Until 2008, the ChickenHawks had basically won one relevant national championship and the memory of the one in '88 was fleeting. In the meantime (20 years) they played at the highest level and was continually ranked top 10 every year. I want to build towards that level and I wanna use my magical/mythical national championship to make the first couple necessary steps.

P.S.

Look at the schools graduating from C-USA to the big time? I want to cry.


T


...:cool:

We are final four contenders simply because the "Mid-Major" term is the flavor of the day when it comes to the dance, thanks to GMU, Butler and VCU. It isn't because WSU is legitimately in the conversation...please.

Wichita State is destined to be LIKE Gonzaga, Butler, SDS, etc...I hope. That is what my hope is. If we can be "viewed" as a 15-35 team each year, than we will always have a chance to make a reasonable run in the tourny each year. And maybe once every 25 years or so we can make a final four.

Getting football back to the level you're apparently talking about and dumping the Valley for greener pastures...well maybe in my next life I will reap the rewards. Enjoy us for what we are, not the wet dream you have in mind.

[vancedave56]

I have nothing to contribute to this thread; I just want to say that it is a great thread with many good points being made - great discussion. The fact that this is even a legitimate discussion is FANtastic! Carry on :)

[Wu du Nord]

Whitney's Choice of Emblemes 39
Mediocribus utere partis

---

Whome fortune heare allottes a meane estate,
Yet gives enowghe, eache wante for to suffise:
That wavering wighte, that hopes for better fate,
And not content, his cawlinge doth despise,

Maie vainlie clime, but likelie still to fall,
And live at lengthe, with losse of maine, and all.

And he that poastes, to make awaie his landes,
And credittes all, that wandringe heades reporte:
Maye Tagus seeke, and Ganges goulden sandes,
Yet come at lengthe, with emptie purse to courte:

Let suche behoulde, the greedie dogge to moane,
By brooke deceav'd, with shaddow of his boane

.

[pogo]

The exposure that we get locally, regionally, and at the national level helps the university as a whole. During our sweet 16 run and last year during the nit championship run the alumni association had record numbers of alumni making inquiry as to joining. I would imagine it will be similar this year with our current run. Besides increased interest in the alumni association there were record number of inquiries to the admissions office from lots of areas that are not usually heard from. Attendance after both years were up over previous averages. So what would a national chamipionship be worth? Priceless As an example my wife and I were in Bar Harbor Maine the spring after our sweet 16 run and we were in a pub watching the red sox game with Mirabelli catching. We were wearing our Shocker gear and the bar tender struck up a conversation about the Shockers because he said he was pulling for us because he liked the little guys. We had a good time talking about the ncaa tournament and then I pointed out to him that the catcher for his beloved red sox was a Shocker. He bought us a round on the house. Priceless

[Kung Wu]

Ok you want to get down to brass tax?

Q: "What is a National Championship really worth..."

A: The players would all get to upgrade their girlfriends and we can live vicariously through them. "Post us some pix of the chix, Stutz! We had your back for four years, not scratch ours!" That kinda thing.