IF WSU had football and realignment

[WuDrWu]

It's easier to turn a program around in the B8/B12 than in the MVC. Do recruits want to play against OU, Texas, Nebraska, etc. or do they want to play against Indiana State, Drake, Southern Illinois, etc.?

Forgive me if some of those schools weren't in the MVC yet when WSU yanked their program. The schools may have been different, but the perception of recruits would have been the same.

It's also fair to remind people that WSU was mired in the Independents rank at the time. We had no conference to help with anything. We weren't Army, Navy or Notre Dame (and we weren't playing them either) and even though we had wins over 3 Big 8 teams in the last 10 years of the program, we also had one sided losses as well as being ranked 3rd out of 3 D1 teams in a basketball state where the 2 teams above us were ROUNTINELY ranked in the bottom 10 (remember that?).


Was it short sided and a mistake to drop football? Probably. Did it wound WSU athletically? Without question.

But I dare anyone to come up with a scenario where we manage to survive another 15 years from 1986. What exactly were we going to do to stay D1 with no conference affiliation?

[Shoxing Me Softly]

Was stepping down to FCS since they were in the valley anyways not an option? I guess that wouldn’t have saved much money. I’m talking 1986 or whenever they shut it down.

[bleed yellow]

A good way to guess where WSU would be right now had we kept football is, look at the Duke situation.. They are similar enrollment size to WSU and there will never be a SEC or BIG invite for Duke. Whatever ends up happening to the ACC after all their football heavyweights leave, Duke has no other choice but to stay put and be a ACC mainstay. The best WSU could do if we had football is the MWC

[MoValley John]

A good way to guess where WSU would be right now had we kept football is, look at the Duke situation.. They are similar enrollment size to WSU and there will never be a SEC or BIG invite for Duke. Whatever ends up happening to the ACC after all their football heavyweights leave, Duke has no other choice but to stay put and be a ACC mainstay. The best WSU could do if we had football is the MWC

Duke could be in the B1G tomorrow. They have the accredidations, alumni and money. I think their endowment is north of $12 billion; they could buy their way in if nothing else.

[jcdshocker]

Fortunately for K-State they had and administration and perhaps more importantly the boosters willing to put the resources into trying to resurrect their program and then hit the lottery with the Bill Snyder hiring (1989). And it's not like Snyder came in with a lot of hype. If anything he was a pretty understated, professorial character.

OTOH, when WSU's administration went to the boosters for financial help they reportedly received very little interest.

Apples and Oranges in differences of KSU and WSU in 1986. We had no football conference and K-State had the Big 8. That revenue sharing ( thanks to OU and NU) kept them afloat. Boosters had very little to do with funding the program. They did hit a home run with the little known Bill Snyder. That definitely was a game changer. WSU would never been able to attract a Snyder like coach with the position they were in.

[Shoxing Me Softly]

best WSU could do if we had football is the MWC

This is probably true, and WSU is already in best league possible or was even without it. One day though that option will be gone where as with football I believe WSU would always have a place in the best of the rest league.

Might not matter one day anyways. Who knows what B1G and SEC will do in the future. Personally I don’t care like I use to anyways. It’s all rather silly when you think about the money involved pro or college for what’s taking place, a game. Although I do not gamble and I’m positive that’s the biggest draw.

[BostonWu]

A good way to guess where WSU would be right now had we kept football is, look at the Duke situation.. They are similar enrollment size to WSU and there will never be a SEC or BIG invite for Duke. Whatever ends up happening to the ACC after all their football heavyweights leave, Duke has no other choice but to stay put and be a ACC mainstay. The best WSU could do if we had football is the MWC

Strangest analogy I've read in a really long time.

[Shockerman]

I suppose this question is somewhat rhetorical but would Wichita State have been a more or less attractive candidate to join the AAC if we had MVC level football vs the Wichita State/Navy pairing that was invited to join the AAC?

I'm not sure it would have made a difference but if it had, my hunch is it would have been viewed as a net positive. The AAC is desperately looking to backfill and UMASS is very high on that list. They have a garbage football program and a basketball program that hasn't been relevant since the early 90's.

If we end up staying in the AAC long term we are going to get pressure to bring back football, and frankly it might make more sense soon then it ever did. It would increase our tie into the I-35 corridor by further creating a western wing of North Texas, Tulsa, UTSA, Rice and the Shox. Furthermore, if they do end up landing Army football, it could substantially help to restore some credibility of AAC football.

With all that said, it would be a disastrous time to invest in football right now as so much is unknown with realignment.

[Shockerman]

It's also fair to remind people that WSU was mired in the Independents rank at the time. We had no conference to help with anything. We weren't Army, Navy or Notre Dame (and we weren't playing them either) and even though we had wins over 3 Big 8 teams in the last 10 years of the program, we also had one sided losses as well as being ranked 3rd out of 3 D1 teams in a basketball state where the 2 teams above us were ROUNTINELY ranked in the bottom 10 (remember that?).


Was it short sided and a mistake to drop football? Probably. Did it wound WSU athletically? Without question.

But I dare anyone to come up with a scenario where we manage to survive another 15 years from 1986. What exactly were we going to do to stay D1 with no conference affiliation?

Looking back, the smart play would have been to join the rest of the Valley in 1AA cost containment football and kept the program alive. The sad reality is that at the end of the day, it is likely that with or without football, we would have landed in the AAC eventually either way.

[Aargh]

As I recall, at the time WSU joined the AAC, it was made clear by Aresco that if WSU brought football back, the football program would not be considered for AAC membership.

[SubGod22]

As I recall, at the time WSU joined the AAC, it was made clear by Aresco that if WSU brought football back, the football program would not be considered for AAC membership.

That also doesn't mean it would never be. Just that they wouldn't automatically gain access. I have little doubt that we could build a decent FCS program and move to be an independent FBS program that would most likely get some scheduling help from some of the AAC until membership would eventually be granted.

[Shockerman]

As I recall, at the time WSU joined the AAC, it was made clear by Aresco that if WSU brought football back, the football program would not be considered for AAC membership.

That was a whole lifetime ago when the AAC was angling to be a P6, had just lost Louisville and Rutgers but still had, SMU, UCONN, Houston, UCF, and Cincinnati. Being perceived as a quasi power conference mattered. Realignment has ruined that initiative and the P6 marketing play is long gone. If the timing was right they would pick us up in a heartbeat because we would further anchor the western half of the conference.

[Shoxing Me Softly]

NM

[Shoxing Me Softly]

NM