2013-2014 MVC All-Sports Trophy

[Shock Therapy]

I'm more surprised by the turnaround in the softball team. Didn't they finish eighth last year?

[1972Shocker]

I'd love to see a point total of 29 or better. We're at 20 with 7 events remaining. Not much room for error.

MG, WT, MTF, WTF, SB all need to win. That's 25. 2nd place from MT and BB would do it. Don't think baseball can do that. They could be a 3 with a MT win. I'd feel pretty confident 1.93 average finish wouldn't be touched any sooner than 35-0.

It's a pretty special time to be a Shocker fan.

Who'd da thunk is right. I thought the 2.30 record AST score the Shocks put up last year would be nearly impossible to beat but the Softball team's outperforming expectations in a big way has made that a possibility.

We have 5 sports to score remaining. If you plug in Baseball @ 4, Softball @ 2, both Track & Field teams @ 2 and Men's Golf @ 1 we come out of the 8 spring sports with at 1.88 average and a new record average for the year of 2.27.

And that leaves the upside as baseball, softball and track and field have the potential to do better. A 1.5 spring is doable but will require almost everything to break our way.

A 1.25 spring (10 points) is needed to get to the 1.93 average. That is not impossible but will be quite a challenge. Theoretically, the men's baseball team still has a shot at championship although hard to see that happening. But if it did then theoretically, the Shocks could go as low as 1.87.

BTW, I have SIU coming in 2nd this year at around 3.38 which in some years would be good enough to win but won't be close this year.

[1972Shocker]

I'm more surprised by the turnaround in the softball team. Didn't they finish eighth last year?

Two years ago they finished 10th. Last year they did finish 8th. Furthemore, this year they were picked in the coach's preseason poll to finish 8th.

[Ricardo del Rio]

I am probably wrong in what I am about to say.

I believe I read recently that the Shockers have won the All Sports Trophy in 7 of the last 10 years.

Have I run off the road and into the ditch again?

[Shock Therapy]

Two years ago they finished 10th. Last year they did finish 8th. Furthemore, this year they were picked in the coach's preseason poll to finish 8th.

Wow, that should net Bredbenner a valley COY.

[shock]

I am probably wrong in what I am about to say.

I believe I read recently that the Shockers have won the All Sports Trophy in 7 of the last 10 years.

Have I run off the road and into the ditch again?

Who'd da thunk is right. I thought the 2.30 record AST score the Shocks put up last year would be nearly impossible to beat but the Softball team's outperforming expectations in a big way has made that a possibility.

We have 5 sports to score remaining. If you plug in Baseball @ 4, Softball @ 2, both Track & Field teams @ 2 and Men's Golf @ 1 we come out of the 8 spring sports with at 1.88 average and a new record average for the year of 2.27.

And that leaves the upside as baseball, softball and track and field have the potential to do better. A 1.5 spring is doable but will require almost everything to break our way.

A 1.25 spring (10 points) is needed to get to the 1.93 average. That is not impossible but will be quite a challenge. Theoretically, the men's baseball team still has a shot a championship although hard to see that happening. But if it did then theoretically, the Shocks could go as low as 1.87.

BTW, I have SIU coming in 2nd this year at around 3.38 which in some years would be good enough to win but won't be close this year.

The continued domination across the board will help WSU in its pursuit of a better conference.

[Ricardo del Rio]

Rio, recuerde que el Internet es tu amigo.

Siete de cada diez es correcto.

http://www.mvc-sports.com/awards/allsportsaward/

Peculiar que Rio.

[WuDrWu]

The All-Sports points for tennis are awarded based on the regular season finish not on the Valley Tournaments. However, the Valley Tournaments do determine the automatic bids to the NCAA Regionals for Tennis.

My bad. I would have sworn the tennis points were awarded based on the post season tourney, but that makes more sense.

[1972Shocker]

The continued domination across the board will help WSU in its pursuit of a better conference.

It can't hurt any, but not sure it is a huge help. How our Men's Basketball program goes is 98% of that equation.

While we dominate the Valley we only have a few sports that can compete at the top of the food chain at this point. Men's Basketball, Volleyball, and potentially Baseball. We usually have a few track and field athletes that can individually compete at the national level.

Look at Creighton. They never won an All-Sports Trophy award and were usually not even in the top half of the Valley. Of course, they found a new conference primarily for reasons not really related to athletics.

[1972Shocker]

My bad. I would have sworn the tennis points were awarded based on the post season tourney, but that makes more sense.

I know for sure they base it on the regular season because last year the Shocker men finished 2nd behind Drake in the regular season but they won the Valley Tournament. For All-Sports purposes they were awarded 2nd place points.

From what I can tell any sport that plays a complete round robin during the regular season uses the regular season standings for awarding All-Sports points.

The sports that do not play a complete round robin regular season schedule are Cross Country, Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field and Golf. Those are sports the Shocks compete in. The same applies to Women's Swimming/Diving in which the Shocks do not compete -- only 5 Valley teams have teams plus UALR competes in the Valley Championship.

We just don't associate a regular season with Men's tennis because there are only 5 Valley teams that have Men's Tennis so the season usually comes and goes before anyone notices.

Then you have sports like Men's Soccer that includes Non-Valley teams in this case 5 Valley teams plus SIU-E and Central Arkansas. In this case you use regular season standings but whatever finishes earned by the two non-valley teams are just not-assigned. For example, this year Valley teams finished 1-2-3-5-6 in the 7 team league. Those are the All-Sports points awarded.

Not sure why the don't include Missouri Valley Football. It is now a 10-team league with 5 Valley members and 5 Non-Valley members. Valley teams finished 4-5-6-7-10 this year so even if they include those points it would not help any of the Valley's football playing members this year.

[pogo]

Its great that the men's basketball team garners so much national attention but the fact that WSU is not a one trick pony reflects really well on the whole athletic department as well as the University that we love.

[Shock Therapy]

Look at Creighton. They never won an All-Sports Trophy award and were usually not even in the top half of the Valley. Of course, they found a new conference primarily for reasons not really related to athletics.

Creighton found a new home for that very reason. Private schools are typically pretty week in most of their sports. There's not as much money to go around, so some of the sports suffer. That is one of the reasons that the Big East has gone private only. So that they can feel like they're playing on a level playing field.

[1972Shocker]

Its great that the men's basketball team garners so much national attention but the fact that WSU is not a one trick pony reflects really well on the whole athletic department as well as the University that we love.

Again a lot of credit for the Shocks All-Sports success over the past decade has to go to Jim Schaus. He was certainly not a one-trick pony and part of his mission statement was to win All-Sports trophies. He believed that if you are going to field a team you should aspire to be the best you can be regardless of the sport or the gender.

The decades of the 90's was just not bad for men's basketball. It was bad for our entire program. Wichita State did not win an All-Sports award from for 15 years between 1988-89 and 2002-03. Illinois State, Missouri State and Southern Illinois dominated those years. Part of that was the legacy of our failed football program and the huge financial deficits we had to deal with and maybe just the act of dropping football hurt us. We did win the All Sports Award for the 1st two years after we dropped football before the long drought set in.

Jim Schaus joined Wichita State for the 1999-2000 season and rolled up his sleeves. Not only did he resurrect Shocker men's basketball he resurrected our entire athletic program. No doubt that Jim Schaus needs to be in the Shocker Sports Hall of Fame.

[1972Shocker]

Wow, that should net Bredbenner a valley COY.

Only one more home series for the Lady Shocker softball team and that is this weekend against 3rd place SIU. Shocker baseball is in New Orleans for a series with Tulane this weekend. Grab your radio headphone and head out to Wilkins Stadium to support the Lady Shocks. These Ladies can play.

[MoValley John]

Creighton found a new home for that very reason. Private schools are typically pretty week in most of their sports. There's not as much money to go around, so some of the sports suffer. That is one of the reasons that the Big East has gone private only. So that they can feel like they're playing on a level playing field.

To be a little more exact, Creighton and most private schools do well in team sports and can be very good at many Olympic sports but don't even try to compete in individual sports. If you take a look deeper at Creighton, they were very solid in almost all team sports.

Where private schools suffer isn't the budget, or costs to compete in tennis or golf, but scholarship limitations and affordability for athletes to attend the school. It is less expensive for an athlete to go to a school like UNO as a walk on, than attend Creighton with a 50% athletic scholarship. Therefore, many and most private schools spend their energy on team sports, where they can compete.