University moves to make Final Four memory last

[1979Shocker]

Along the way to Atlanta, Gregg Marshall became more than a basketball coach, taking on the role as Wichita’s ambassador and Wichita State’s dean of advancement.

In the NCAA news conferences, in the hallways, on the radio, he talked about the city and the university, dropping mentions of Pizza Hut, the engineering program, Koch Industries and aviation. University president John Bardo tagged along from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles to Atlanta, enjoying the basketball, high-fiving students and calculating the boost to his plans to shape the school.

“I knew every step we took was better for us, and then if we got to the Final Four that it would have real implications for us,” Bardo said. “We were going to move down some of these roads anyway. It just makes it a lot easier because I don’t have to tell people who were are.”

Marshall and his basketball team blasted that message to many sports fans last spring. So much the better that Marshall appears to understand there is a school and city outside his gym.

“When I heard that sound bite, I could have bought him a beer,” said Bobby Gandu, WSU’s director of admissions. “I was just thrilled. He believes in Wichita just as much as the rest of us do.”

Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/2013/11/02/308...#storylink=cpy

[Downtown Shocker Brown]

Coach mentioned on Jim Rome today that applications to Wichita State were up 75% over a year ago.

Stage one complete.

[_kai_]

Bobby and the admissions staff need some big credit in the materials they're putting out as well. Top notch recruitment material. Also big credit to Bardo for spending $$$ on getting students outside our traditional footprint, he's going national with WSU recruitment of prospective students.

[pogo]

They are also going after more high school sophomores which is a departure from concentrating on juniors and seniors. This looks like the footprint of recruiting athletes but towards the academic side. Good Show.

[pogo]

Bobby and the admissions staff need some big credit in the materials they're putting out as well. Top notch recruitment material. Also big credit to Bardo for spending $$$ on getting students outside our traditional footprint, he's going national with WSU recruitment of prospective students.

It seems WSU has upped its game considerably in the marketing of our University. Students, alumni, fans and prospective students.

[Rocky Mountain Shock]

Let's put some real numbers to this. Say an average number of applications is 10,000, and the average number of freshmen each year is 4,000 (I have no idea if any of these are accurate numbers, just a wild guess). If applications are up 75%, that's 17,500 applications. Assuming the same 40% enrollment rate, that's freshmen enrollment of 7,000 for an enrollment growth of 3,000. That's pretty damned impressive.

[Kung Wu]

Or they are going to keep the same enrollment numbers and only allow brainiacs in. It's over for jackasses like us people. Be happy you got a degree at Wichita Harvard University Extension (pronounced WAHOO) when you did.

[ciaomichael]

Let's put some real numbers to this. Say an average number of applications is 10,000, and the average number of freshmen each year is 4,000 (I have no idea if any of these are accurate numbers, just a wild guess). If applications are up 75%, that's 17,500 applications. Assuming the same 40% enrollment rate, that's freshmen enrollment of 7,000 for an enrollment growth of 3,000. That's pretty damned impressive.

Yes, but what happens in reality is that admission standards go up. The physical plant of a university alone can't handle such explosive growth. I saw this happen in the post-Michael Vick years at Virginia Tech. Once a school that would take typical B students had to sort out a huge flood of applications. And while it has grown in numbers, more importantly, VT's academic stature has been enhanced.

[pogo]

I have no problem letting smarter students and higher admission standards upgrade the stature of my diploma.