In Defense of "Mid-Major"

[HockeyShock]

Hear me out.

I agree with absolutely everybody here that Wichita State is not a "mid-major" program. There is nothing "mid-" about it. We have top-notch facilities, the best winning percentange in D-1 over the last four years, the best fans anywhere, three current NBA players (yes, I'm still counting Toure), two pre-season All-Americans, the first team to win 31 games in the regular season, the reigning, defending National Coach of the Year, and a partridge in a freakin' pear tree.

What I mean is, with the selling out of the NCAA to the BCS schools over "autonomy," I am actually quite proud to be part of the opposition to that movement. I think it's a transparent attempt at the big schools to solidify their hegemony on athletic talent under the guise of being "fairer" for student athletes. We all know that the rules are asymmetrically enforced anyway (Jerry Tarkanian's famous quote about Kentucky and Cleveland State comes to mind), and I don't see this as doing anything other than tilting the playing field even more.

(As an aside, my friend Cris suggested that, if Duke knew what was good for it, it should oppose this as well, because "football ain't paying the bills there" and they probably don't have the coffers to compete with state schools like UNC or Kentucky in raw bidding power. Making actual compensation a point of recruitment competition starts to counter Duke's one and only competitive advantage: Name recognition.)

So, instead of grousing about being called a mid-major, I'm actually a little keen to embrace it. Now, would I rather be in the Big East? Of course, just because they're in the same bureaucratic boat and the level of competition would be higher (Creighton notwithstanding). We can take all the slings and arrows from the BCS boys - we're going to regardless - but you can't tell me that every person in an Indiana sweater wouldn't trade Tom Crean and their team for Gregg Marshall and ours. Here's to hoping the NCAA finally stops cowtowing to schools that have already removed their largest-revenue sport from their effective control.

So, there's your grenade for Friday afternoon.

[ShockBand]

Creighton fans, let me Google that for you - click here to Google "hegemony". Let it run on its own, if you are lazy.

[kochHead]

I like your argument, but hate to inform you that we are no longer considered a "mid-major" by the majority of the national media. Mid-major is not clearly defined, but what I do know is that whenever a "mid-major" program has achieved a certain level of success they just kind of drop the label. Which begs the question, is being a "mid-major" more about the level of play, size of school/budget, or conference affiliation? I would argue "mid-major" is about perception, and level of play influences perception more than any other factor.

So, this is where your argument is fractured; you try to equate "mid-major" and non-power 5 school as if they are one in the same. The Zags play in a "mid-major" conference but are considered to be a high-major program, as evidence by the games they are able to schedule and they way they are perceived by the national media. They have the same concerns that all non-power 5 schools have but should they embrace the term "mid-major"?

I think we should be proud of the fact that we have defied the odds in college basketball and have become one of the few dominant non-power 5 schools in the country. However, once we established ourselves as such, we should rightfully shed the "mid-major" label. When someone calls us a "mid-major" now, it is a perception issue. They are saying you are not on par competitively with P5 programs, and that is something I cannot embrace.

[Speed]

Recent success & the highs in our program's history belittle any suggestion that WSU is mid-major. However the 90 ' suggest otherwise. The struggles of Marshall & T urge on to find success do as well. In recent times, we yearned for mid-major recognition & the mid-major MAC screwdriver our seeding in the most recent NCAA tournament. I agree we're not currently mid-major & proud of the fans, donors, administration & players who decided to be consistently successful.

[kcshocker11]

What is this Mid Major you talk about?

[MoValley John]

(As an aside, my friend Cris suggested that, if Duke knew what was good for it, it should oppose this as well, because "football ain't paying the bills there" and they probably don't have the coffers to compete with state schools like UNC or Kentucky in raw bidding power. Making actual compensation a point of recruitment competition starts to counter Duke's one and only competitive advantage: Name recognition.)

Okay, your post dies right here. Are you that uniformed about Duke? You brought Duke into a discussion about not having coffers? Really? Really?

Facts to consider. Duke is loaded. Really loaded. Duke plays in Cameron, well because Duke can. Duke doesn't need to charge a dime for tickets and they have plenty of money to pay Coach K his ridiculous salary, well, forever. Duke has tobacco money that still flows in everyday. Duke is one of the foremost research institutions in the world with Research money flowing in faster than the tobacco money. To bring you to perspective of just how much money Duke has, Duke's enrollment is smaller than that of Wichita State, but Duke's endowment is larger than the University of Texas. Yes, UTA has a smaller endowment than Duke. Duke doesn't need football money.

Duke can play with anyone and nobody is going to put Duke at a financial disadvantage simply because of a little football money. Correct this in your OP than we can start to work on the rest.

[1979Shocker]

What is this Mid Major you talk about?

Its what 9 of the 10 MVC teams are.

[MoValley John]

I know we don't like Wikipedia, but it is accurate enough to compare endowments.
University of Texas endowment: $6.0 billion.
Duke University endowment: S7.0 billion + (The university is also the primary beneficiary (32%) of the independent $3.4 billion*Duke Endowment)

In the end, Duke isn't making decisions based on football coffers.

[kochHead]

I know we don't like Wikipedia, but it is accurate enough to compare endowments.
University of Texas endowment: $6.0 billion.
Duke University endowment: S7.0 billion + (The university is also the primary beneficiary (32%) of the independent $3.4 billion*Duke Endowment)

In the end, Duke isn't making decisions based on football coffers.

I believe you have made your point on this matter.

[MoValley John]

I believe you have made your point on this matter.

Thanks. Now I'll address the fact that Wichita State shouldn't even be in the mid major discussion. Whether anyone wants to embrace the mid major label or not, other than conference affiliation, Wichita State does not meet the definition. Besides simply winning, Wichita State commits resources above what would be considered mid major. Fan support is not mid major and facilities are not mid major. The only mid major facilities Wichita State maintains is their football stadium and Wichita State doesn't field a football team. Wichita State fans cannot embrace the mid major label simply because it doesn't fit. I firmly believe that within the next five years, Wichita State will be in another conference and the whole silly mid major discussion will evaporate.

[kochHead]

Thanks. Now I'll address the fact that Wichita State shouldn't even be in the mid major discussion. Whether anyone wants to embrace the mid major label or not, other than conference affiliation, Wichita State does not meet the definition. Besides simply winning, Wichita State commits resources above what would be considered mid major. Fan support is not mid major and facilities are not mid major. The only mid major facilities Wichita State maintains is their football stadium and Wichita State doesn't field a football team. Wichita State fans cannot embrace the mid major label simply because it doesn't fit. I firmly believe that within the next five years, Wichita State will be in another conference and the whole silly mid major discussion will evaporate.

I hope you are correct!