Brownback: Governor’s Cup for Kansas college basketball?

[Fozzy]

Sounds like the Eagle making a big story out of a couple sentences uttered "informally" by the governor. Would like to see it happen but throw in some D-II state colleges or JuCo powerhouses as well and make it a round-robin tournament. And make it a worthwhile event and turn it into a charity event where the players go visit some place and give them the proceeds.

[shocka khan]

I kinda' liked the 'is the glass half empty or half full?' at the beginning of the thread. Kinda' of an interesting point/counterpoint.

I have to say I can appreciate Brownback's approach. And the strategy (which has already been pointed out by the Yetti).

[WstateU]

Give it up Charlie!

[jdshock]

No sane program would give up a home conference game.

Correct. Which is why I stated "It would certainly make it less likely that either of those schools jumped onboard"

I was addressing a logistics question with a question of my own. I do think that I know the answer to it, though. In the one year that KU football wasn't bad and they made it to the Orange bowl, they worked it out to play Mizzou at Arrowhead for a neutral site instead of in Lawrence as it was scheduled that year. I see no reason why it would be impossible to do the same in basketball.

Like you (and I) said, it is certainly not something that a reasonable program would agree to voluntarily. [which... I guess says something about the sanity of KU that they agreed to give up their home football game]

[1972Shocker]

Interesting discussion but we all know as far as KU is concerned it simply is not going to happen.

WSU and KSU getting something done is a possibility.

[MadaboutWu]

I would like to play K-State but it as our fortunes have risen it has come to seem almost meh.

[Jamar Howard 4 President]

If K-State came to Koch, it would be far from "meh".
If WSU went to Manhattan, I would attend and would drive up there feeling a bit more excited than "meh" implies.
If WSU played K-State anywhere else and I didn't get to attend, I'd still be pretty psyched about going to work the next day and "chatting" with some of my coworkers who are K-State grads. (assuming WSU won)

I just don't understand the "meh" feeling. Playing K-State sounds more exciting than about 90% of the opponents that WSU has on the calendar this year.

[Play Angry]

I actually think Weber will try to initiate something either this offseason or the next one. He is losing recruiting battles and feeling pressure to do something about it.

A home-and-home would only serve to bury them further...but following an NIT bid or two and a fairly linear decline in performance, he might just pick up the phone.

Ironically they will be the team that "needs" the series at that point.

[ShockerPhi]

If K-State came to Koch, it would be far from "meh".
If WSU went to Manhattan, I would attend and would drive up there feeling a bit more excited than "meh" implies.
If WSU played K-State anywhere else and I didn't get to attend, I'd still be pretty psyched about going to work the next day and "chatting" with some of my coworkers who are K-State grads. (assuming WSU won)

I just don't understand the "meh" feeling. Playing K-State sounds more exciting than about 90% of the opponents that WSU has on the calendar this year.

I agree completely. I have some friends up at K-State who would really like to see a game between us happen as well. I think it'd be very exciting regardless.

[MadaboutWu]

If K-State came to Koch, it would be far from "meh".
If WSU went to Manhattan, I would attend and would drive up there feeling a bit more excited than "meh" implies.
If WSU played K-State anywhere else and I didn't get to attend, I'd still be pretty psyched about going to work the next day and "chatting" with some of my coworkers who are K-State grads. (assuming WSU won)

I just don't understand the "meh" feeling. Playing K-State sounds more exciting than about 90% of the opponents that WSU has on the calendar this year.

My point was that they seem like they are headed to mediocrity and that WSU doesn't have nearly as much to gain from it as we did a few years ago. The only fair comparison is with the ooc opponents and more exciting than 90% of them seems a stretch, which would basically make them our best or second best opponent. Utah, Seton Hall are clearly better this year. NMSU is likely better. They look about like Memphis or Nebraska (currently 193 and 170 in realtime rpi; K-State is 194). Colorado and Tulsa are both around 100. So no K-State is not more exciting than 90% of the opponents we have control over scheduling in terms of quality. If we can get them on our conference schedule, that would be exciting!

I take your point about opposing fans; living on the east coast makes that a non-issue for me personally but I would enjoy hearing about it and understand the rivalry could be intense. I underestimated that factor--fair enough.

[AndShock]

A K-State game is definitely meh to me. The K-State fans I know are already meh about their own team after they were super fans 5 years ago. I warned them that Weber was a meh hire but they didn't believe me.

[WSUwatcher]

Back to the Governor's Cup -- upon further review, I've come up with a solution:

Because the different conference affiliations makes scheduling such a challenge, just give the award to whichever team finished highest in the final polls any given year. Brownback could get the old roundball rolling with a proclamation recognizing the 2014 winners. ;)

Given his academic history, no one could accuse him of prejudice, and I suspect our posters both left and right would support his decree; and then he'd conclude by exhorting all three schools to give it all they've got in pursuing the 2015 award.

Problem solved -- you're welcome.

[im4wsu]

A K-State game is definitely meh to me. The K-State fans I know are already meh about their own team after they were super fans 5 years ago. I warned them that Weber was a meh hire but they didn't believe me.

Definition of "bandwagon" is emaw

[Ricardo del Rio]

If Governor was motivated, he could persuade KU to go along. KU is always asking for money for this or that. Bullysuade KU to agree to a four team tournament each year.

[Kung Wu]

Well, I'm not so sure I am in favor of us playing KU. By playing KU we are giving credibility to the most overpriced school in the state, that also has the lowest growth rate of the Division 1 schools. Why give them that type of credibility? Since we have "nothing to gain" from playing them, I think we should continue ignoring them as if they don't exist and sit back and watch their enrollment numbers decline or flat line (this year they had a small 177 student increase).

BaZenger!