Would you support the return of football at WSU?

[C0|dB|00ded]

Being competitive at football begins and ends with conference affiliation. We're in a good conference now so it's feasible. MUCH more feasible than if we were still in the MoValley.


T


...:cool:

[WstateU]

This x 1000. The time to strike is when the irons hot... unfortunately, the iron will only be hot for another 5 years, then it will be as 'cold as ice'.

We'll all be sayin'... what have we done and why didn't we look ahead?

https://media.giphy.com/media/9aVfqdOyOtGGQ/giphy.gif

[C0|dB|00ded]

THE Bardo would be smiling from his grave if we pulled it off. He was for football. He was also one of the most influential people ever to be affiliated with our university. Why would anybody doubt him now?


T


...:cool:

[1972Shocker]

https://csnbbs.com/thread-878731.html

I don't know if this is just one of our own messing around on the AAC board but its 4 pages at this point, any truth to this rumor?

The timing doesn't quite seem to fit considering the search for a new University President is still in process unless it is somehow tied into that search.

[WSUwatcher]

Four words: "Show me the money." It would take a LOT to avoid ruining the athletic department financially, and we've just seen an example in the late and semi-lamented UConn of what not to do, a large part of which was to have (and spend money accordingly on) big-time but unrealistic football aspirations.

WSU is exactly where it ought to be in football -- out of the business -- and if it wants to emulate anyone it should be Gonzaga, which has better things to do than waste energy and money on football, and whose basketball program is consequently a great illustration of the value of staying focused on what can actually be done in a given situation.

I'm no more of a Lew Perkins apologist than anyone else on here, but the ultimate result of his impact on WSU football was to facilitate putting the Shocks where they are today athletically.

[Aargh]

The AAC would never take WSU in FB unless ESPN told the league that adding WSU would enhance the TV contract to the point that all the schools in the league would get more money. By AAC standards, Wichita is a small market. To get into the league, WSU would have to draw from a national audience to get the necessary eyes on TV's to get an invite from the AAC. And, WSU would have to do that as an independent.

That old line, "so you're saying there is a chance" doesn't work here. There actually isn't a chance.

[shock]

Come on guys, quit busting my chops. I had to generate some WSU related offseason conversation that a Memphis fan wouldn’t turn into “yeah but peso”. It’s a farce, sure, but it’s fun to think about.

[WstateU]

[Veritas]

Is it time, or do we put all of our eggs into the Big East basket?

[SubGod22]

We're not getting into the Big East.

The time to bring football back was 15-20 years ago.

But I will always support bringing it back, even at an FCS level. I would love to give a damn about college football, but don't, simply because we don't field a team.

[Rocky Mountain Shock]

The ship has sailed. Cutting football was a short sighted decision by weak leadership at a low point in the University's history. We're going to have to live with that. Today, there's very little donor support for the price tag it will take to bring back a competitive top level program, and every decision maker and donor knows we would have to start at the lower cost FCS level first. I think there's even less support and enthusiasm for starting a non-scholarship Pioneer level program just to have something to reference if we were to claim "we have football."

What is realistic--and what I hope is happening within university leadership and donor circles--is a focused effort to make WSU the best non-football athletics program in the country. There is absolutely no reason why that can't happen. So while there's no getting into a "power" conference without football, if the rest of our programs have all the resources they need and our facilities are best in class, I think doors will open up to opportunities some consider out of the question at this moment.

[Kel Varnsen]

I would support it as long as we could lay out a plan that has the long game in mind. Like, a very long game in mind...I'm talking 10-15 years because there's very little guarantee of revenue coming in. You would literally have to set it up where the program would be mostly funded for that amount of time...coaches, scholarships, equipment, travel, EVERYTHING. That would run at least $100M just to cover us for the next 10 years.

Stadium - we would need to build a separate facility either on campus (don't know where it would go as I think we've run out of room now) or somewhere just off I-35. We can't use Cessna or upgrade it. It needs to be razed while we secure a separate track facility or we just need to build elsewhere. Bam, another $100M or so.

It would be a lot of money and it would very likely not be worth it, if we're being completely honest. The best time to revive football was 15-20 years ago, like Sub said. The second best time is now. There's really only one entity which could fund this, and even that entity is smart enough to know that it's likely not a great investment and not very sustainable on its own. Add in the fact that you have to compete with Manhattan/Lawrence/Stillwater/Norman/Columbia/Lincoln for fans in this area on Saturdays, and it's an uphill battle.

Could it work? Yes.

Will it work?



*Yes, those numbers aren't exact, but it gives you an idea of the financial toll it can take on a university.

[Veritas]

CSU stadium seats slightly over 36,000 and cost roughly $250m in 2016 and looks fantastic

https://csurams.com/facilities/canvas-stadium/17

Are there enough WSU alumni in Wichita that might support a temporary sales tax to fund part of that cost?
If the stadium was built, can WSU support additional annual costs.

WSU has not developed its athletic facilities to offset the disappointment of not fielding a football team.
— track stadium has no momentum or apparent money raised to tear down and rebuild
— VB needs its own facility
— no additional sports have been added
— Autumn campus activities are dead

Can a stadium w/o parking still be squeezed into the innovation campus


Wichita needs to invest in itself. We are standing still.

[Shock Top]

I’d love Football, a facility for VB/WBB, tearing down Cessna and building a new T&F/multi-sport facility.

IMO, it would help grow WSU, but it’s never gained any traction.

[SubGod22]

Strong leadership with a strong plan could make it work.

We would start out as FCS and could build accordingly, keeping some of the upfront costs down a bit. It would just need to be built with future expansion in mind. FCS expenses are also lower. While we would hopefully be building to get out of FCS, I think the top budgets for FCS are under 10M per year. Most probably under 5M. So while you would be building to be more than that, initially you wouldn't need to be spending an insane amount more. You would build and as attendance grew and success on the field was found more would eventually be invested.

The AAC might not let us join right in when we felt we were ready, but I bet there could be a bit of a transitional agreement in scheduling that would include some home games as we moved up as an FBS independent. Once we'd establish that, I'm sure the AAC would let us bring football in once they felt we were ready and had a spot for us.

Scheduling as an FBS Independent isn't easy, just ask UCon and UMass. But, the Indy's tend to have to play each other out of necessity so you have a few built in games, at least how things sit now. If you could have yearly games with Tulsa and Tulane and maybe a couple of others as an olive branch from the AAC, it would help with scheduling and Tulsa is a natural rival. Take a few early buy games from P5 schools to help finance the program. I don't know what the average buy game is, but I've seen some over 1M.

We don't have the strong leadership needed to pull it off and that's a shame. I'd be there every home game for sure.

There could be a few more independents in football if teams want to move up and don't get an invite. Liberty set that precedence and are an Independent along with UMass, UCon, New Mexico State, Notre Dame and Army. Army and ND don't have problems scheduling so there would be four others you could probably work with (currently). Take those four with two buy games and a couple of assists from the AAC and most of the schedule is done.

Maybe I should stop dreaming. I won't, but maybe I should.

[JJClamdip]

This poor horse has been beaten to death.

[Veritas]

This poor horse has been beaten to death.

Let me help you out a bit…

“The Only Constant in Life Is Change.”- Heraclitus

“Heraclitus, I believe, says that all things pass and nothing stays, and comparing existing things to the flow of a river, he says you could not step twice into the same river.” – Plato


“When you are finished changing, you are finished”. - Benjamin Franklin