Would you support the return of football at WSU?

[C0|dB|00ded]

Now we're talking about FBS...

Guys, this is why it never happens. NOBODY is going to step up and fund a college football team in this town without significant showing of support by the community.

Let's gets some uniforms, equipment, amateur athletes, and start holding scrimmages. Maybe a reporter snaps a picture. Maybe it makes the newspaper. Maybe the winds change.

Nobody, nobody, nobody, nobody is going to fund an FCS, FBS, BCS, NFL football team without major community backing.

How do we get the community (alumni) behind the idea? This is what we should be talking about. Not which FBS league we should join lol.

One thing Wichita State could do is start holding mock tailgating parties for purposes other than football. Get the alumni together in the fall and start a tradition.

Other ideas based in reality?

[Shockm]

Now we're talking about FBS...

Guys, this is why it never happens. NOBODY is going to step up and fund a college football team in this town without significant showing of support by the community.

Let's gets some uniforms, equipment, amateur athletes, and start holding scrimmages. Maybe a reporter snaps a picture. Maybe it makes the newspaper. Maybe the winds change.

Nobody, nobody, nobody, nobody is going to fund an FCS, FBS, BCS, NFL football team without major community backing.

How do we get the community (alumni) behind the idea? This is what we should be talking about. Not which FBS league we should join lol.

One thing Wichita State could do is start holding mock tailgating parties for purposes other than football. Get the alumni together in the fall and start a tradition.

Other ideas based in reality?

Clod, I know you can’t relate to middle America, but inflation is Surging Upward at an alarming rate, largely because of policies implemented by YOUR President of choice who has hammered, working and middle America by closing down America as an oil producing country, and caused us to be subservient to Russia, China, and OPEC (on oil and trade) who are oil and natural gas producing countries. The trade imbalance with China has exploded since Biden took over power. Biden just says we should print more money which causes more inflation. I won’t go more into economics, but suffice it to say that middle America won’t be able to support ALL of your pet projects including football. Why don’t YOU FINANCE our football program?

[C0|dB|00ded]

Clod, I know you can’t relate to middle America, but inflation is Surging Upward at an alarming rate, largely because of policies implemented by YOUR President of choice who has hammered, working and middle America by closing down America as an oil producing country, and caused us to be subservient to Russia, China, and OPEC (on oil and trade) who are oil and natural gas producing countries. The trade imbalance with China has exploded since Biden took over power. Biden just says we should print more money which causes more inflation. I won’t go more into economics, but suffice it to say that middle America won’t be able to support ALL of your pet projects including football. Why don’t YOU FINANCE our football program?

And that's the next anti-football comment after someone says it costs $100M... "How big of a check are YOU going to write??!!1111"

Football at WSU will require a total grassroots effort. Just sow the first couple seeds. Maybe one of those seeds starts a forest. It's very unlikely to happen in the T. Boone Pickens fashion.

https://okstate.com/news/2020/11/5/general-boone-pickens-statue-coming-to-oklahoma-state-football-stadium.aspx

Over the years, Pickens donated close to $600 million to Oklahoma State, split virtually equally between athletics and academics...

His unprecedented giving to OSU athletics triggered a renaissance in the Cowboy football program and was a key factor in its first Big 12 championship in 2011 and its first BCS Bowl win in the Fiesta Bowl matchup with Stanford in 2012....

I post this for a couple reasons: first to illustrate how money absolutely can turn the tide in an athletics program; and second, how athletics is inexorably linked to academic funding in many top universities in our country.

Charles Koch, sitting at a new worth of $50B+ could drown the entire city of Stillwater in 100 dollar bills. Will this happen for Wichita State someday? Who knows. But we don't need it to bring back football.

It is nice to dream how Chuckles could singlehandedly turn Wichita State into AAU/R1/FBS with the flick of his pen if he wanted to. 3 billion endowment set up specifically for research, athletics, and the overall advancement of all things Wichita State and we're an independent FBS overnight, with athletic and research facilities rivaling any power conference program in the country. His instructions could be just to keep writing checks until it's all gone. Just under 6% of his net worth. Where T. Boone Pickens was almost "broke" at his death with a net worth of $900M.

We'll see how much the Koch's care about WSU when he passes. The difference between the two being that Pickens is an OSU alum and Koch hails from MIT.

It will also be very interesting to see how his son Chase, continues to involve himself in the university:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chase_Koch

In 2010, Koch married Annie Breitenbach, a former neonatal nurse. They live on a 70-acre property in Wichita that Koch purchased for $3 million in 2010 and have three children. Their oldest son, Charles, was born in 2012. With Zach Lahn, a former Koch network fundraiser, Breitenbach opened Wonder, a private Montessori-style preschool and grade school on the campus of Wichita State University.

Is Annie WSU alumni?

[pogo]

Doesn't really matter if she is an alum or not. I believe the two are separated

[C0|dB|00ded]

Doesn't really matter if she is an alum or not. I believe the two are separated

Incorrect.

If they split up, she'll get half.

[WuDrWu]

In 2010, Koch married Annie Breitenbach, a former neonatal nurse. They live on a 70-acre property in Wichita that Koch purchased for $3 million in 2010 and have three children. Their oldest son, Charles, was born in 2012. With Zach Lahn, a former Koch network fundraiser, Breitenbach opened Wonder, a private Montessori-style preschool and grade school on the campus of Wichita State University.

We'll see how much the Koch's care about WSU when he passes. The difference between the two being that Pickens is an OSU alum and Koch hails from MIT.

It will also be very interesting to see how his son Chase, continues to involve himself in the university:

What the Koch's have already done for WSU and Wichita is beyond giving.

I don't know where they got that information, but Chase paid one hell of a lot more than $3 mil for that parcel of land. That's fake news.



Brick by brick, my fellow citizens, brick by brick.

[C0|dB|00ded]

What the Koch's have already done for WSU and Wichita is beyond giving.

I don't know where they got that information, but Chase paid one hell of a lot more than $3 mil for that parcel of land. That's fake news.



Brick by brick, my fellow citizens, brick by brick.

We appreciate all the contributions made to WSU by everyone, but to portray the Koch's part as "beyond giving" is laughable. The entire top half (5K+) of Koch Arena season ticket holders have given a larger percentage of their net worth than Charles Koch has. In fact, many likely go into debt to purchase season tickets and make the requisite SASO contribution each year.

I hate to be the one to say it but, Chuck could do more. And he wouldn't even notice.

[C0|dB|00ded]

The question though, is how liquid is the Koch's net worth being a private company. It's not like he can just easily liquidate stock on the open market. Maybe someday the heirs will take the company public. If/when that happens, their wealth will double/triple on paper and be much more accessible.

[Shocker1976]

What the Koch's have already done for WSU and Wichita is beyond giving.

I don't know where they got that information, but Chase paid one hell of a lot more than $3 mil for that parcel of land. That's fake news.



Brick by brick, my fellow citizens, brick by brick.

You think $45,000 an acre is too low a price for the 70 acre un-developed farm land Chase bought ten years ago? I think he stands to make a significant profit from this investment (similar to his dad's acreage on Rock Road if and when it is sold).

As a point of reference, a family friend within the past year sold a smaller sized acreage (less than half) of undeveloped farm land located on Greenwich Road for $20,000 per acre.

[WuDrWu]

What you or I think it's worth isn't the point. I'm saying it was sold for a far greater amount. There was a newly built custom home on the property that easily cost the occupant 1.5-2 million +.

That's just for starters.

[Shocker1976]

What you or I think it's worth isn't the point. I'm saying it was sold for a far greater amount. There was a newly built custom home on the property that easily cost the occupant 1.5-2 million +.

That's just for starters.

Agree that what I think the 70 acres is worth is not the point as I am not interested in buying and Chase appears to not be interested in selling. However, the article I read stated he purchased 70 acres in 2010; no existing home was mentioned.

[C0|dB|00ded]

I knew somebody that had real estate dealings in that area over the timeframe we are discussing. Rechecked my facts last night and about 20 years ago they were involved in an 80 acre purchase in the vicinity of Greenwich/21st for $10K/acre. Ten years later that same parcel was going for $200K per acre.

[WuDrWu]

Agree that what I think the 70 acres is worth is not the point as I am not interested in buying and Chase appears to not be interested in selling. However, the article I read stated he purchased 70 acres in 2010; no existing home was mentioned.

I realize that, and I'm not looking for a pissing match. The article you read is wrong. Believe me or don't believe me, it's up to you, but it was sold for a far greater amount, one way or the other.

[pogo]

Incorrect.

If they split up, she'll get half.

Try to grasp the concept of what is called a Pre Nup

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Try to grasp the concept of what is called a Pre Nup

Try to grasp the concept that if they were married for an extended period of time, assets/income gained over that period would not be included. Also try to grasp that she left her profession likely to raise their children. She will be awarded a generous settlement.