Football at Wichita State

[tgcshock]

"The real crisis facing college athletics" is not the need for a major football playoff system, two co-chairmen of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics wrote in The Washington Post recently, but rather "the sustainability of its business model, which is on a path toward meltdown" because of soaring costs amid a troubled economic environment.

President R. Gerald Turner, of Southern Methodist University, and chancellor William E. Kirwan, of the University of Maryland, noted that NCAA statistics showed that nearly 80 percent of the 120 athletic programs that sponsor major-college football reported operating deficits in the 2007-08 school year.

Source: http://www.sltrib.com/utahutes/ci_14135269

Can anyone really believe that the factors for football are so favorable in Wichita that we would be part of the 20% that make a profit rather than the 80% that experience college football as an economic burden?

[shocky]

Great example ee, but most people look down on D-1AA unfortunately. I think D1-AA or FCS has a great product. It would we a great fit in our region as well. However, the fan support in general for FCS is weak at best. And the reality is that most are loosing large amounts of money every year even with fewer scholarships and have little revenue possibilities. I doubt we could survive long if we did not have a very successful program off the bat and the expectation of a move up to C-USA or something similar. IMO.

I very glad to see WSU moving toward a more traditional campus even without football. That IS the most important thing at this point. Those students will bring a new level of pride to our university. They will give more as alumni and attend events in support of WSU. They are our best chance of getting WSU where it needs to be. The surrounding area needs to improve to attract more students. Room for athletic department expansion to the west should be looked at.

When I was at the U in the late 80's we had the highest enrollment the school had ever had. I think we were at 17000 to 18000 students. Every one in town had a parking sticker on their back bumper. The problem was that 80% to 90% of the students vanished around 3 or 4 pm every day and the university was a ghost town. Enrollment isn't the end-all, be-all. We had a ton of students back then and many just could not give a crap about WSU. It was sad in IMO.

[shocky]

I would not be surprised if the college sports economic bubble popped sooner than later. I could be real ugly for a lot of athletic departments.

The BCS schools are beginning to turn on themselves for the cash. The rich are indeed getting richer. As for the rest, it's just surviving the next season.

[Shockerman]

For those of you who do not think we will be able to recruit players, consider this. There are no FCS (IAA) schools in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska. Colorado only has Northern Colorado who has a terrible program. Basically, we are right in the midst of a 4 state region without an FCS squad. I for one think we would clean up on local FBs transfers and overlooked players who want to play close to home.

[SHOCKvalue]

For those of you who do not think we will be able to recruit players, consider this. There are no FCS (IAA) schools in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska. Colorado only has Northern Colorado who has a terrible program. Basically, we are right in the midst of a 4 state region without an FCS squad. I for one think we would clean up on local FBs transfers and overlooked players who want to play close to home.

Seems plausible. You'd sure think there'd be a regional demand void for talent that falls between area D2 and FBS programs.

[ShockerGorilla]

If we make our football team co-ed, will that fulfill Title IX?

[The Mad Hatter]

For those of you who do not think we will be able to recruit players, consider this. There are no FCS (IAA) schools in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska. Colorado only has Northern Colorado who has a terrible program. Basically, we are right in the midst of a 4 state region without an FCS squad. I for one think we would clean up on local FBs transfers and overlooked players who want to play close to home.

Just stop and think about what you are saying for a moment and make sure that it supports the argument you think it supports.

[DUShock]

I don't mind being a minor league team in a minor league conference so long as well excel.

[tw805]

If we make our football team co-ed, will that fulfill Title IX?

I say yes. And if we force them to shower together, we'll be the best recruiters in the region.

[Kung Wu]

If we make our football team co-ed, will that fulfill Title IX?

I say yes. And if we force them to shower together, we'll be the best recruiters in the region.

You might not want to shower with the type of coed that would be playing on your football team.

[BenWSU]

You might not want to shower with the type of coed that would be playing on your football team.

Especially if she has a bigger unit than you.

[Awesome Sauce Malone]

You might not want to shower with the type of coed that would be playing on your football team.

Especially if she has a bigger unit than you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZBIdRGKRhM

[pogo]

This is the classic alligator vs swamp, chicken and egg question. Bringing back football would be a no brainer if there were wide spread support or lots of money available for such an endeavor. In almost any economic environment procurring the necessary funding would be difficult. People in Wichita whine if you want to do anything pro active. The fact that we were able to see the way conference re alignment is going and will continue to go should give all of us pause to consider our (WSU) future. The re alignment will happen, probably over the next 5 years and unless we position ourselves with a well funded football program we will find ourselves outside looking in. I don't believe one or several well heeled donors (unless there is a T Boone our there for us) is the answer but looking at the figures for "bring back Shocker Football" there is no great ground swell of support. Unless we do something soon we will once again be looking back at this place in time and just shake our heads at the lost opportunity.

[SubGod22]

With the right vision and leadership funding won't be an issue.

[1972Shocker]

The last time bringing back WSU football received at least some semi-serious discussion in the pubic arena was when Mayor Carlos Mayans was promoting it.

Here is an article from that time period:

http://www.kake.com/home/headlines/2264051.html

Interestingly, they also mention Georgia Southern (together with Youngstown State) in discussing this issue. However, this article points out that both these schools, despite having won 10 national championships between them lost $1 million each in 2005. Not sure if that was a representative year or not.

That effort to enlist taxpayer funding of football never got off the ground and the environment for something like that is probably less favorable today. I doubt that any taxpayer subsidies will be forthcoming.

We always seem to get back to needing a deep-pocketed sugar daddy to step up and hit one out of the park.