Who do WSU Fans want in the Valley?

[Snaggletooth]

I don't care who the mvc adds as long as the Shockers get out of this god foresaken stupid conference.

I constantly hear this being said - but If you were the WSU President - what conference would you propose you go contact? And please give some realistic options (Not MWC, or Big 12 or Big 10, etc).

[Aces0976]

You would think Shoxrox would be smart enough to keep his mouth shut about Evansville until next year. The Aces swept the Shockers this year and he has the nerve to comment. Please. If the Shockers are not good enough to be Evansville, than they should look in their own backyard.

Unfortunately, you have much higher expectations of him than I do, Ace Dad. I respect the hell out of WSU's program. I think Marshall is the best coach in the valley and love the hard nosed players he gets year in and year out. Most Wichita fans are great and I love the way they support their program. Just remember supporting a winning team doesn't make someone a winner. Some people do us all the favor of demonstrating this quite often.

[CBB_Fan]

Dayton is the only great option, and they would almost certainly be a temporary addition.

Aside from Dayton, the first thing we want is a team with support. Success is great (especially recent success), but the most important guarantee of a successful program in the future is the support of its fans and athletic department. Creighton was important to the Valley not just because they were successful at making the NCAA tournament, but because they were willing to invest in their program with quality facilities and coaches. Many teams in the Valley don't have that support, and it handicaps their long-term success.

The second most important thing for the Shockers is a team without FBS football. We want basketball to be the focus of every team in the conference, because we marginalize ourselves if we are an also-ran conference in an also-ran support. It doesn't matter if the team has FCS football, or if they are private/public. The important thing is that they are basketball first.

It is important to understand that no single addition will solve the problems the Shockers have with the Valley. We want to continue expanding our program, and it looks like that is getting harder every year in the Valley. To make the jump to the next level, we need to consistently play against high profile opponents, maintain media interest, and increase our incoming revenues. None of that is helped by being in the Valley. If we get offered a bid into the MWC or America-12, we will go. The A-10 is not significantly different from the MVC, so they are not an option.

[cu36]

Shoxrox point wasn't that a CU fan answered, it was that a CU fan was FIRST to answer the thread. It shows a bit of obsession with the Shocks. Most Shocks fans are disappointed that CU will probably be leaving the Valley. A win over CU will typically be a good win and a loss won't be that bad to the selection committee.

As a Shocks fan, I would want a team with good financial backing. I would prefer a team without football so the focus would be on basketball. I would also want it to be a team that looks situated to be able to improve with a move to the Valley. I'm familiar enough with other teams to know who those would be.

Thanks for your input lanceshock, but shoxrox went on to call out the reading comprehension in Omaha. Since I was the only person who had commented at that point I have to assume it was directed at me. What didn't I comprehend at that time? He also said the post was directed at WSU fans, which it probably was, but the fact that I responded was not out of line due to the way the question was asked.

Shoxrox, anything more?

[Shox2k4]

I like the valley. The valley needs to find a program that has room to grow. The new program doesn't need to fill CU's shoes. But the valley will need some other programs to get back where multiple bids are possible. All the schools will have the opportunity to fill in and rise up. I don't expect anyone to fill over 15k for basketball but they should spend some money to get good coaches and keep the valley moving forward. I read a lot of bashing, but the admin needs to work together and keep pushing themselves. Cu is a loss but they can't let it be the first loss in a downward spiral.

I kind of like Detroit or Belmont. Two teams in bigger cities that maybe could draw a fan base and excitement. I don't know if loy-chi or oru would do that. Of course no guarantee those teams can gain fans in their city.

[Ali]

It will be public vs private and then east vs west. Will schools bend to the wishes of WSU to try and appease the school poised to take Creighton's spot as the league leader? Or will the Illinois and Indiana school flex their muscle and take someone like Valpo?

[Haha]

I joked yesterday about wanting Omaha/Kansas City over the XDSU's. Now that I've thought about it since yesterday I really wouldn't care if it was UMKC.

Make them agree to a certain financial commitment, add baseball, move games back to municipal. Who cares if they suck, so has Loyola for God knows how long but nobody blinks an eye at them. Somebody needs to take an azz kicking in the league might as well be the new guy. Also KC or Tulsa is as close to Wichita as your going to get and Des Moines, Wichita, Springfield are all short drives to KC.

[Bball Junkie]

I would like to see the MVC go to 12 teams...add 2 private, non-football shools + 1 public Div 1AA school:

Public: Murray State (good basketball tradition, rivals with UE and SIU, decent baseball, and decent 1AA football program)

Private #1: Belmont (excellent basketball, new arena, pulls in Nashville market, would be rivals with Murray State) ---- will not add too much geography to the Valley footprint

Private #2: Detroit (bring in Detroit market and basketball potential) or Oral Roberts (to add another western school) ----- my preference is Detroit

Adding Murray State, Belmont, and Detroit could make these 2 divisions:
East ---- Belmont, Murray State, Evansville, Indiana State, Detroit, and Southern Illinois (3 public, 3 private)
West ---- Bradley, Illinois State, Drake, Wichita State, Northern Iowa, and Missouri State (4 public, 2 private)

Adding Murray State, Belmont, and Oral Roberts could make these 2 divisions
East ---- Belmont, Murray State, Evansville, Indiana State, Southern Illinois, Missouri State (2 private, 4 public)
West ---- Oral Roberts, Wichita State, Northern Iowa, Drake, Bradley, and Illinois State (3 private, 3 public)

[Haha]

I'd like to point out that Detroit is on a program high/with a potential lottery pick and they averaged like 2K fans. One might argue that Oakland brings more of that market than Detroit. In reality neither "brings the market".

[Dean Wormer]

Is there a market to bring? I like Belmont and Murray, but I would swap Loyola for Detroit. Neither gets a ton of attention or attendance, but Loyola is in Chicago. More inside our footprint and certainly not the corpse of a city that Detroit is.