glm38 wrote:It's just a rumor at this point. But there is definitely a desire among a lot of MSU fans and alumni to play FBS football rather than at our current lower level. It should be an upgrade in football over the long haul.
But a downgrade in basketball for sure. I'm a basketball guy so I'm not too wild about the idea. But it seems like football drives everything as far as conference alignment is concerned.
I know this isn't really directed at you, but personally, I don't see a major difference between the Sun Belt and FCS football. It's a higher level, but it's still a level WELL below the BCS conferences. It's even a level below the next group, such as the AAC and MWC ... it might even be below the MAC now.
I get that everyone wants to play in the FBS, and if Wichita State had a football team I would probably want them to play FBS football as well. But really, if you're outside of the major conferences, you'll always be outside of the system. At least basketball, through the NCAA tournament, allows you to crash the system and break your way in. Football doesn't really have that. I don't particularly believe non-major teams will ever be allowed into a four-team playoff ... it would have to get to eight before that ever was allowed.
And beyond that, it's almost impossible for a smaller school to build up a football team that can compete at that level. Basketball has natural advantages in the ability to build up teams from smaller conferences that can compete at the highest level: small number of players means you can get lucky with a couple really good players that can carry your team, one-and-done situation creates situations where the biggest names consistently lack experience and generally aren't as focused on team-play over individual accolades, the tournament obviously, and so on. And football, given the limitation of shorter schedules, is fundamentally structured to limit opportunities for teams to make a name for themselves -- conferences moving to nine game conference schedules, teams looking at the non-conference only for guaranteed wins, etc. Basketball scheduling is still stacked in the favor of the major conferences, but not nearly to the extent football is and is becoming. And even when you do start to break into the system, football scheduling is done so far out that it's rarely fast enough to really give you an opportunity to take advantage of it.
Personally, I think the importance of football has skewed the perspectives of schools into an odd thought process where football = money. I don't think that's true. I think schools and conferences are much better suited to build their brands through basketball.
That said, my goal if I was a MoSt fan would be to get into the Sun Belt and then focus on basketball primarily to build the brand. But I know that once MoSt gets into the Sun Belt, the focus will be on mediocre football like the rest of the conference.
