Wichita State Mid-Major?

[Championz]

Signed up and all 3 posts in a thread about WSU being a major/mid-major. You a Creighton fan or you just really that concerned?

WSU is not a mid-major but plays in a mid-major conference. See, I can play too.

[rlh04d]

Who cares?

WSU fans get bothered by this too much. Call WSU whatever you want. As long as WSU is getting the respect to be ranked like a top program, getting the seeding of a top program, and having the success of a top program, what people define WSU as is irrelevant.

[Aargh]

WSU has reached national recognition under two consecutive coaches. VCU, GMU, Gonzaga, and Butler can't claim that.

Not true. Butler had just as much national recognition under Todd Lickliter, if not more, than WSU had under Turgeon. They were ranked almost the entire time he was there, had a top 10 ranking, went to 2 Sweet 16s, and Lickliter won National Coach of the Year.

My displayed lack of knowledge about Gonzaga and Butler illustrates the point I was trying to make, even though that was not my intention. I never really noticed Butler until they made some runs in the NCAA. Gonzaga has never really made a notable run in the NCAA's, but they've been ranked and playing a good schedule for a long time. I was unaware it went back to before Mark Few.

If a school out of a mid-major conference gets ranked in the top 25 a few times, that doesn't draw a lot of attention. There's always 1 or 2 doing that and they tend to change from year to year.

Achieving respectability is one thing. It's hard. WSU has done that. Maintaining respectability is even harder. WSU has not done that.

Last year Butler showed how easy it is to fall out of respect in a single season. Butler needs a huge turnaround this year, and that would have been easier in their previous conference.

[ShoxNAwe]

I hope lots of people keep calling WSU a mid-major. I hope they do it in front of Marshall and all of the players, over and over again. Keep fueling the fire. Shock the World!

One thing is certain, this Kentucky fan didn't use the mid-major label in this post on ShockerNet recently:
"from the Big Blue Nation! If we meet again, let it be a FF match. I feel as though both teams got the shaft as far as seeding last season, as a #1 your region was one of the toughest in history. Nothing but respect for your program and hopefully you will get a chance vs. Kansas.

The game we played has to be one of the best ever in the tournament and Wichita was our equal."

This sentiment is worth more than all of the comments, good or bad, from all of our Valley brethren combined.

[C0|db|00ded]

This thread sucks.


T


...

[Wufan]

I hope lots of people keep calling WSU a mid-major. I hope they do it in front of Marshall and all of the players, over and over again. Keep fueling the fire. Shock the World!

One thing is certain, this Kentucky fan didn't use the mid-major label in this post on ShockerNet recently:
"from the Big Blue Nation! If we meet again, let it be a FF match. I feel as though both teams got the shaft as far as seeding last season, as a #1 your region was one of the toughest in history. Nothing but respect for your program and hopefully you will get a chance vs. Kansas.

The game we played has to be one of the best ever in the tournament and Wichita was our equal."

This sentiment is worth more than all of the comments, good or bad, from all of our Valley brethren combined.

Yet someone went fishing for compliments on this board.

[tribecalledquest]

I hope lots of people keep calling WSU a mid-major. I hope they do it in front of Marshall and all of the players, over and over again. Keep fueling the fire. Shock the World!

One thing is certain, this Kentucky fan didn't use the mid-major label in this post on ShockerNet recently:
"from the Big Blue Nation! If we meet again, let it be a FF match. I feel as though both teams got the shaft as far as seeding last season, as a #1 your region was one of the toughest in history. Nothing but respect for your program and hopefully you will get a chance vs. Kansas.

The game we played has to be one of the best ever in the tournament and Wichita was our equal."

This sentiment is worth more than all of the comments, good or bad, from all of our Valley brethren combined.

I like how blogs and message board posts become more relevant when they agree with our own personal beliefs. So one UK fan said it on the message board...CASE CLOSED!!!

[Championz]

For a guy that was complaining about Shocker fans making this a big deal... You can't seem to stop commenting about it. Perhaps you care more than you think you do.

[mvcfan]

Honestly, I don't give two craps about how Bradley is or was perceived. I didn't fight the fight or care when BU was good. I don't need validation from other MVC fans nor from a random blogger.

It's a good thing that you don't need any validation because the only positive that you are able to take away with you is that Bradley is consistently a great threat to play on Thursday night. Continue to be proud.

[Ghost]

Based on seeding only, WSU actually under performed in two of the last three NCAA tourneys. Here are the numbers:

2012: underperformed by losing their first game in the NCAA tourney as a 5 seed to a 12 seed
2013: Substantially overperformed their seed line by going to final four
2014: substantially underperformed their #1 seed by losing in the second round

That is a great 3 year streak by MVC standards. It is also a great streak for a mid major, which is what WSU is.

In the last decade; 1) VCU has done more; 2) Butler did a lot more; and 3) George Mason had a similar streak. None of those schools shed the mid major label (at least not until they moved up a conference level), so it would stand to reason that WSU has not shed it either. Is it noteworthy that WSU is the only mid major to go to the Final Four in that period that did not subsequently move up a conference level? I don't know, but the MVC is a mid major conference and WSU is a member of that conference.

[One other thing to think about --- Will WSU be able to maintain its present level if the MVC does not vote to allow all of the "extras" that the big conferences are expected to implement? (With three MVC members voting against autonomy, do we really think they will vote to add the extras? Will other MVC schools join them in voting to keep the the MVC from allowing members to add the extras?)]