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Wichita to AAC...

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MBF72

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Sep 15, 2003
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A.P. reports this morning (CT Post) that Wichita State and AAC are close to making a deal. As a basketball-only school, it would balance Navy as the fb-only member.

Surprised that WSU could not do better; seems to magnify problems of non football schools to find niches in major conferences. A UCONN beat writer recently described the AAC members as having only one thing in common: all are try to get out.
 
Good choice for all parties involved. WSU plays in a better conference. AAC brings in a BBall powerhouse. AAC just took a step up in the basketball hierarchy. Expect sour grapes in this thread.
 
AAC is a wasteland for athletics. Wichita was fine in The Valley. Collegiate traditions continue to die.
 
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kniespolice said:
AAC is a wasteland for athletics. Wichita was fine in The Valley. Collegiate traditions continue to die.
Click to expand...

Looking at Kenpom, adding Wichita gives them 3 likely top 25 teams. That's more than the BE had this year. SMU and Cincy have become perennial contenders. I don't think adding WSU makes them better than the BE, but it kicks them up a notch for sure. It also gives Cincy, SMU, Uconn, Temple, Houston two more good conference games. It will make a difference next year.

Lamenting about tradition won't change that.
 
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WSU must have gotten some assurances that UConn will remain in the AAC otherwise the AAC loses much of its national appeal.
 
The AAC has 12 teams. WS would be the 13th.

They don't play football. Why would they want to get sucked into that white elephant?

Their athletics profile seems like an excellent fit for the Big East.

http://goshockers.com/
 
400SOAVE said:
The AAC has 12 teams. WS would be the 13th.

They don't play football. Why would they want to get sucked into that white elephant?

Their athletics profile seems like an excellent fit for the Big East.

http://goshockers.com/
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Yes and I am sure they want the BE, but not sure BE was interested. WSU going AAC helps shore up their basketball as others mentioned , giving AAC teams another quality opponent and WSU several high level opponents.
 
kniespolice said:
AAC is a wasteland for athletics. Wichita was fine in The Valley. Collegiate traditions continue to die.
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Creighton was fine in the Valley, too, until they had a chance to move up the food chain. So they did, and are happy. This isn't as huge a move up for the Shockers, but it's a chance to play on TV and play some national names. And the money is better, too.

Traditions are long since gone, really since there's been a BCS in football. That was a move that was bad on its face, and you can see the awfulness it's wrought since. But this is what the (miserable) world of college sports is all about now.
 
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Football would be more than a white elephant for WSU. It would be a black hole sucking money continuously. Basketball only makes some sense for them.
 
hallgrad80 said:
WSU must have gotten some assurances that UConn will remain in the AAC otherwise the AAC loses much of its national appeal.
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National appeal? They do not even appeal to the member schools! The only thing they have in common is a desire to leave!
 
Just an FYI...the Zags absolutely want to play in the Big East.
 
Halldan1 said:
Just an FYI...the Zags absolutely want to play in the Big East.
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Why. The potential 1 bid league does not affect them. They are not even close to the position WSU is in with the MVC. And I agree with Solo on Mark Few knowing this and why he has not left. The part I do agree with is him saying how this year the Zags reinvigorated the basketball community this year at the FF pressers and that might be a reason. Everybody there knew they always flamed out usually before the elite 8 every year until now. Wonder how long that would last with BE teams.

And one thing is for sure SHU does not fly charter like the Zags and WSU do.
 
You'll have to contact their BB head coach for an answer. He's the one pushing the Big East agenda.
 
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Piratefan2009 said:
Threat to the BE. Another league with a chance at 4-6 bids now.
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Don't get this statement. Okay, so Witchita St now in AAC, okay so maybe it gets an additional team in the tourney, maybe not. The AAC has gotten 2 /4 /2 teams in the tourney last 3 seasons. But it weakens the MVC, so that conference which in the past has often gotten two teams in, is now a 1 team league without WSU.
 
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seton1996 said:
Don't get this statement. Okay, so Witchita St now in AAC, okay so maybe it gets an additional team in the tourney, maybe not. The AAC has gotten 2 /4 /2 teams in the tourney last 3 seasons. But it weakens the MVC, so that conference which in the past has often gotten two teams in, is now a 1 team league without WSU.
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I believe it will have an additive effect on their conference bids. It's the same reason the ACC gets a guaranteed 9 or 10 bids and we sit at 5-7.

WSU gets helped by the move, but they are already headed to the tourney yearly. Uconn, Cincy and SMU get helped by the move, but they are usually headed to the tourney as well. You've got to be most pleased if you are Temple, Memphis or Houston at this point. This year if you were an AAC team who didn't impress out of conference you had a grand total of 4 chances to notch a "signature win". With the same OOC record next year you get 6 or 8 chances to notch a signature win (if Uconn plays back to the norm). That's how middling teams in power conferences get bids, by having a middling OOC coupled with one or two signature wins in conference. If you only get 4 chances to notch that it's a bigger hill to climb.

I can think of at least one or two teams in our conference that did exactly that this year.
 
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seton1996 said:
Don't get this statement. Okay, so Witchita St now in AAC, okay so maybe it gets an additional team in the tourney, maybe not. The AAC has gotten 2 /4 /2 teams in the tourney last 3 seasons. But it weakens the MVC, so that conference which in the past has often gotten two teams in, is now a 1 team league without WSU.
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The MVC did get NIU in as 2 a couple of years ago but it was looking like a 1 bid league for WSU.
 
TomD82 said:
The MVC did get NIU in as 2 a couple of years ago but it was looking like a 1 bid league for WSU.
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No I get why the AAC and WSU did it, I questioned the guy who claimed that it was a threat to BE, just don't know if I believe it.
 
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400SOAVE said:
The Big East reminds me of this cartoon:

http://writeitloud.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Waiting-for-Mr-Right.jpg

The schools that fit into the conference are limited. If they ever plan to expand, why would you not act now on a school like WS? It's hard to find a better profile.
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Agreed. The Big East now isn't the Big East of the 70s, 80s, 90, 2000s. In fact, there were huge differences in the conference across the decades. The key is to maintain strength in the form of bids, media, funding, general prestige. The trend is power conferences expanding to get more strength, and I haven't seen any good arguments not to do that as well.
 
The AAC will never gain any prestige as a football conference and will never be viewed as anything more that a lower Mid-Major Conference in football. That means it's chance at attracting national attention rests with men's basketball and adding WSU to its ranks is a positive step in doing that.
 
hallgrad80 said:
The AAC will never gain any prestige as a football conference and will never be viewed as anything more that a lower Mid-Major Conference in football. That means it's chance at attracting national attention rests with men's basketball and adding WSU to its ranks is a positive step in doing that.
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You have not been paying attention if you think that AAC is a lower mid major Football conference. Last year at one point in the season they had four teams in top 20. Last couple years have been top rated conf of the so called group of five. Navy, Houston, Memphis, Temple, USF all tough outs for the bigs. They are not quite Power 5 but are knocking on the door.
 
seton1996 said:
No I get why the AAC and WSU did it, I questioned the guy who claimed that it was a threat to BE, just don't know if I believe it.
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Agree. The thread about expansion started with UConn to the BE because the ACC was the threat with monopolizing NCAA bids. WSU had to have been thinking about this for a long time. This year there was a good chance that if they did not win the MVC tournament they were out of the NCAA.

UConn with brand recognition and before this year their perrenial NCAA bid potential I get. Gonzaga as a brand name for the BE I don't. And forget about the complaining about 11 PM EST games. Fox knows the ratings would be nothing. And Fox with their PAC 12 relationship doesn't need GU in the BE and probably does not want them if you ask me. Why would tghey pay more $$$ for GU?
 
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