A little update on Wichita State

[yoda]

A little summary:
Wichita State left the MVC in 2017. 3 years later Gregg Marshall was fired in disgrace, having never achieved another NCAA tourney win & after years of criticizing & mocking the MVC.
Isaac Brown took over 2020-23, & never got an NCAA win & was fired after 3 years after posting 6-9 & 9-9 conf records in 2021-22 and 2022-23.
Paul Mills is their current head coach, he was 5-13 in the AAC last year and is doing horribly this year.
Wichita State has lost 6 of 7 and are 1-7 & LAST PLACE in the AAC and fans (what fans they have left) are really complaining. Their fans have shown that their loyalty was strongly tied to winning, as their average home attendance has dropped from their decade-long streaks of 10,500 sellouts down to around 5000 with lots & lots of empties.

Soooo - guess what they're discussing over on their message board (also after years of mocking the MVC)?

Fans are unhappy and even their mods are commenting like this:

"I have zero trust in Mills ability to
1) evaluate talent, 2) recruit actual talent, 3) develop raw talent and 4) coach ....

....Quick glance at the schedule and I only see possibly 2 more wins this year...
...I don’t even see one win. We cannot allow the idiot that hired Mills to make the next hire

We have zero perimeter defense. Every single opponent has a record 3 point shooting night.

Think the MVC will take us back?"

also - Stony Brook just finally won their first conference game but are still 1-7 in the CAA and 13th place
(beating only 0-9 NC A&T)

(Memo to WSU & SBU: Told ya so!)

[LittleBrave]

I'm not in the KNOW of what you guys think of WSU fans, but I have admired their passion for their team even in mediocre seasons, and they still packed it in. I would take them back if they wanted back in - and would be an upgrade IMO over Mizzou St. I think they'd get back to respectability if they returned to the Valley.

I LOVED the 2006 team with Turgeon. I know they left a sour taste in MVC fans' mouths during the Marshall years, but as long as he's not back, I'm cool with it, and they are not a football school and probably would stay in conf. for a while. Bradley would be sure to hold 'em down a bit.

[Tommy]

And Geno continues to rake in the money while tearing down another program in record time. How does he do it? If this isn't his last HC gig, we know he must be related to someone with pull!

I sure am glad he's not our problem anymore!

[Big Mike]

I am of the opinion that the Valley needs to replace mo st with the way mid majors have trouble scheduling.....someone decent would be welcome!

[yoda]

I actually don't have issue with taking Wichita State back but I doubt they would ever consider it. Those quotes were just their disgruntled fans.
And yes, they did have a strong fan base but the fans disappeared fast when they weren't winning. Ours did too- but our situation drained the fanbase
slowly over the final 5-6 years of Joanne, not literally overnite like at Wichita.

Geno has once again proven that as soon as he loses all the players he inherited from the prior coach, he can't win and he can't recruit.
Stony Brook is actually a mid-major that could be a very attractive spot for a coach.
There's an incredible amount of talent right in their back yard, the school has a healthy budget that exceeds what Bradley's ($33 million Athletic Budget), and an endowment that's TWICE what Bradley's is.
Geno is currently signed through 2025-26, and unless he gets an extension (and who'd expect that with the record he's putting up this year?), he will be coaching next season on a final year of his contract, something that is kind of devastating when trying to recruit- that the potential recruits see the strong possibility that he'd be gone by the time they get there.

[daveineureka]

I have mixed feelings if Witchita St. wanted to rejoin the conference remembering the trash talk they directed at the conference. If they were to rejoin, what about at some point in time if other members left having Tulsa, St.Louis, Memphis St rejoin. I am old enough to recall the time the Valley was the premier conference in the US. Earning the nickname of the valley of death. Forgot about Louisville and Cincinnati too. What am atmosphere it was at the old Field House.

[bradleyfan124]

I would take back Wichita State also even though I think there fans are arrogant. I ran into a Wichita State fan in St. Louis about 4 years ago. To strike up a conversation I asked how the team was doing. He came back with a smart-a**answer concerning the Missouri Valley. I just looked at him and walked away

[Tommy]

Wichita State isn't good enough for the Valley.

[Bradley8792]

Marshall got $7.5 million to go away after abuse allegations. What a deal.

[basketball nut]

The real question is "how much money can their conference pay them compared to the MVC"?

[BRAVE82]

Wichita isn't the only team that has slipped since leaving the MVC. Add Tulsa and Loyola to the list. Only Creighton has elevated their status and success. And Loyola has a winning record this year because of a super weak non-conference schedule.

[houstonbrave]

The Valley would take Wichita back in a second and they should. It is a far better fit than any other option. A bit of a travel headache but worth it.

[Stryker]

Net Rankings of the American and MVC, 2021-2025

2025 - AAC (11) MVC (10)
2024 - AAC (9) MVC (10)
2023 - AAC (9) MVC (15)
2022 - AAC (7) MVC (11)
2021 - AAC (7) MVC (11)

AAC definitely was the better conference originally, but seems to be struggling some the past couple years. Maybe it is the new NLI environment that has made it more difficult? Meanwhile the MVC seems to have had more variability, but is looking better than it has been.

These change fast these days in college basketball, there are no guarantees, and we may continue to see more teams swap conferences as things normalize in the new NLI environment.

[Fetz86]

I think its more all their best teams left. Uconn, then Cincy and Houston (along with UCF and SMU) got replaced with much worse programs.