This recent rise in Shocker football interest is a tricky one to handle from a journalistic standpoint.
On one hand, it is a topic that always grabs the attention of people. It’s an interesting and worthy topic to discuss. Some people, for good reasons, take the subject seriously and think WSU desperately needs football.
On the other hand, it is irresponsible to treat the subject too seriously. There is no indication, also for good reason, that WSU is the least bit interested in football. Anybody can fire up a Web site.
Which is exactly what two people did. They are both quite good – one devoted to pledges and donations and one devoted to blogging about Shocker football. According to Shockerfootballnow.com, KGSO, 1410-AM, will hold a roundtable discussion from 9-11 a.m. Saturday, featuring former players and others.
I’m sure these people are passionate and well-meaning. I’m not sure they understand what an enormous task it would be for WSU to revive football. It would – and I don’t think this is much of an exaggeration – rip apart almost everything that holds the athletic department together. It is a smooth-running department now. Adding 100 or so athletes changes the culture dramatically. Is that a reason not to bring back football? Maybe. Maybe not. I know it is part of the issue that needs to be seriously considered when talking about costs and benefits.
For now, Shocker football is good talk radio and not much more. Can the Internet change that?
5 Comments
i was there for Shocker football as a student, as a manager and as a season ticket holder. The truth is, there was never enough support for the program from students, fans and Wichita in general. As much as I wish it weren’t true, there will never be enough support even if the finances were available to start a football program. People clamoring for football, even at the Drake level, have short memories or are too young to remember the empty stadium. I’m sorry but that’s reality.
I am not sure that people realize this would be a I-AA or Football Championship Subdivision program to start with. The MVC doesn’t have Division I football as I believe MSU, SIU, Ill St and others are in the Gateway Conference. Would 10000 people really show up to watch that level of football?
Secondly isn’t Title IX still on the books? So wouldn’t we have to find 80 some women’s scholarships to match with the men’s football scholarships? I think that is all going to cost way more than people realize.
I am all for people wanting to bring back football, but to say we should do it for the student experience or to hear cessna stadium rocking on a Saturday afternoon is just silly. There won’t be enough people there to rock a boat much less a stadium, especially for I-AA football. Just my 2 cents. I figure in about 10 years when that sight finally makes its $15 mil in pledges, then we can talk. But heck by then most people will have forgotten what they pledged and IF anyone were to call to collect on it, people would probably change the amount they give. It’s easy to be passionate now and it would be easy for the first couple season’s, but would that passion last over the long haul? I think the statistic is that over 80% of schools that have football LOSE money on that program, so why would WSU bring back a money losing entity?
It is a disgrace that WSU dropped football while the current KU AD Lew Perkins ran the WSU athletic department. Why such a negative a attitude towards WSU football? All indicators show that the campus life and enrollment has become lethargic since football was dropped.
Additionally, WSU seems to lack direction. Is it a commuter school, a school for part-time students? What kind of school do we want to be?
#1 Tear down Cessna Stadium and build a new stadium that holds 15,000 with a bowl on the north side. Make it fan friendly stadium that is close to the action, wide concourses, and other attractions that will attract families to the games.
#2 Seek state support similar to what KU and KSU receive for their athletic program
#3 Seek a new athletic conference. No one will get excited to play Missouri Valley Football Conference teams (except for perhaps MSU).
Can you picture and hear the marching band drums pounding as they make their way across campus ready to enter a full stadium underneath the concourse on the south side to a full stadium wearing black and gold?
There is no reason a metro population the size of Wichita will not support a Div I football team if the right ingredients are put into the mix.
We don’t have the conference on our side, but then we also do not have the conference on our side for baseball, basketball, and volleyball, who all enjoy national success. We can do this.
Bring back football! If Boise State and Fresno State can have success, so can the Shockers!!!
High schools have football; Jucos have football; small colleges have football; but WSU cannot afford it.
The money issue is simply an excuse.
First, those who want Football to return to WSU – Sign and pledge something to the shocker football return
website.
Actually for starters WSU would start out as a championship division school and would start off playing in the MVC (Yeah, the Valley has brought back Football).
I agree with the idea of tearing down Cessna Stadium and building a 15 – 20,000 seat stadium with a bowl on the North Side for starters with seating much closer to the action on the field.
That would be good enough for Championship Division Football….like Northern Iowa, Southern Illinois, Missouri State, Indiana State and others. I think a city with 350,000 would fill that stadium on a regular basis. The plus here besides familar teams, less scholarships are required for Championship Division than the Bowl Division it wouldn’t cost as much as some people make it sound should we go that route.
In 71-72 – A little over 20,000 showed up for the home opener against Texas A&M and around 15,700 showed up for the home season final against Division II Trinity University of San Antonio…..WSU was 6-5 that year with the wins against poor competition.
But the point that I’m making here is with a competitive squad and the return being done right, the fans will show up no matter what division we play in.
Should that go extremely well, then we can consider moving up to the Bowl Division and having the new stadium seating 30,000 which will meet those requirements. Personally, It doesn’t matter to me if WSU plays in the Championship Division or Bowl Division…..I just think it’s time College Football returns to Wichita State…….GO SHOX!!!!