New Wichita State president John Bardo makes it clear student housing is high on is list of priorities. He wants 20 percent or so of WSU’s enrollment on campus. It currently sits at eight percent.
Better student life on campus is an obvious help for Shocker athletics. Coaches are thrilled with plans for new dorms. Most, although not all, consider WSU’s current dorms a problem in recruiting. Coaches are experts in minimizing the negative and diverting attention to the positive. At WSU, students live in the dorm for one year and then can move off campus.
Another issue is the condition of the Heskett Center, which is small and outdated compared to fitness facilities at other schools. When Shocker track coaches take a recruit to the Heskett Center, they sell it as an indoor track facility where students and faculty also work out.
Shocker coaches will gleefully support Bardo’s plans for campus housing improvements.