by Dick Weiss
The American Athletic Conference took a giant step toward upgrading its men's basketball Friday when conference Board of Directors voted unanimously to add Wichita State as a conference member.
Wichita State has been one of the storied programs in the Missouri Valley Conference, making the NCAA tournament for the past six years and advancing to the Final Four in 2013. The Shockers had Louisville on the ropes in the national semifinals that year before losing,72-68.
Wichita State should be congratulated for realizing that while there is great nostalgia from playing in the Valley since 1945, the Shockers are ready to move forward in the ever changing landscape of college athletics. The Shockers have created a national appeal, but struggled to gain home-and-home nonconference games, and often deserved higher seeding in the NCAA tournament. Their decision to join The American signifies that the conference will continue to have competitive programs at the highest levels in three major sports.
Wichita State sponsors 15 sports -- baseball, men's basketball, women's basketball, men's cross country, women's cross country, men's golf, women's golf, softball men's tennis, women's tennis, men's indoor track and field, women's indoor track and field, men's outdoor track and field, women's outdoor track and field and volleyball -- all of which will compete in The American.
“I think this shows that Wichita State buys into the bright future in this conference,” American commissioner Mike Aresco said. “They bring a tremendous basketball pedigree. Year after year, they have been a top-15 team. They put a lot of resources into basketball, and the addition of Wichita will only help the perception of our league.”
The Shockers will join the league in July and participate in all sports beginning with the 2017-18 season.
Wichita State has a storied men's basketball history, winning over 1,500 games in its 110-year history.
But Shockers' coach Gregg Marshall, who arrived at Wichita in 2007, has taken the program to new heights, coaching the Shockers to a 261-90 record (.744) in 11 years. He has reestablished the Shockers as a regional and national power, winning or tying for six Valley regular season championships and winning 25 or more games in each of the last eight seasons. One of five schools to win an NCAA tournament game in each of the last five years, Wichita State has registered 10 NCAA tournament wins since 2013, tied for fifth-most in college basketball. Over the last four seasons the Shockers are 59-1 in home games in 10,506 seat Charles Koch Arena.
“Wichita State is just a tremendous addition to our league,” UConn coach Kevin Ollie told ESPN. “Coach Marshall's program is all about winning championships. Year in and year out, they are nationally ranked and earn a spot in the NCAA tournament. I know next season, they are already projected as a top-10 team. In men's basketball, the American Conference just went up a level.”
Marshall has made a strong impression since he led the Shockers to the NIT Championship in 2010. Wichita State broke into the AP top 25 in February of 2012 and went on to make its first appearance in the NCAA tournament since 2006. The next year, Marshall led the Shockers to their first Final Four since 1965, defeating the AP No. 1, No. 7 and No. 20 teams to win the West Region.
In 2014, Marshall led Wichita State to arguably the greatest season in school history. The Shockers rolled though the regular season, winning the Missouri Valley title and heading into the NCAA tournament with a 34-0 record and the No. 2 ranking in the AP poll. Wichita State defeated Cal Poly, 64-37, in the first round before losing to Kentucky, 78-76, to finish the season at 35-1.
This past year, the Shockers, who lost elite guards Ron Baker and Fred Van Vleet and were supposedly in a rebuilding mode, were 31-5, finishing in a tie for first in the Valley with Illinois State and winning the Valley tournament. The Shockers received a disappointing No. 10 seed, but advanced to the second round where they lost to second-seeded Kentucky, 65-62.
Wichita State has all of its rotation players back and could the preseason favorite to win the American title in 2017-18. In Bleacher Report's Super Early Top 25 poll for next season, the Shockers are ranked No. 6 nationally, with Cincinnati at No. 13.
There is a heavy Valley feel in this conference with Wichita State, Cincinnati, Memphis, Houston and Tulsa all tracing roots to the MVC. Wichita State, Cincinnati, Memphis and Houston have all been to the NCAA Final Four. Wichita and Tulsa have won the NIT. Wichita was a top-20 team, but there was a danger of being left out of the tournament this year unless it won the Valley tournament. Joining T^he American can only help the program grow in a 12-team basketball conference that normally receives multiple bids in a good year.
The American may have targeted Wichita because of men's basketball, but the Shockers bring other successful programs with them to their new league. The women's basketball teams won three consecutive Valley regular season and tournament titles from 2013-15. The volleyball team won the Valley tournament title for a fourth time in school history in 2016 and has earned a bid to the NCAA Championship in nine of the last 10 seasons, including an appearance in the Sweet 16 in 2012.
In baseball, Wichita State has won more than 2,100 games and captured the 1989 College World Series title. The team plays in 8,153-seat Eck Stadium and has produced 37 Major League players. The men's and women's tennis teams also have experienced enormous success. The men's team has captured 25 Valley tournament titles and advanced to the NCAA championship 11 times, while the women's program has won 18 conference titles and earned 10 NCAA championship bids.
“We're going to continue to push and we're going to continue to grow,” Wichita State AD Darron Boatright said.