Updated-Shocker Farewell-Benson Confirms Meeting

(St. Louis, MO) – It’s all adding up to a big subtraction for the Missouri Valley Conference. Wichita State seems to have one foot out the door, heading for the American Athletic Conference.

New confirming stories about their departure seem to arrive to my in-box every other day. They could come from our friend Paul Suellentrop of the Wichita Eagle, or John Rothstein, or ESPN’s Jeff Goodman or Andy Katz, CBS’s Gary Parrish or Sports Illustrated, but they keep coming, and with each piece of evidence, the verdict seems to be more certain.

Sources close to the team tell me Wichita State has the votes to be invited to join the AAC, and if invited, the university will accept. The urgency for the AAC is tied to the idea that WSU could make a deep run in next season’s NCAA tournament and thus accrue a larger dispersion of tournament funds for the new conference programs.

What about the Valley? Rothstein’s article states an emergency meeting with league athletic directors has been called for Sunday. One league official I spoke with did not confirm, nor deny the accuracy of that report.

In our previous piece, “The Missouri Valley Should Be Aggressive”, we said the league should make assertive steps right now and even look to grow the league to 12 teams. We suggested the recruiting of Ohio Valley Conference power Belmont, Horizon League stalwart Valparaiso and either UMKC or Southeast Missouri.

When Creighton University left the Valley in 2013 Doug Elgin and the Valley administrators landed Loyola as a tenth conference member within six weeks of the departure.  I’m told the league has no interest in playing the 2017-18 basketball season with just nine teams. According to one source close to the situation, my idea of a 12-team option isn’t off the table, even as early as next season.

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Illinois State AD Larry Lyons confirms MVC will hold meeting for presidents and ADs in St. Louis on Sunday with Wichita State move looming.

— Jim Benson (@Pg_Benson) April 5, 2017

A Wichita State departure would create a significant attendance drop at Arch Madness. The Valley has never recouped the loss in attendance since the Bluejays left for the Big East. Creighton’s final appearance at the tournament brought over 71,000 fans to St. Louis, and no tournament since then has gathered as many as 51,000 to Arch Madness. Since the Shockers bring more fans to the tournament than any other MVC program, this would represent another sizeable contingent of fans that would no longer visit the Gateway City.

The Valley’s next move is significant.