WKU Wants A Complete Upgrade

MeanGreen61 · November 4, 2005

DeCourcy's SportingBlog

Western Kentucky wants a complete upgrade

November 3, 2005

A gentleman from Western Kentucky wanted to know about the derivation of the term "mid-major." He was part of the audience in a Q-and-A session Wednesday between WKU supporters and several sportswriters who closely cover college sports, and he made it clear he considers that particular designation distasteful.

I couldn't tell him where the word came from. I don't believe there's a dictionary anywhere that can provide its etymology. But I did try -- and failed -- to convince him it need not be a pejorative term.

On the tour that we writers were given of WKU's basketball facilities, it became obvious the Hilltoppers' digs are extraordinary for a program in the Sun Belt Conference and would shame even many who compete in the Big East. I've seen a lot of nice locker rooms, but looking at Western's, it was hard not to conclude that it was pretty amazing a mid-major program could be so high-class.

The university is planning a similar upgrade for its exceptional Division I-AA football program: new training, conditioning and office areas along with a stadium upgrade. The money is in place, and ground is to be broken next spring. But that might not be the only change for Western football. The school has been studying a move to Division I-A, and that could have a profound impact on basketball.

Few have successfully executed this transition, but Western will not charge blindly into oblivion. A plan has been formulated to endow the extra 20 scholarships that would be permitted in I-A. The idea is not to have to rob the basketball program's success to pay for the football program's upgrade.

That doesn't mean it won't be problematic. For Western to go in that direction, it would probably want to be a part of a league such as the Mid-American Conference.

In the Sun Belt, the Hilltoppers are at a competitive advantage and, in their best years, they should be competitive for the league's NCAA Tournament bid. In the MAC, there are probably five or six programs that consistently compete at Western's level, and those that are just below are more competitive than the Sun Belt's also-rans. The high degree of competitive balance in the MAC has prevented the league from getting more than one NCAA Tournament bid in any season since 2000. So the road to mid-major affirmation -- that NCAA bid -- would be much more treacherous.

Western had best be sure that's what it wants. Life at the lower end of Division I-A football is probably less glamorous than at the high end of I-AA. While many in the first grouping spend time trying to get attendance levels up to minimum standards with gimmicks and downright begging, in the latter group they're playing for a genuine championship. Western won the I-AA national title in 2002. The trophy looks nice on display in the program's aging offices. It probably will have a heck of a nice home in the new complex.

NT80 · November 4, 2005

That doesn't mean it won't be problematic. For Western to go in that direction, it would probably want to be a part of a league such as the Mid-American Conference.
In the Sun Belt, the Hilltoppers are at a competitive advantage and, in their best years, they should be competitive for the league's NCAA Tournament bid. In the MAC, there are probably five or six programs that consistently compete at Western's level...
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The very first thing WKU and it's local writers needs is a major attitude adjustment! They are borderline SMUesque in their high-horse-ness. Maybe that Big East offer will come for them....

VideoEagle · November 4, 2005

The very first thing WKU and it's local writers needs is a major attitude adjustment! They are borderline SMUesque in their high-horse-ness. Maybe that Big East offer will come for them....
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Agreed!

Western has a good basketball program. But they last won the conference in 2003 and before that was several years ago. They are ahead of us, but not ahead of the whole conference!

And in football we know the difference between 1AA and 1A is huge! Yes, a 1AA team can compete against 1A teams, but not every week. And it's far more than just being able to offer 20 extra ships!