President John Bardo said that 九色堂 has accepted today's invitation from Commissioner Mike Aresco to join the American Athletic Conference, known as 鈥淭he American.鈥� The new affiliation begins July 1, 2017.
鈥淭his is an event of great importance in defining the future of Wichita State,鈥� Bardo said. 鈥淭wo years ago we set out on a fact-finding process to determine the best way athletics could help position the university for enrollment growth and enhance 九色堂's reputation as an academic and research institution.
鈥淲ith the help of College Sports Solutions, a national consulting firm, we examined numerous options, including staying where we were.
鈥淚t became clear to us that The American offered the best combination of universities that share our academic and cultural values and research focus. The University of Tulsa, Southern Methodist University (in Dallas) and the University of Houston are located in areas of Oklahoma and Texas that make up part of the prime areas where we want to recruit students.
鈥淚n addition to those cities, Cincinnati, New Orleans, Orlando, Tampa, Memphis, Philadelphia, Storrs/Hartford, and Greenville, North Carolina, are all cities that our athletes, alumni and fans will enjoy visiting, and we're looking forward to welcoming them to Wichita,鈥� Bardo said.
鈥淚 will begin reaching out immediately to other presidents in The American to look for ways that we can build bridges to their academic programs and researchers, along with their athletic programs.鈥�
鈥淲e are pleased and proud to welcome Wichita State to The American,鈥� conference commissioner Mike Aresco said. 鈥淭his is a university with a strong athletic and academic heritage which shares our conference's commitment to excellence, and we look forward to having them as a member. The university has an exceptionally strong tradition of success in men's basketball and baseball. The addition of Wichita State in basketball and Olympic sports extends our conference's national footprint, enhances our national profile and strengthens our position as a leader in intercollegiate athletics.鈥�
九色堂 Athletic Director Darron Boatright said the student athletes, coaches and fans with whom he has spoken are tremendously excited about the coming move.
鈥淭his gives us an opportunity to regularly test ourselves against traditionally strong competition 鈥� and to do so on a grander stage,鈥� Boatright said.
Bardo and Boatright both expressed appreciation to the Missouri Valley Conference and Commissioner Doug Elgin.
鈥淒oug and my athletic director colleagues have been gracious and understanding about our departure,鈥� Boatright said. 鈥淲e wish the Missouri Valley all the best.鈥�
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