President John Bardo said that Wichita State University has accepted today’s invitation from Commissioner Mike Aresco to join the American Athletic Conference, known as “The American.” The new affiliation begins July 1, 2017.

“This is an event of great importance in defining the future of Wichita State,” Bardo said. “Two 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 WSU’s reputation as an academic and research institution.

“With the help of College Sports Solutions, a national consulting firm, we examined numerous options, including staying where we were.

“It 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.

“In 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,” Bardo said.

“I 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.”

“We are pleased and proud to welcome Wichita State to The American,” conference commissioner Mike Aresco said. “This 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.”

WSU Athletic Director Darron Boatright said the student athletes, coaches and fans with whom he has spoken are tremendously excited about the coming move.

“This gives us an opportunity to regularly test ourselves against traditionally strong competition — and to do so on a grander stage,” Boatright said.

Bardo and Boatright both expressed appreciation to the Missouri Valley Conference and Commissioner Doug Elgin.

“Doug and my athletic director colleagues have been gracious and understanding about our departure,” Boatright said. “We wish the Missouri Valley all the best.”

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The Kansas State women’s rowing team will get a mid-season taste of what it can expect at the Big 12 Conference Championship in May as the team heads to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma for the third time during the 2016-17 campaign to compete in the inaugural Big 12 Dual on Saturday.

 

The race, which was proposed by the conference office, divides the eight Big 12 teams into two groups in order to promote more intra-conference competition and help boost conference rankings. The other group, comprised of Alabama, Old Dominion, West Virginia and Tennessee – three of which are league affiliate members in the sport – will compete head-to-head in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, the site of the 2017 Big 12 Championship.

 

“We have a very difficult weekend ahead,” head coach Patrick Sweeney said. “The opposition is tough, as we face the best two teams in the conference in back-to-back races. One of those teams is Texas, who is probably in the top-five in the country. The conditions are not going to be great, with high winds expected in Oklahoma. North winds at home over the past week have not allowed for enough water time.”

 

K-State is no stranger to racing on the Oklahoma River, having already raced there two times this season prior to Saturday’s races.

 

In the fall, the Wildcats’ Novice/Frosh 8+ claimed the gold medal at the Head of the Oklahoma, posting a time of15:40.823 in its first race of the season. The team also got in its first action of 2017 on the Oklahoma River in early March, competing in a head-to-head scrimmage with Oklahoma before kicking off its racing season.

 

The Wildcats are coming off its first true test of the spring, competing against an uber-competitive field which included UCF, Tulsa, Miami and Alabama, among others, at the inaugural Sunshine State Invitational. At the regatta, the Wildcats’ 3V8 recorded the team’s top finish with a time of 6:57.04 to take the silver medal, while the 2V8 claimed a bronze medal with a time of 6:51.1.

 

HereNow will provide live timing for the race and can be found here, while live 500-meter splits and as well as final 2,000-meter results will be available on the Big 12 Rowing website. The conference will also provide a live stream of the races on Periscope, as well as audio play-by-play for each race.

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State saw four of its former football players – linebacker Will Davis, quarterback Joe Hubener, place kicker Ian Patterson and defensive tackle Matt Seiwert – named members of the 2017 National Football Foundation (NFF) Hampshire Honor Society, the NFF announced Wednesday.

The four Wildcats named to the list were the most in the Big 12, which placed 10 total players, and were among 1,089 players from all NCAA divisions and the NAIA to earn the honor.

The Hampshire Honor Society, which began in 2007, recognizes college football players from all divisions who maintained a cumulative 3.2 GPA or better throughout their college career. It is the third year in a row K-State has had at least four players named to the society after a school-record five in 2015.

“We are pleased to see a record number of colleges and universities embrace the Hampshire Honor Society this year,” said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. “Over the past decade, it has become a powerful vehicle for schools to recognize their college football players who have distinguished themselves both academically and athletically, and we congratulate the schools and each of these young men for their commitment to excellence in all aspects of their lives.”

All four players picked up 2017 Academic All-Big 12 accolades, including first-team honors by Davis, Patterson and Seiwert. The quartet helped K-State advance to four bowl games over the last four years and earn a combined 32-20 record – including a pair of bowl victories – since 2013.

A product of Southlake, Texas, Davis was a four-time First Team Academic All-Big 12 performer and a semifinalist for the 2016 Campbell Trophy. He played in 51 career games, including 17 starts, while he was also a key member of multiple special teams units. He graduated from K-State in 2016 in finance and accounting, while he is currently working toward his Master’s degree in accountancy.

Hubener, a product of Cheney, Kansas, was a two-time Academic All-Big 12 honoree, which included first-team honors in 2015. He played in 27 career games with 11 starts under center in 2015 as he helped lead the Wildcats to victories in their final three games to keep their bowl streak alive. He graduated from K-State in 2016 with a degree in secondary education and is working toward his Master’s in educational leadership.

Patterson, a former walk-on from Columbia, Missouri, earned three-straight First Team Academic All-Big 12 honors while serving as a part-time place kicker and kickoff man. He played in 44 career games, including all 13 games as both a sophomore and junior. Patterson obtained his undergraduate degree in 2015 in food science and industry with hopes of being accepted into vet school.

A native of Conway Spring, Kansas, Seiwert was a two-time First Team All-Big 12 honoree at defensive tackle after transitioning from linebacker in high school. He played in 28 career games, including all 26 over the final two years of his career. A 2016 graduate in agribusiness, Seiwert is current working toward his MBA.

In the midst of spring practices, Kansas State will hold its annual Purple/White Spring Game on Saturday, April 22, at 1:10 p.m., inside Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Tickets for the game are on sale for $5 through the K-State Athletics Ticket office online at www.k-statesports.com/tickets, by phone at 1-800-221-CATS or at the main ticket office inside Bramlage Coliseum. The game will be shown world-wide on K-StateHD.TV and can be heard across the K-State Sports Network.

K-State opens the 2017 campaign on Saturday, September 2, with the ninth-annual K-State Family Reunion against Central Arkansas. Following a contest against Charlotte on September 9, the Wildcats travel to Nashville, Tennessee, to take on SEC foe Vanderbilt on September 16. K-State opens Big 12 play at home on September 30, with a matchup against Baylor.

The priority deadline for season-ticket purchases is Friday, April 21. A limited number of single-game tickets go on sale online only on June 20. All seven home games in 2017 are anticipated to sell out quickly and extend the Bill Snyder Family Stadium sellout streak to 40 games.