Report: Wichita State looking to change conferences

Wichita State has been a thorn in the side of Power 5 schools since it made a run to the Final Four in 2013 as the No. 11 seed and went on to boast an undefeated regular-season record a year later.

Now, after running through the Missouri Valley Conference and making six straight tournaments, but averaging just a No. 7 seed, the Shockers are reportedly looking to move to a bigger conference, sources told Pete Thamel of SI.com.

"It wouldn’t be a genuine response if I said we weren’t concerned," Missouri Valley commissioner Doug Elgin said. "We want them to stay. Losing Creighton (to the Big East) was a blow to the league. Losing Wichita State would be the same."

A major reason why Wichita State is looking to upgrade its profile in a new conference is the general lack of respect it gets, seemingly needing to win its conference tournament to earn a bid to a tournament.

“The notion that Wichita State could have been left out of this year’s tournament is insane,” Elgin said. “It’s as strong a team as I’ve seen in 30 years in our league.”

Still, in the eyes of the Selection Committee, the Shockers were only good enough for a No. 10 seed.

With the American Athletic Conference boasting 12 schools that compete in football, but an uneven 11 in basketball, adding the non-football Wichita State would be a win-win situation, something Thamel says has been discussed.

Not just focused on the AAC, it is said the Shockers have looked at Conference USA, Mountain West, and even the MAC, according to Thamel.

History has shown that conference realignment occurs when TV contracts are set to be renegotiated, and the AAC's current deal expires in 2020. That means adding a quality basketball program to boost its value is coming at the right time and would be a perfect match for both school and conference if it is to happen.