Print edition: 
Take a look at the Missouri Valley Conference basketball standings — not the ones that divide program by gender. Look at the one that records basketball victories by school.
Well, nobody tracks those. Add them up yourself. If you’re a Wichita State fan, you’re allowed to enjoy something slightly goofy to celebrate the Shockers on top of the battle of both sexes.
The Shocker men (18-3 overall) are tied with Creighton atop the standings with a 9-1 record, four games ahead of the closest pursuers. The Shocker women (13-5) are a record-setting 7-0 in the MVC, two games ahead of the pack. With a combined MVC record of 16-1, WSU is the only school above .500 in both sports.
Meaningless until March, sure. For fans, it’s fun to dream about the possibilities of two Valley titles, two NCAA Tournament berths and who knows what else in the Big Dances.
Neither team can make plans to cut down nets for another month or so. They are just about halfway through the 18-game conference grinds. But the current standings represent progress. WSU’s women’s program has never won a conference title or made the NCAA Tournament. Since 1982, the programs compiled winning seasons together a mere five times.
“The objective would be that we move both our programs to where that’s much more the new normal,” WSU athletic director Eric Sexton said.
There is no reason in the minds of WSU administrators why both programs can’t win big at the same time. The women’s program enjoyed its best run, with six winning records, in the 1990s just as the men’s program declined. Coach Jody Adams took over in 2008 and started to work. WSU checked in with winning records in 2010 and 2011. Not too long ago, WSU’s goal was for its teams to finish in the top three in the MVC. Now administrators believe they are funded and supported to the level where championships and postseason play is the standard.
“It’s about building foundations,” WSU senior associate athletic director Becky Endicott said. “You have to hire coaches at our level that want to build programs, and then want to sustain them. We hired her (Adams) because she had built programs. She’s been through building blocks of building strong programs.”
WSU hired men’s coach Gregg Marshall one season before Adams arrived. The programs took similar paths, struggling through a losing season before improving. The WSU men went to the College Basketball Invitational in Marshall’s second season and followed with two NIT bids. The women’s program went to the Women’s Basketball Invitational in Adams’ second season and the WNIT in her third.
Adams sees a community and support that will allow both programs to flourish.
“You can come to a men’s game and a women’s game, and those are great atmospheres,” she said. “You’re going to see both teams work hard, compete. You’ve got coaching staffs that care about their players.”
The two programs occupy the same arena, practice gym and training room. Their locker rooms are close. During the season, however, they often run on parallel tracks. This weekend, the men’s team will be on the road at Drake. Alicia Sanchez, a senior guard, attends most of the men’s games and she is the player who follows men’s games on the Internet when the women are on the road. Toure Murry, a senior on the men’s team, is a regular at the women’s games when his schedule allows.
“We support them, just like they support us,” Murry said. “We’re in the gym 24/7, so we see them a lot.”
The men’s program is accustomed to this spotlight. It won an MVC title in 2006 and finished second the past two seasons. The women’s team finished in a tie for second in 2000, its best in the MVC (or predecessor Gateway Conference). Entering tonight’s game against Illinois State, the Shocker women are rolling with a 10-game win streak to match a program record.
After three seasons building under Adams, they are enjoying some time in the spotlight. A season’s best crowd of 2,814 watched their previous home game, a 53-51 win over Missouri State. With a Jam the Gym ticket promotion scheduled for tonight and a youth clinic after Sunday’s game against Indiana State, the Shockers will see how many fans are paying attention.
“My thing that I’ve always wanted is to have a big student section,” Sanchez said. “That’s fun, and that’s college basketball to have a fun student section.”
WSU’s unbeaten MVC start is grabbing new fans, the players say. They are noticed around campus and around town.
“A lot of my teachers, they ask about the games now,” guard Jessica Diamond said. “I run into people randomly, and I don’t know who they are, but they know who I am. It’s nice to have people want to come out to see us.”
This weekend, and the next month, represent an opportunity for the women’s team to capture new fans. Instead of selling a new coach, an improving team or family fun, WSU is selling wins.
“Now we have something in black and white to show for it,” Sanchez said. “We’re on a 10-game winning streak. We’re 7-0 in the Valley. People can see that. They know we’re good.”
Adams is willing to be patient with fans. She remembers attendance announced at 892 for the WBI game. She knows it will take several good seasons to build a bigger base of loyal fans.
“That told me this program is going to have to prove itself over and over,” Adams said. “Our faithful one are always here, the ones that love us no matter what. We want new people to love us. We want new people in the stands.”
February is the month when conference races gets serious. The WSU men play their next two games on the road and face a showdown at Creighton on Feb. 11. The women play five road games in February. While the men are used to playing the role of favorite, it will be a new challenge for the women.
