Wichita State and K-State agree to play in men’s basketball for first time since 2003
After a public back-and-forth in the media in recent years, Wichita State and Kansas State reached an agreement to renew their in-state rivalry in men’s basketball with games for the next five years.
Both schools announced the official agreement Friday morning, starting with WSU and K-State playing a charity exhibition game this fall, followed by a four-year, alternating, regular-season series beginning in 2021. It will be the first time the two schools have played each other in the regular season since 2003.
K-State leads the all-time series 20-11.
“The conversation started with the charity exhibition and trying to do some good for the people of Kansas, but then it grew from there,” WSU coach Gregg Marshall said in a statement. “(K-State) coach (Bruce) Weber and I have been wanting to rekindle this rivalry for a while now, and the timing is finally right for both sides. It’s an easy trip, a fun experience for our fans and another great basketball test against a quality Big 12 program.”
The exhibition game, with proceeds donated to Kansas residents affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, is slated for Oct. 24 at INTRUST Bank Arena. The regular-season series will begin Dec. 5, 2021 with another game at INTRUST, followed by games at Bramlage Coliseum (Dec. 3, 2022), Kansas City’s T-Mobile Center (Dec. 22, 2023) and Koch Arena (Dec. 7, 2024).
WSU athletic director Darron Boatright told the Eagle in February that he had become frustrated by the stalled talks with the K-State athletic department on trying to revive the rivalry. The Shockers appeared to have been granted their wish, as the series is balanced with one on-campus game and one semi-home game for both sides. In fact, K-State will come to Wichita for three of the five games with the Shockers heading to Manhattan only once.
Weber said he doesn’t mind going to Wichita twice because the Wildcats try to play a game at INTRUST Bank Arena every season. He views the fact that now KSU will be playing the Shockers there as an added bonus.
“I had the privilege of playing in that Illinois-Missouri game in St. Louis for nine years,” Weber said. “When you have half the arena orange and half the arena gold and it never gets quiet, it’s just an amazing atmosphere. Hopefully we can create that in Wichita at INTRUST.
“I hope it’s a positive thing and I hope both schools want to continue it in the future.”
With both programs retooling their rosters this offseason after a handful of transfers, the timing finally worked for both sides to agree to a balanced series. WSU finished 23-8 last season but must replace a good chunk of production with K-State looking for a bounce-back season after an 11-21 campaign.
Another significant change was the way the coronavirus pandemic has forced athletic departments to re-imagine their non-conference scheduling with more regional opponents.
“We’re all looking at a way to cut costs and diminish travel,” Boatright told the Roundhouse. “We’ve said all along we will play basically anyone as long as the series is fair. This is the epitome of fair.”
Boatright gave credit to Marshall and Weber for being the driving forces in making the series a reality.
According to Weber, the series actually began as talks of just getting together for the charity exhibition game in Wichita. But after agreeing, Marshall told Weber he would be interested in playing a regular-season series. From there, the two sides hammered out the dates and details.
“We are excited about renewing the series with Wichita State,” Weber said in a statement. “Coach Marshall has built a great program in Wichita and this will be yet another opportunity for our players to play against the best.
“This is a win-win for the schools, their fan bases and our state.”
This story was originally published July 10, 2020 at 10:58 AM.
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