AD Wichita State AD issues response after basic seating plan relocates fans, dance teams

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) – Wichita State athletic director Kevin Saal said in a statement Sunday evening that the department will continue its baseline seating plan for men’s basketball games after backlash over its impact on the cheer and dance teams.

The new premium ticket option, which was introduced this season as a way to increase revenue, meant relocating members of the school’s spirit teams. While they will continue to perform before the game, during timeouts and at halftime, some members have been reassigned to the student section during the game.

On Sunday evening, Saal released a statement to 12 News on the matter.

“After actively gathering input from key constituents, we believe we have made an informed decision in the best interest of our entire athletics program, including, but not limited to, 16 NCAA-sponsored intercollegiate athletics, 273 student-athletes, and nearly 100 coaches and staff. “That said, we will maintain a similar analytical and thoughtful approach going forward, continually assessing, planning/preparing and executing on what we believe is in the best interest of the entire athletics department.”

Public concern was reported by 12 News after the team’s first exhibition game at Charles Koch Arena last week.

“I don’t want to continue to use the word ‘disrespectful,’ but I will simply neglect the hard work and sacrifice these athletes have put in, especially since many of them do not receive scholarships and the dance team does not receive a scholarship. They are expected to follow student-athlete guidelines, but will not be treated the same as all other student-athletes,” said Faith Smith, Wichita State Cheer alumna.

Other WSU Cheer alumni expressed their frustrations with the change on social media.

Below is Saal’s full statement:

Please accept our sincere thanks for your email, honest thoughts and suggestions. After actively gathering input from key stakeholders, we believe we have made an informed decision in the best interest of our entire athletics program, including, but not limited to, 16 NCAA-sponsored intercollegiate athletics, 273 student-athletes, and nearly 100 coaches and staff.

That said, we will maintain a similar analytical and thoughtful approach going forward, continually assessing, planning/preparing, and implementing what we believe is in the best interest of the entire athletics department. Your feedback submitted below is important to this process and will be incorporated in due course to reconsider this decision following the conclusion of the 2024-25 competitive season.

This decision does not impact the ability, availability and/or ability of spirit groups to perform on the court before the game, during timeouts, at halftime or after the game as has always been the case.

Athletics dialogue requesting cheering/dancing and providing food to premium seat holders was miscommunicated and/or misinterpreted. For many years, cheer/dancers (along with many other campus and local non-profit groups) were paid by the contract concessionaire to work the concession stands (and be paid for doing so) in the main concourse of Koch Arena as an additional fundraising opportunity to support domestic competition (i.e. travel, accommodation, etc.). This year, Athletics paid outside staff (non-cheering/dancing) to serve as head waiter/server/runner for season ticket holders in premium floor seats.

Respectfully, my professional and/or personal considerations regarding the status of spirit groups compared to other intercollegiate sports/athletic programs are irrelevant. The National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) does not classify spirit groups (i.e., cheer, dance, bands, majorettes) as sponsored intercollegiate athletics programs. The NCAA does not provide Outreach Grant or Sports Sponsorship funds to institutions to sponsor drinking groups. Additionally, the NCAA does not certify eligibility/amateurship (via the NCAA Clearinghouse/Eligibility Center), legislate compliance with and/or enforce fees of these rules, or hold institutions accountable for “Academic Progress Indicators” or “Graduate Success Indicators.” because they refer to spiritual groups. Each athletics department is required to meet these (and many other) NCAA requirements, mechanisms and expectations for NCAA-sponsored intercollegiate athletics programs, of which Wichita State sponsors 16.

That said, although spirit groups operate outside the core mission of the NCAA, Wichita State Athletics recognizes and supports the importance of spirit groups to participants and many others… which is reflected in Wichita State Athletics’ financial support. Compared to 7 public institutions participating in the United States Athletic Conference (ECU, FAU, Memphis, Charlotte, North Texas, South Florida and UTSA):

1. In four of the last five fiscal years, Wichita State ranks in the top three for the highest annual spirits group spending among peers, even though the spirits group’s spending is unrelated to football.

2. Excluding FY22, in FY19, FY20, FY21, and FY23, the State of Wichita provided 64.73% more financial support to spirits groups than the average for other entities (50.48% more when FY22 is included , FY22).

3. The state of Wichita’s 5-year average financial support for spirits groups ($220,020) ranks highest among these competitors.

4. Wichita State Athletics increased its support for spirit groups by 61.1% from FY22 to FY23

Attached is a summary of data related to these four points. It is worth noting that Wichita State Athletics does not incur additional expenses or earn additional revenue associated with sponsoring the football program as these same partners do; making even more significant the support currently provided to spiritual groups at Wichita State University.

While we understand, appreciate and empathize with the disagreement and disappointment associated with this decision, we must also balance our efforts to align resources to meet championship-level expectations across our athletics program.

Take care and all the best,

Kevin Saal