A conversation with Jim Schaus

Picture by Matt O'Donnel

I had a phone conversation with Jim Schaus today and it is clear why Wichita State Athletics had such tremendous success during his time here. The man is sharp as a tack. According to Jim, football was not on the burner at WSU until the last two years of his tenure. It was during this time that he began to have discussions with the President about returning football and contrary to popular belief, President Beggs would like to have football back at Wichita State. The catch is that football is not just another sport. Schaus describes football as something that needs to be part of the strategic enrollment plan and has to be something the whole institution is dedicated to making work. Like they say, the devil is in the details and that is where the problem lies. During his stint as the WSU AD, it became apparent to Schaus that President Beggs was not concerned about increasing enrollment at WSU and was fine with the status quo. So if you are not worried about enrollment, why take the risk of adding football to the athletic budget? Say what? The loss of full time traditional students has been well documented at Wichita State by football boosters and it makes one wonder what President Beggs motives are. I have never really bought into the KU conspiracy theory but it does cause one to raise a few eyebrows. Although I have not spoken to President Beggs about this, one can only assume he has the best interest of the university at heart, at least we can hope.

The reason Jim took the job at Ohio has been talked about before and bears no merit in this conversation. However, having football at Ohio was a selling point as it was something he missed. To be fair, Schaus did make it clear that he felt WSU was, and is still viewed as a successful athletic department without football. So the real question remains. Does Jim Schaus believe that WSU can bring back football? The answer is yes, if and only if the entire institution gets behind it. To add football as just another sport would be a disaster for Wichita State and that is something that nobody wants to see.