Wichita State AD comments after basic seating plan moves cheer and dance teams

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) – Wichita State athletic director Kevin Saal said in a statement Sunday night that the department is moving forward with the starting seed plan for men’s basketball games after criticism of its impact on cheer and dance teams.

The new premium ticket option introduced this season as a way to increase revenue meant members of the school’s spirit squads had to be relocated. While they will still play pregame, some members have been moved to the student section during timeouts and at halftime during game action.

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

“After proactively gathering the perspectives of critical constituents, we believe we have made a thoughtful decision in the best interests of our entire athletics program, including but not limited to 16 NCAA-sponsored intercollegiate athletics sports, 273 student-athletes and nearly 100 coaches and staff members. That said, we will maintain a similar analytical and thoughtful approach moving forward, continually evaluating, planning/preparing and executing what we believe is in the best interests of the entire athletics department.”

Public concerns were raised to 12 News after the team’s first exhibition game last week at Charles Koch Arena.

“I don’t want to keep using the word ‘disrespect’, but I am neglecting the hard work and dedication that these athletes have put in, especially since many of them are not receiving scholarships, the dance team is not receiving scholarships. And they are expected to adhere to student-athlete guidelines, but they are not treated the same as all other student-athletes,” said Wichita State Cheer alum Faith Smith.

Other WSU Cheer alumni took to social media to express their frustrations with the change.

Below is Saal’s full statement:

We would like to thank you for your email, candid thoughts and suggestions. After proactively gathering the perspectives of critical constituents, we believe we have made a thoughtful decision in the best interests of our entire athletics program, including but not limited to 16 NCAA-sponsored intercollegiate athletics sports, 273 student-athletes and nearly 100 coaches and staff members.

That said, we will maintain a similar analytical and thoughtful approach moving forward, continually evaluating, planning/preparing, and executing what we believe is in the best interest of the entire athletics department. Your feedback submitted below is important to that process and will be considered at the appropriate time to revisit this decision, following the conclusion of the 2024-2025 competitive season.

This decision does not affect the ability, accessibility and/or ability of spirit groups to perform on the floor pre-game, during timeouts, halftime or post-game as they always have.

The dialogue regarding athletics calling for cheers/dances to deliver food to these premium seat holders has been miscommunicated and/or misinterpreted. For years, cheer/dance (along with many other non-profit groups on campus and the community) was compensated by the contracted concessionaire to operate concession stands (and be compensated for doing so) on the main concourse of Koch Arena as additional fundraising opportunities to support the national competition (i.e. travel, accommodation, etc.). This year, Athletics has paid for third-party staff (non-cheer/dance) to serve as primary service staff/servers/runners for season ticket holders in the premium seats on the floor.

With all due respect, my professional and/or personal considerations regarding the status of spirit groups in relation to the other intercollegiate athletic sports/programs are not relevant. The National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) does not classify spirit groups (i.e. cheer, dance, band, majorettes) as sponsored intercollegiate athletics programs. The NCAA does not distribute “Grants in Aid” funds or “Sports Sponsorship” funds to institutions for sponsoring spirit groups. In addition, the NCAA does not certify eligibility/amateurism (through the NCAA Clearinghouse/Eligibility Center), establish and/or waive enforcement of rules, and/or hold institutions accountable for “Academic Progress Rates’ or ‘Graduate Success Rates’. because they relate to spirit groups. Each athletic department is charged with meeting these (and many more) NCAA requirements, mechanisms and expectations regarding the NCAA-sponsored intercollegiate athletics programs, 16 of which Wichita State sponsors.

That said, and while spirit groups operate outside of the NCAA’s primary mission, Wichita State Athletics recognizes and supports the importance of spirit groups to its participants and many others… as reflected in Wichita State Athletics’ financial support . Compared to seven public institutions in the American Athletics Conference (ECU, FAU, Memphis, Charlotte, North Texas, South Florida and UTSA):

1. Four of the past five fiscal years, Wichita State has ranked in the top three for highest annual spirit group spending among its peers, despite having no spirit group spending related to football.

2. Excluding FY 22, in FYs 19, 20, 21 and 23, Wichita State financially supported spirits groups that were 64.73% higher than the peer average (50.48% higher, if FY 22 includes FY22).

3. Wichita State’s five-year average financial support of spirit groups ($220,020) ranks highest among these peers.

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

Attached is a compilation of data related to these four points and it is notable that Wichita State Athletics incurs no additional costs, nor realizes additional revenue, in connection with sponsoring a football program, as these same colleagues do; what becomes even more substantial is the support currently provided to Wichita State University spirit groups.

While we understand, appreciate and empathize with the disagreement and disappointment associated with this decision, we must also balance our burden of aligning resources to meet championship-level expectations for our entire athletics program .

Be careful and my dear,

Kevin Saal