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Western Kentucky on hiring Rick Stansbury this year
Posted on: August 29, 2016 at 08:38:48 CT
FIJItiger MU
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Only Kentucky and Kansas have won more conference championships than Western Kentucky. Western Kentucky also ranks in the all-time top 10 in 20-win seasons (seventh with 43) and winning percentage (ninth at .663).
But those achievements seem part of a different Western Kentucky. The program hasn’t won a regular-season conference championship since 2009. Only once since 1993 has Western Kentucky won more than one NCAA Tournament game.
“We had to hire the person who would get us back to what they’re used to,” Stewart said of WKU fans, “and also somebody who would bring energy to the program.”
The Hilltoppers’ average home attendance last season of 3,673 was the program’s lowest since 1998-99. Stewart was happy to say that the school had sold almost 500 new season tickets since hiring Stansbury.
“He’s brought energy to our program,” Stewart said, “and he’s unified our fan base. ... There’s so much more buzz now than there has been.”
“My first couple of weeks here, I walked around this campus,” Stansbury said. “I saw way too many kids wearing Kentucky or Louisville shirts. That needs to change. ...
“They want to wear that shirt, they need to transfer. We need kids, students here that have that pride being at Western Kentucky the way it used to be, the way it should be.”
“Change the mentality to where we believe we can be as good as anybody in the country,” he said. “We need to get that belief back where we don’t need to take a back seat to anybody.”
http://www.kentucky.com/sports/college/kentucky-sports/uk-basketball-men/article98351672.html
Edited by FIJItiger at 08:39:05 on 08/29/16
But those achievements seem part of a different Western Kentucky. The program hasn’t won a regular-season conference championship since 2009. Only once since 1993 has Western Kentucky won more than one NCAA Tournament game.
“We had to hire the person who would get us back to what they’re used to,” Stewart said of WKU fans, “and also somebody who would bring energy to the program.”
The Hilltoppers’ average home attendance last season of 3,673 was the program’s lowest since 1998-99. Stewart was happy to say that the school had sold almost 500 new season tickets since hiring Stansbury.
“He’s brought energy to our program,” Stewart said, “and he’s unified our fan base. ... There’s so much more buzz now than there has been.”
“My first couple of weeks here, I walked around this campus,” Stansbury said. “I saw way too many kids wearing Kentucky or Louisville shirts. That needs to change. ...
“They want to wear that shirt, they need to transfer. We need kids, students here that have that pride being at Western Kentucky the way it used to be, the way it should be.”
“Change the mentality to where we believe we can be as good as anybody in the country,” he said. “We need to get that belief back where we don’t need to take a back seat to anybody.”
http://www.kentucky.com/sports/college/kentucky-sports/uk-basketball-men/article98351672.html
Edited by FIJItiger at 08:39:05 on 08/29/16
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Western Kentucky on hiring Rick Stansbury this year - FIJItiger MU - 8/29 08:38:48