Unfortunately, when history looks back many years from now, this may go down as the forgotten season in Western Kentucky football.
But why you may ask? The reason that this year may get shuffled to the back of our memories is simple. There are better days ahead – and once those get here – the transition period will not offer the same dramatics as the seasons that are sure to follow.
In 10 or even 20 years from now, after the Hilltoppers have competed in a few bowl games and won a Sun Belt title or two, the transition years are going to be a distant memory. There will be no conference championship run or postseason to remember. The highlights to come will overshadow the accomplishments of the past.
And if that happens, it will be a shame. Sure the fans, players, coaches and university administration that are close to the program will have fond memories. But, for the majority of fans, there will not be as much to hold on to.
And at the end of the day, that’s what the move to the Division I Bowl Subdivision is all about – moving forward and competing with the best of the best. As WKU takes on bigger fish, it’s just natural for fans to grasp onto those accomplishments and lift those to a different status.
Not to say that 2002’s national title run or accomplishments from the years before will be lost in the shuffle. That’s not what I’m saying.
The only point that is being made is this. The two years where WKU transitions to I-A are more important than fans may realize now and especially how it will be remembered many years from now. These two years are arguably the biggest in the history of the program (at least at this point) and it’s most likely not going to be seen that way historically.
With WKU winning and competing this season against the top-tier teams in the Sun Belt is helping the transition be a true success. When the Hilltoppers suit up in 2009 as a full fledged member of the Sun Belt, the strides the team has made this season and hopefully next are going to be crucial towards determining if the team’s a winner, middle of the road or simply another irrelevant I-A team.
That’s why it will be a shame if the WKU teams during this two-year span are not recognized as some of the most important ones in the school’s history. In fact, I hope I’m wrong about my assessment.
If WKU does indeed turn this move into the smashing success that everyone hopes, then it’s the transition teams that will make it more likely. There are a lot of factors that fans can point to as reasons why this transition is or could be successful. Upgrading the facilities are the most obvious.
But winning over the next two seasons makes everything coach David Elson is selling seem more legitimate. When recruits walk into Elson’s office, the sell of I-A football sounds a lot better when there’s a winning product on the field.
Let’s face it – recruiting is the life-blood of every program. Everyone loves a winner and while WKU is by far no juggernaut right now, they are playing surprisingly well. Just ask Troy – who is currently steamrolling its way through the Sun Belt. The Hilltoppers lost a very respectable 21-17 game to the Trojans, which is by far the best game the defending Sun Belt co-champs have gotten this season within the conference play. The other co-champs, Middle Tennessee, WKU already beat them on the road in Murfreesboro.
Every kid dreams of playing big time college football, but nobody likes losing. Elson will undoubtedly be able to recruit better athletes simply because his team is not playing at the I-AA level – there’s no questioning that. But showing that WKU can win in the here and now will be an even bigger selling point.
With the commitment the university has made I don’t think there’s any doubt that the program will get there some day, but I think it goes without saying; fans would rather get there sooner than later.
So, 10, 15, 20 years from now Hilltopper fans will hopefully be reflecting on the 2015 team that won the Liberty Bowl or the 2020 team that got WKU to its first BCS Tournament game (we can only hope we’ll get to a tourney by then?) and that’s all fine and good. But, people hopefully will also mention the ’07 and ’08 teams that helped pave the way.
