Report: AAC preparing for Wichita State to join conference

AAC member schools are preparing for Wichita State to join the league for the 2017-18 season, a source told Jon Rothstein of FanRag Sports.

A member of the Missouri Valley Conference since 1945, it's been widely reported that the Shockers are seeking a newer, stronger conference to improve the perception of the program in the eyes of the NCAA selection committee.

If invited, Wichita State would reportedly join the AAC as a non-football member, but would bring along its other sports teams. This would give the AAC 12 teams that play basketball in the conference and keep the number at 12 in football, as Navy is a football-only member.

"It wouldn't be a genuine response if I said we weren't concerned," Missouri Valley commissioner Doug Elgin said. "We want them to stay. Losing Creighton (to the Big East) was a blow to the league. Losing Wichita State would be the same."

Wichita State has qualified for six consecutive NCAA tournaments, reaching the Final Four in 2013 and the Sweet 16 in 2006, 2013, and 2015. The school has advanced past the first round in five straight tournaments.

The AAC's television contract is set to expire in 2020, and if Wichita State joins the conference, its presence would add value to negotiations set to begin in the next coming years.