WKU Hilltoppers: What Would A Hilltoppers TV Takeover Look Like?
For those of you who have read our site for a long time, and even the like three of you who have been reading my WKU work, specifically…
For those of you who have read our site for a long time, and even the like three of you who have been reading my WKU work, specifically, know that The Towel Rack is not my first foray into a Hilltopper blog.
Before this endeavor, there was Wave The Red Towel on the FanSided Network, a brief Twitter-only presence I called Red Towel Talker, as well as stints with Mid-Major Madness (very briefly) and about a year with Underdog Dynasty.
I say all of that to say this; this article is something I’ve wanted to do since my WKU writing “career,” began in 2013. And today is the day we’re doing it, and I am excited for it.
For those who don’t know, every summer the SEC Network does “takeovers,” for each team, running 24-hours worth of straight content devoted to that team. They’ll show a plethora of memorable/great games and throw in some mini-documentaries (if any are available) to fill the day, and it’s a really cool thing for fans of that school.
And, ever since I’ve been privy to this idea, I’ve always wondered — what if WKU had a takeover of their own? What would a day of the best of the best WKU moments look like?
That’s what we are going to try to achieve today. For timing, I’m going to use this year’s schedule that Auburn is using, which you can see here (but will be taking some liberties with time).
Lets get nuts.
12 a.m.: 2014 Bahamas Bowl: WKU vs. Central Michigan
2 a.m.: 2015 Volleyball: WKU vs. #5 Wisconsin
4 a.m.: 2012 Sun Belt Tournament: WKU vs. North Texas
6 a.m.: 2012 NCAA Tournament: WKU vs. Mississippi Valley State
8 a.m.: 2013 Baseball: WKU vs. Kentucky
11 a.m.: 2012 Football: WKU at Kentucky
12:45 p.m.: 1992 NCAA Tournament: Lady Tops vs. Southwest Missouri St.
2:30 p.m.: 2008 NCAA Tournament: WKU vs. San Diego
4:30 p.m.: 1971 NCAA Tournament: WKU vs. Villanova
6 p.m.: 2011 Sun Belt Volleyball Tournament: WKU vs. MTSU
8 p.m.: 2002 DI-AA Title Game: WKU vs. McNeese State
10:20 p.m.: 2015 NCAA Softball Tournament: WKU vs. UGA
Now, two things right off the bat that I know will be criticized here; recency bias, and the lack of WKU/Marshall from 2014.
For recency bias, I know it’s a lot of recent stuff, but the Auburn example I showed earlier has only two contests from before 2010 (both football games too, shocking I know). And, a lot of that bias comes with the fact that 1.) my WKU fandom/knowledge really starts in 2011 and 2.) the FBS-era of WKU athletics is so much clearer. Sure there was a lot of history on the hardwood before that time, but were any of those games really memorable from the 60’s, 70’s or 80's?
As for not including the WKU/Marshall game…where is the time? I guess you could maybe argue to put that game in place of the Bahamas Bowl, but that was WKU’s first ever FBS bowl victory, and even though the Tops did knock off a Top 25 squad, I’m going to keep the bowl game in it’s place.
Some other notes about my programming:
The 2015 volleyball match against Wisconsin marked two things; Travis Hudson’s 500th win (which was garnered in that opening three-game tournament) and the Tops highest ever victory in terms of beating a ranked opponent.
A couple of other spots I might catch some flack are for having a “2012 basketball” block and a “games against Kentucky” block. I’ll admit it, but I like how they flow together and where they are aired in the day.
I tried really hard not to pick a loss on this list, but a double-overtime game in the Final Four is too good not to have in here.
Another game I realized I omitted was the 2001 win against Kentucky. And, honestly, you could talk me into replacing the baseball game with that game, but I really wanted the diversity in sports and wanted to get a baseball game in the fold somehow.
I thought about making up some sort of hour-long documentary that would have fit a couple of different hour time slots, but I figured we should work to get in as many games as possible.
Alright, I know you have lists, so let us hear them.