Staying put: WKU Athletics is comfortable in CUSA

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Earlier this week, WKU director of athletics Todd Stewart addressed the talks of why the Tops decided to stick with Conference USA instead of taking part in this off-season’s realignment class.

Essentially, the message was that CUSA has continually grown and improved since WKU joined back in 2014, and although there were options out there to change leagues, Stewart and the rest of the Hilltopper Athletic staff believe that the roots planted now provide a strong future, with success for WKU at the forefront.

“ From a competitive standpoint, we need to get better in football,” Stewart said. “Everybody acknowledges that as a whole and for the league, but really in every other sport, if you look at last year – men’s basketball, women’s basketball, volleyball, baseball and softball -Conference USA was better than the Sunbelt or the Mac, or pretty much the same. So, I feel like from a competitive standpoint, we’re in a good place right now. We just have to focus on ourselves, continue to be the best version of ourselves, and we’ll be ready if and when opportunities come up.”

And even though Stewart feels that the conference as a whole still has room for improvement in football, WKU football head coach Tyson Helton was optimistic about the direction its trending in.

But when it comes to western specifically, his focus is on the growth of the program, and he believes his Hilltoppers are in the right conversations when it comes to building their brand.

“ I think Conference USA will be in a really strong position,” Helton said. “The main thing is control what you can control, and here at Western Kentucky, we want to have a strong brand, a recognizable brand and a really successful program so that we’re always in a position to be in the best place. I think we’re in a really good conference right now and that Conference USA has really done a good job establishing that.”