Last week, rumors spread rapidly that a Missouri Valley Conference team was planning on leaving for another conference. To most people’s surprise, it wasn’t the Wichita State Shockers. Instead, it was the Missouri State Bears. They had been thinking of leaving the MVC to move to the Sun Belt Conference where they could play Football Bowl Subdivision football and likely make more money.

That news no doubt came as a sigh of relief to fans of the Valley.

Since Creighton University left for the Big East Conference last season, MVC basketball has not been the same. One team ruled the conference while the other nine did their best to play second fiddle. There was not a single game marked on the Wichita Shockers’ calendar that made people want to tune in. There was no real rivalry that amplified a game’s intensity all season.

Instead, WSU coasted to an undefeated regular season and entered the NCAA Tournament as the top seed in the Midwest region of the bracket. It was considered the toughest bracket out of the four and many thought the Shockers were deservedly playing the toughest schedule to get back to a Final Four.

After all, they didn’t play anyone tough all season in the MVC. It was about time they faced a challenging opponent.

The Shockers don’t need to hear that every year. They’re good enough to win almost any conference in the country and be in the top three of every conference. It is truly a shame that they’re currently stuck in and disrespected in the MVC.

But that can change fast. Two years from now, will WSU still be disrespected in the MVC? Obviously, there are only two possible answers — yes or no. If they stay, things could be better and teams could start getting tougher, but the likelihood is that two years from now they’d still be getting harassed for not playing a tougher schedule.

So they follow Creighton’s lead and leave the conference — possibly to the point where they join the Bluejays in the Big East. Wherever the Shockers go, they start playing tougher, ranked opponents and continue to win. No more disrespect, no more questions about the schedule, yet more of the same results. It’s the ideal situation for WSU.

It’s the complete opposite for the Valley.

Recently, MVC commissioner Doug Elgin said that the conference would entertain the idea of leaving St. Louis for the annual MVC Tournament if the right bidder came along. If WSU actually was to leave the conference, there may be no bidders.

The Shockers are currently the only team in the conference making big money for the other nine schools. They have become the heart and soul of the MVC. Without them, the Valley becomes a conference that no one but the fans of the teams in it would care about.

UNI would likely become the dominant team in the conference if this were to all play out, but even as Panther fans, we cannot root for the Shockers to leave for our own benefit. If WSU leaves, no one in the MVC will truly benefit at all.