Shocker: Wichita State Coach Tells ESPN He Admires Charles Koch

Wichita State owning an undefeated record on the eve of the NCAA basketball tournament shocks a lot of people outside of the Missouri Valley Conference. Coach Gregg Marshall’s confession to ESPN that the man he admires most is the co-founder of the Cato Institute and boogeyman to MSNBC viewers surely raised a few eyebrows in Bristol. 

“He’s a Wichitan who owns the second-largest privately owned company,” Marshall explained. “He and his brother[David] are tied for the fourth-richest man in America, and he’s done itwith great integrity and commitment to the community. He’s incrediblybrilliant.”

He also paid for the Shockers’ basketball arena, which may help explain Marshall’s appreciation for the billionaire. Koch, a supporter of the Tea Party, has donated more than $100 million to conservative and libertarian causes, providing money for the Heritage Foundation, Institute for Humane Studies, and Americans for prosperity. Koch, who has bankrolled many non-political philanthropic endeavors, like the Wichita basketball arena, has nevertheless endured abuse from those who do not share his small-government political outlook. Harry Reid complained in January of Charles and sibling David, “We have two brothers who are actually trying to buy the country.”

The number-one seeded Shockers open their tournament tomorrow night against the Cal Poly Mustangs.