WSU News - All Stories

Oct. 5, 2023 - As part of the Memorial ’70 ceremony, football players, friends and families from those years received a piece of Cessna Stadium seating. Former WSU Foundation Vice President Mike Lamb proposed the idea to preserve some of the stadium and share it with the Memorial ’70 group.

Aug. 3, 2023 — Bolstered by a $2 million National Science Foundation grant, a group of Wichita State researchers is hoping to create a paradigm shift from the use of harmful nitrous oxide-based fertilizers to more eco-friendly nitrogen fertilizers that would reduce greenhouse gases.

At 9 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 2, Wichita State will host the 52nd observance of Memorial '70, the annual ceremony that honors the 31 WSU football players, administrators and supporters who died in a 1970 plane crash in the Rocky Mountains. It will take place at the Memorial near 18th and Hillside.

Sept. 28, 2022 - Diana Krestel – whose husband was a member of WSU’s football team in 1970 — recently compiled and designed three scrapbooks that tell the story of college, loss of life and living with the aftermath of the Oct. 2, 1970 plane crash.

Sept. 26, 2022 — Local journalists tell their story of covering and remember those lost in the 1970 Wichita State University plane crash.

March 29, 2022 — In the latest U.S. News and World Report rankings of universities offering a Ph.D. in engineering, the College of Engineering at Wichita State University once again was ranked in the top 100 engineering graduate programs in the country and the only institution in Kansas to make it in the top 100.

Nov. 12, 2020 — The National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) has received another $13.7 million contract from the United States Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to extend the Modeling for Affordable, Sustainable Composites (MASC) research program.

Oct. 28, 2020 -- The National Institute for Aviation Research at Wichita State University announces a new $13.5 million award from the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Aviation & Missile Center for continued applied research on emerging materials for high-speed missile applications.

Oct. 20, 2020 — The Kansas Legislature in 2011 made a commitment to invest $105 million statewide over the next decade with the purpose of increasing the number of engineers available to industry. For its $35 million share of that money – granted under the University Engineering Initiative Act (UEIA) – Wichita State College of Engineering pledged to double the number of bachelor’s degrees it awarded annually. The aggressive goal was surpassed this past academic year as the college awarded 380 bachelor’s degrees.

Sept. 30, 2020 - The annual ceremony of remembrance for those who died in the 1970 Wichita State University plane crash will be held at 9 a.m. Friday, Oct. 2, at Cessna Stadium. There will be a reception immediately following the remembrance on the Cessna Stadium concourse. Enhancements have been made to Memorial ’70, located near the 18th Street and Hillside entrance to the university. Those additions to Memorial ’70 will be officially be revealed on Oct. 2.

Sept. 30, 2020 — Over the years, many hikers have trekked to the crash site of the plane that claimed the lives of 31 souls — including 14 members of the Wichita State University football team, 14 staff and boosters, and three crew members.

Sept. 30, 2020 - Wichita State athletic trainer Tom Reeves was known as a man devoted to his athletes on the football team. His sense of humor and caring touch helped them through injuries and difficulties. On Oct. 2, 1970, he helped survivors escape the wreckage of the Martin 404 after it crashed in Colorado. Badly burned, Reeves got them away from the plane and down the mountain to help before he fell unconscious. Reeves died on Oct. 5 in a Denver hospital.

Sept. 28, 2020 - A new sculpture recognizes the survivors of the crash at Memorial '70 at Wichita State University. The names of teammates who landed safely in Utah that day are a fitting addition to the existing upright Memorial ’70 monument. “One of the main reasons we did what we did, was so the future generations would know that there were survivors,” architect Randy Phillips said. “And how their lives were impacted, especially since they lived when so many didn’t. Most, if not all, suffered greatly in silence.” The desire to honor teammates by telling the story of the crash motivated Phillips, as it has driven so many connected to Oct. 2, 1970 near Silver Plume, Colo.

Sept. 23, 2020 - Bill Burch played linebacker for the Shockers in 1970 as a senior. As fate would have it, a knee injury kept him from traveling to Utah State on Oct. 2. He had expected to travel with the team, but instead was forced to stay home and heal. On that day, the Martin 4-0-4 airliner that carried the Shocker starters crashed near Silver Plume, Colorado, killing 31 people – 14 student-athletes, 14 staff and boosters, and three crew members.

Sept. 14, 2020 -- Wichita State University’s Advanced Center for Virtual Engineering and Testing will soon have a new name. The building’s renaming is a tribute to Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran’s commitment to provide vital resources and connections that help Wichita State offer impactful student experiences to drive prosperity for the city, region and state.