WSU News - All Stories

Dec. 10, 2020 - Hannah Wilkinson, Wichita State's associate head strength and conditioning coach, is taking donations for Catholic Charities Harbor House domestic violence shelter and service. The campaign is an extension of the toy drive that strength and conditioning coach Kerry Rosenboom organized in previous years.

Dec. 9, 2020 — The WSU Foundation's seven-year Shock the World campaign raised more than $300 million to fund scholarships and campus improvements at Wichita State University.

Nov. 11, 2021 -- Isaac Brown is Wichita State's interim men's basketball coach. Brown, 51, joined the coaching staff as an assistant coach in 2014. He has also coached at Arkansas, Arkansas State, Louisiana Tech and others.

Nov. 16, 2020 — Zane Storlie has not only dedicated his time at Wichita State to learning everything he can about computer science, but he’s also been an advocate for computer science education for elementary and middle school students in the area. Zane created a three-unit curriculum to teach Scratch coding to more than 750 students in Wichita Public Schools, and the Derby school district asked him to present a teacher training course to its librarians.

Nov. 10, 2020 — Incoming freshmen and transfer students have an opportunity to receive up to $20,000 as part of Wichita State University’s new Shocker Adelante Scholarship.

Oct. 22, 2020 — Alumni, donors and officials from Wichita State University gathered Thursday, Oct. 22 for a groundbreaking ceremony at the future site of Wayne and Kay Woolsey Hall, the new home for the W. Frank Barton School of Business.

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. 16, 2020 - Deja Young is a returning Paralympian in track and a Wichita State alumna. Casey Ralzlaff is a first-time Paralympic hopeful in wheelchair tennis and current student at Wichita State. Both of their sports are cancelled due to COVID-19.

Sept. 21, 2020 -- Saying she wants to help build a new generation of business leaders with a world view, Wichita State alumna Peri Widener has pledged $275,000 to her alma mater. A portion of the gift will launch a program to help develop students into global business leaders.

Aug. 31, 2020 -- Gene and Yolanda Camarena are well known for helping underserved Kansas youth improve their lives through education and other causes. Now the Wichita couple is enhancing that legacy with a $1 million gift to Wichita State University to give students of color opportunities they otherwise might not have.

Kansas Jason Sudeikis writes and stars in the Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso,”  which begins streaming Friday (Aug. 14). In the show, Lasso is a fictional former Wichita State University football coach who moves to coach fictional British soccer club AFC Richmond in the Premier League. Lasso's former life as Shocker coach is featured in the first two episodes.