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Adelante Scholarship

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.

Woolsey Hall Groundbreaking

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.

Memorial '70 ceremony

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.

Memorial '70 memorial

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.

Memorial '70 monument

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.

Memorial '70 tribute to survivors

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.

Bill Burch with Shocker decanter

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.

Paralympic wheelchair tennis team

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.

Peri Widener

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.

disposable stethoscope

More than 200 graduates received disposable stethoscopes as a gift from the College of Health Professions.

Yolanda and Gene Camarena

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.

Screen shot of Jason Sudeikis as Ted Lasso

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.

Eck Stadium

Aug. 5, 2020 - Wichita State Athletics will introduce mobile ticketing for the 2020-21 season for the sports of volleyball, men's and women's basketball, baseball and softball. The move to mobile ticketing will provide greater convenience and a safer environment for fans. It will offer a contactless entry into athletic venues and the ability to transfer tickets electronically, eliminating physical touching concerns prevalent during this time. Mobile ticketing will also provide an added layer of security, guarding against the production of fraudulent and counterfeit tickets.

God Save the Wings logo

July 13, 2020 - Three Wichita State University alumni wrote, produced and organized "God Save the Wings," a documentary about the glory days of the Wichita Wings professional indoor soccer club from its founding in 1979 into the early 1980s. “God Save the Wings” debuted on February 22 at the Orpheum Theatre and it went so well that organizers planned to show it again on April 10. Then the COVID-19 pandemic changed their schedule and their hopes of entering it in film festivals around the world are largely on hold until the fall.

Two students on the WSU campus

July 7, 2020 -- Nearly 70 years after John and Colleen Wooley first met as students at the University of Wichita, they have established a legacy that will touch the lives of Wichita State University students for generations to come. The couple’s $2.2 million estate gift will provide more than $100,000 in scholarships each year for students with financial need.