- 1970
- 1985
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Shockers Football Team Crash
On October 2, 1970, the first, or “gold” plane (the twin plane to the second, or black, plane) carrying players and staff of the WSU football team took off from a Colorado airport after refueling, bound for Logan, Utah for a game against Utah State University. It flew into a mountain valley too narrow to enable it to turn back ... -
Wichita State Shockers – Xavier McDaniel
While at Wichita State, McDaniel was the first person to lead the nation in both rebounding and scoring in the same season. In college, McDaniel began to shave both his head and his eyebrows to look more intimidating. He continued this all throughout his pro career. For his first two seasons at Wichita State, the Shockers were on NCAA probation. ...
History of the Shockers
The Wichita State Shockers are the athletic teams that represent Wichita State University. They compete in the NCAA Division I as members of the American Athletic Conference.
In 1998, WuShock also referred to as "Wu", marked his 50th birthday by undergoing a redesign and getting a pumped-up physique and revved-up attitude. The mascot's costume has changed over the years, as well. With the redesign, a new costume was introduced in the fall of 1998. In fall 1999, the head of the new costume underwent another redesign after a number of supporters suggested the mascot needed a more intimidating look. In 2006 it was decided to once again update the Wu costume. The general consensus was that many wanted the costume to more accurately reflect the depiction of WU in the school's logo. Many officials feel that a more professional and intimidating mascot on the field will certainly bolster WSU's image.
College Sports Established
1897
Location
Wichita, Kansas
College Name
Wichita State University
Collegiate History
1973 - Present / NCAA Division 1
1921 - 1973 / University Division of the NCAA
1907 - 1921 / Athletic Association of the United States
Conference History
2017 - Present / American Athletic Conference
1945 – 2017 / Missouri Valley Conference
1923 - 1945 / Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association
1902 - 1923 / Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference
Nickname
Shockers - Wichita State, according to the school's athletic website, is named the Shockers because of the practice of "shocking" (harvesting) wheat in Kansas.
In the school's early days, most student athletes earned college money working all Summer in the fields harvesting and threshing wheat. In 1904, the nickname "Wheat Shockers" was used for the first time for the basketball team.
Kansas is still considered the "wheat state" and Sedgewick County, where Wichita is located, is the largest wheat producing county in the state.
Eventually, the name was shortened simply to the Shockers.
NCAA Championships
Baseball 0
Men's Basketball 0
Women's Basketball 0
Football 0
Soccer 0
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