More than 20 years later, debate continues at Wichita State
Posted: Mon May 18, 2009 10:12 am
Football was eliminated at Wichita State following the 1986 season and there has been a void on campus and in the community ever since.
Or not.
Two faculty members who watched the program's demise offer differing opinions on the subject.
"In the almost 40 years I've been around the university, it's by far the worst mistake the university has made," said Randy Brown, a professor in the Elliott School of Communication at Wichita State.
Martin Perline, the school's faculty athletic representative for three decades, does not agree.
"The vast majority of people were just not that interested," Perline said of interest in the program.
One thing the two do agree on: The program was dropped because it was losing money and games.
The Shockers played at the NCAA Division I level and had the full allotment of 85 football scholarships. Perline said football was a "tremendous financial drain" and estimated it lost in the neighborhood of $1 million in the final season, in which the average attendance was 9,689 at the 30,000-seat Cessna Stadium. The final game drew 4,167.
Wichita State's final three teams each were 3-8. Following a plane crash in 1970 that killed 31 players, administrators and fans en route to a game at Utah State, the program had two winning records in 16 seasons.
"It was a tremendous financial drain and interest was limited," Perline said. "When it was dropped, if you were one of the 5,000 people coming to the games, you were probably ticked off (about dropping football). But that's 5,000 from a community of 500,000."
http://www.news-leader.com/article/2009 ... /905170352
Or not.
Two faculty members who watched the program's demise offer differing opinions on the subject.
"In the almost 40 years I've been around the university, it's by far the worst mistake the university has made," said Randy Brown, a professor in the Elliott School of Communication at Wichita State.
Martin Perline, the school's faculty athletic representative for three decades, does not agree.
"The vast majority of people were just not that interested," Perline said of interest in the program.
One thing the two do agree on: The program was dropped because it was losing money and games.
The Shockers played at the NCAA Division I level and had the full allotment of 85 football scholarships. Perline said football was a "tremendous financial drain" and estimated it lost in the neighborhood of $1 million in the final season, in which the average attendance was 9,689 at the 30,000-seat Cessna Stadium. The final game drew 4,167.
Wichita State's final three teams each were 3-8. Following a plane crash in 1970 that killed 31 players, administrators and fans en route to a game at Utah State, the program had two winning records in 16 seasons.
"It was a tremendous financial drain and interest was limited," Perline said. "When it was dropped, if you were one of the 5,000 people coming to the games, you were probably ticked off (about dropping football). But that's 5,000 from a community of 500,000."
http://www.news-leader.com/article/2009 ... /905170352
