Fairmount acquired a permanent home when Memorial Gymnasium was opened on January 15, 1921, in a game against the American Legion of Wichita.

That same year, the newly renamed Municipal University of Wichita (popularly known as "WU") joined the Central Conference in athletics.

[4] Shocker basketball achieved greater success with the arrival of Coach Ralph Miller and Cleo Littleton in 1951.

Through appropriated money by the WU Board of Regents, Wichita State was able to construct a new field house for the men's basketball team, costing $1.4 million.

During his 13-year stint at WSU, Ralph Miller became the winningest coach in Shocker basketball history, collecting 255 victories.

After defeating Southern Methodist and an Oklahoma State team led by Henry Iba, the Shockers headed to the Final Four in Portland.

Armstrong became a three-time all-Valley performer from 1966 to 1968, and still holds four of WSU's 10 triple double games (double-figure points, rebounds, assist, or blocks).

They made it to the NCAA tournament in 1976, winning the Missouri Valley Conference and losing by one point to eventual national runner up Michigan.

The following year they beat eventual NCAA Champion Marquette in Al McGuire's final home game in Milwaukee.

Levingston would average 15.7 and 18.5 points per game while leading the team in scoring his freshman and sophomore years, before declaring early for the NBA Draft.

[6] McDaniel scored 2,152 points at Wichita State, second all-time behind Littleton, and set the school record with 1,359 rebounds.

In 1982, Wichita State would be placed under NCAA probation for the 1982–83 and 1983–84 seasons, regarding improper actions of former assistant coaches in the late 1970s.

[4] WSU hired Topeka, Kansas native Mark Turgeon as head coach on March 11, 2000.

In Turgeon's second year Wichita State began its resurgence with a combination of several veterans and newcomers to compile a 15–15 record in 2001–02.

In 2004–05, Wichita State continued to improve, reaching the third game of the NIT, and taking the Shockers to back-to-back-to-back postseason trips for the first time since 1987–88–89.

In 2006–07, the Shockers entered the season with high expectations, and surged out to a 9–0 start, including a revenge-win over George Mason, as well as road victories over #6 LSU and #14 Syracuse.

On April 14, 2007, Gregg Marshall was announced as 26th head men's basketball coach at Wichita State.

In his second season they posted a 17–17 record, complete with a run to the second round of the 2009 CBI Tournament where they lost to Stanford.

Heading into the 2012–2013 season, despite being the reigning regular-season champions, the Shockers were predicted to finish fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference.

Nevertheless, the Shockers would eventually play rival Creighton in the final game of the season for the outright conference championship, losing in Omaha.

In the 2012–13 NCAA tournament, the Shockers upset top-seeded Gonzaga to move on to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2006,[13] followed by a 72–58 win over La Salle for their first Elite Eight appearance since 1981.

[14] In the Final Four, Wichita State was defeated by the #1 overall seed and eventual tournament champion Louisville, 72–68 but that game was later vacated in 2018[15] by the NCAA.

[17] A week later, with a dominating 68–45 win over Missouri State, the Shockers became the first Division I team to finish the regular season 31–0.

The Shockers ran the table with the 2014 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball tournament, winning all three games by double digits.

Wichita State blew out their first opponent, Cal Poly, to become the first team in the history of college basketball to advance to a record of 35–0 (a mark matched by Kentucky in the 2014–15 season).

Marshall resigned shortly before the 2020–21 season, with Wichita State buying out his contract for $7.75 million over six years.

Both squads were known as the cream of the crop in the MVC and went back and forth every year, trading the title of best team in the league.

Due to its circular design, which gave nearly every fan a clear sight line and put the seats very close to the action, it was quickly nicknamed "The Roundhouse."

All new seating was installed as well as a video scoreboard, and virtually every surface that was not renovated was given a fresh coat of paint.

[2] In January 2013, ESPN's Jason King listed Koch Arena as the 7th best home court advantage in college basketball.