Early students at what was then Fairmount College earned money by shocking, or harvesting, wheat in nearby fields.

Newspaper writers also liked it because it was easily shortened to "Shockers" in headlines, and the shorter name was officially adopted by around the time Fairmount became the Municipal University of Wichita in 1926.

In 1948, junior Wilbur Elsea won the Kappa Pi honorary society's competition to design a mascot typifying the spirit of the school.

Elsea, who had been a marine during World War II, decided that "the school needed a mascot who gave a tough impression, with a serious, no-nonsense scowl."

"[4] 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.

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.

The general consensus was that many wanted the costume to more accurately reflect the depiction of WU in the school's logo.

WSU competes in 16 intercollegiate athletic teams:[5] Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, tennis and track & field (indoor and outdoor); while women's sports include basketball, bowling, cross country, golf, softball, tennis, track & field (indoor and outdoor) and volleyball.

It flew into a mountain valley too narrow to enable it to turn back and smashed into a mountainside, killing 31 of the 40 players, administrators and fans near a ski resort 40 miles (64 km) away from Denver.

Wichita State University was also the first Division I-A school to hire a black head coach in college football, Willie Jeffries in 1979.

His career spanned from 1984 to 1996, playing for the New Orleans Saints, Washington Redskins, Atlanta Falcons, and Denver Broncos.

The men's basketball team reached the Final Four in 1965 and 2013, the "elite eight" in 1981, the "sweet sixteen" in 2006 and 2015, as well as winning the 2011 NIT title, the first non-conference tournament, post-season championship in the program's history.