Deb Farris: WSU To Look into Bringing Football Back in Next 3-4 Years

[1972Shocker]

Levitt in the '90's had more people in it than Cessna in the '80's

For the most part I think that is an accurate statement. However, I think the 1982 team that Prince McJunkins lead to an 8-3 record might have outdrawn the 90's basketball teams. That was a pretty entertaining football team.

Of course, the passage of time always makes the memory grow fonder.

[shox1989]

Levitt in the '90's had more people in it than Cessna in the '80's

That is not true. It might be true for one or maybe even two seasons, otherwise football definitely drew more. In fact in 1982 they averaged something like 23,000 a game.

[SB Shock]

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[KraRam]

Maybe if we can talk Jimmy Johnson and Bill Parcells to come back we could change our 42 year trend.

[SpanglerFan316]

That is not true. It might be true for one or maybe even two seasons, otherwise football definitely drew more. In fact in 1982 they averaged something like 23,000 a game.

Really? My memory must be bad because I don't recall crowds that large. Of course, Prince McJunkins was fun to watch and it is possible that I didn't look behind me.

[Ricardo del Rio]

F.Y.I. - Coach Wright was a Fightin' Texas Aggie and my classmate.

If I was the A.D., I am pretty sure I would not let him stay for five years.

As Clint Eastwood might say, "When somebody does not do the job, we got to let him go."

[RoyalShock]

I wonder if we could get more butts in the seats than Miami did today?

Thanks for Showing Up Miami Fans

[Aargh]

I didn't do any research on the actual number of people in seats in '80's FB or in '90's basketball. My comment was intended to demonstrate that basketball fans supported the Shox through the down years, but the FB fans did not.

I have no idea what the actual attendance was when Prince McJunkins was here and the Shox went 8-3 in his Sr season. There was notable support from the community. McJunkins was an electrifying player. If you like watching KSU FB, you would have loved the Shox with McJunkins. He was a threat to either pass or run and he was good at both. Rookie of the Year in the CFL.

Then there were the 3-8 (wins/losses) years that followed McJunkins graduation. It's not much of a stretch to say that the crickets on campus made more noise than the fans in the stands. Unless you pulled out a bottle of Jack Daniels and waved it in front of the ticket takers, you were good to go with whatever you brought to the stadium. If there were 8,000 people in the stands, 5,000 of them were drinking themselves into oblivion. Tickets were cheap enough that if you brought your own booze, it was competitive pricing with going to a br for 3-4 hours.

The local fans absolutely abandoned a losing FB team. The local fans supported a losing basketball team.

[1972Shocker]

The local fans absolutely abandoned a losing FB team. The local fans supported a losing basketball team.

Of this there is little doubt.

This is one of the better sites I have found regarding Shocker football history.

http://michigan-football.com/ncaa/f/wichita.htm

Here another site: http://cfreference.net/cfr/schools/wichita-state/398

[1972Shocker]

I thought this was one of Sully's better blogs and a pretty fair and balanced look at football at WSU.

http://blogs.kansas.com/shockwaves/2011/06/17/were-all-suckers-for-shocker-football/#more-9101

[shox1989]

Really? My memory must be bad because I don't recall crowds that large. Of course, Prince McJunkins was fun to watch and it is possible that I didn't look behind me.

You don't recall crowds that big just in the 80s or ever at Shocker football games? In 1982, the Tulsa game drew over 28,000. I do remember other games (Okie State 1978 and K-State 1977 and some game in 1970 -don't remember the opponent) where the stadium was full.

[1972Shocker]

You don't recall crowds that big just in the 80s or ever at Shocker football games? In 1982, the Tulsa game drew over 28,000. I do remember other games (Okie State 1978 and K-State 1977 and some game in 1970 -don't remember the opponent) where the stadium was full.

I recall those games. Unfortunately, those examples were the rare exceptions. Outside of those outliers a crowd of 15,000 was a very good crowd for WSU. Unfortunately, crowds under 10,000 were far too common. And if the weather was just the least bit unpleasant Shocker fans definitely preferred the warmth and comfort of their living room couches.

[Kung Wu]

We would NEVER be anything less than a DI program

He's talking about a club team.

[Kung Wu]

The least we could be is FCS which is the old D-1AA. We couldn't play D-1 basketball if we didn't.

Club.

[SubGod22]

What would club football have to do with anything that's been discussed here? And he wasn't talking about club. He said DII.