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News Release

Memorial event commemorating 1970 WSU plane crash set for Oct. 2

Oct. 1, 2024
By WSU Strategic Communications

Contact for News Reporters: Lainie Mazzullo-Hart, director of communication, 316-978-3409 or lainie.mazzullo@wichita.edu.

Memorial '70

In an annual ceremony of remembrance, a wreath is placed at Wichita State's Memorial '70 at 9 a.m. each Oct. 2. The brief ceremony honors WSU football players, administrators and supporters who died in a plane crash Oct. 2, 1970.

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The annual remembrance of Memorial ’70 will be held at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 2, at the memorial sculpture at the university entrance at Memorial Drive and Hillside (18th and Hillside).

A reception will be held immediately following the ceremony in the lobby of Duerksen Fine Arts Center across from the memorial. The Shocker '70 Room in 202 Rhatigan Student Center will be open for visitors.

The ceremony will honor the 31 people — WSU football players, administrators, supporters and flight crew — who died in the Colorado crash.

Those interested in making a tax-deductible contribution in memory of the crash victims can give to the Football '70 Memorial Scholarship, the only endowed scholarship at WSU dedicated in collective memory to those who died in the tragedy.

The scholarship is awarded each year to a student of any major with at least a 3.0 GPA who demonstrates financial need.

Contributions can be made through the WSU Foundation and Alumni Engagement, 1845 Fairmount St., Wichita, KS 67260-0002, for the Football '70 Memorial Scholarship. Contributions also may be made online.

About Wichita State University

Wichita State University is Kansas' only urban public research university, enrolling more than 23,000 students between its main campus and WSU Tech, including students from every state in the U.S. and more than 100 countries. Wichita State and WSU Tech are recognized for being student centered and innovation driven.

Located in the largest city in the state with one of the highest concentrations in the United States of jobs involving science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), Wichita State University provides uniquely distinctive and innovative pathways of applied learning, applied research and career opportunities for all of our students.

The Innovation Campus, which is a physical extension of the Wichita State University main campus, is one of the nation’s largest and fastest-growing research/innovation parks, encompassing over 120 acres and is home to a number of global companies and organizations.

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