Dear Shocker Nation,
We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends! We are thankful to have a loyal and passionate fan base to share memories with this season.
We always strive to do things The Shocker Way by instilling our core values, developing our student-athletes and creating an environment of competitive excellence. Over the next five years, we have set lofty strategic objectives including reaching a 3.40 cumulative grade-point average, 1,000 community service hours annually by the athletic department staff and student-athletes and 15 AAC championships.
We have already totaled almost 800 hours in community service work during the fall semester. We are proud of the hard work put in to help the Wichita community.
Here are some exciting things happening at Wichita State:
Our volleyball team will be playing in the postseason NIVC! We will be hosting Grand Canyon at 3:30 p.m. on Sun., Dec. 4 at Charles Koch Arena. Drake and Weber State will play at 1 p.m. on Dec. 4 and the winners of each match will face off on Mon., Dec. 5 at 5:30 p.m. Click here to purchase tickets! Wichita State enters the postseason winners of seven of their last eight matches, finishing fourth in the American Athletic Conference standings.
Our women’s basketball team has raced out to a 5-1 record to start the 2022-23 season! They are next in action on Wed., Nov. 30 against Denver in Koch Arena. Our men’s team picked up a runner-up finish at the Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City and look to build on a home win over Tarleton State on Thanksgiving weekend. They are next in action on Tue., Nov. 29 against undefeated Missouri. Click here to purchase tickets to support both our men’s and women’s programs.
The men’s cross country team earned a fifth place finish at the NCAA Midwest Regional. Clayton Duchatschek and Adrian Diaz-Lopez both earned all-region honors by finishing in the top-25. At the AAC Championship, the men finished second and the women fifth. Six Shockers earned all-conference honors including Duchatschek, Diaz-Lopez, Ben Flowers, Trey Rios, Abeba Sullivan and Sarah Bertry.
Congratulations to our 2023 Pizza Hut Shocker Sports Hall of Fame Class! Click here for tickets for the dinner on January 13 to hear from Victor Everett (Track and Field), Casey Gillaspie (Baseball), Emily Hiebert (Volleyball), Nikki Larch-Miller (Track and Field) and Abbie Lehman Chaffin (Volleyball) and their experiences as student-athletes at Wichita State.
Over the last four months, Wichita State Athletics staff conducted numerous listening sessions with different groups of Shocker fans. Shocker Nation asked for gameday enhancements and we listened. Here are some of the improvements:
• New family deals at the concession stands
• K-College initiative at women’s basketball games
• Arena light show during introductions
• Additional shuttles and Texting service
• Emcees and DJ in the student section
• Additional location of The Shocker Store
• Halftime entertainment
Letter From the AD Big 3
Here are today’s Big 3 ways to help the Shockers:
- Bring your family or a friend to Charles Koch Arena for men’s and women’s basketball! Wichita State is set to host six men’s games and six women’s games between this week and New Year’s Day! Click here for tickets to be part of the excitement in Koch Arena! Here is the list of promotions for those games:
November 29 – MBB vs. Missouri: Giving Tuesday – Celebrate Giving Tuesday at Charles Koch Arena by directly supporting our student-athletes through monetary donations to our Shocker Athletic Scholarship Organization.
November 30 – WBB vs. Denver: Faculty/Staff Appreciation Night – All WSU faculty & staff receive FREE admission to the game.
December 3 – WBB vs. New Orleans: Camper Reunion – All campers receive FREE admission. Campers can take part in on-court promotions and postgame shootaround on the court.
December 10 – MBB vs. Longwood: Teddy Bear Toss – Bring a teddy bear to the game to toss onto the court at halftime. All teddy bears will be donated to children in need.
December 13 – MBB vs. Mississippi Valley State: Aerospace Night – Celebrate Wichita being the Air Capital of the World and join us in recognizing those that work in the aerospace industry on campus and throughout the city.
December 20 – WBB vs. Wyoming: Holiday Hoops Game – Donate a toy for Toys for Tots and arrive early to make a holiday card for your favorite player and enjoy the designated kids zone on the concourse.
December 30 – WBB vs. Cincinnati: Frontline Worker Appreciation – Celebrate our frontline workers including Fire, EMS, Police and Healthcare.
- Purchase a membership to the Junior Shocker Kids Club for a child during the holiday season. For only $30 each member will receive a T-shirt, lanyard, credential, welcome letter from Wu and special experiences at certain events.
- Our student-athletes are active in the NIL space and now have two new pathways to consider. The Lady Shocks Squad by Paladin Strategies is connecting female student-athletes with their fans and supporting communities to increase NIL opportunities and compensation. Player Card is a NIL company with the mission of bringing the Wichita Community, Industry and Athletes together. For more information on all Wichita State NIL opportunities go to GoShockers.com/NIL.
Thank you for your support and we hope you and your family have a safe and happy holiday season!
Go Shocks!
Kevin Saal
Director of Athletics
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
