The 50th anniversary remembrance of Memorial '70 will be held at 9 a.m. Friday, October 2, at Cessna Stadium, west side. There will be a reception immediately following the ceremony, a screening in the CAC Theater and a fellowship at the Wichita Country Club. 
 
For those planning to attend in person, personal health checks, face coverings and social distancing will be expected.
 

• Self-health checks are a personal responsibility that can help reduce the spread of COVID-19 to protect yourself and others. Please protect others — and yourself — by staying home if you are sick.
• Cloth face coverings over your nose and mouth will be expected at all times during the observance ceremony and in other public campus places — indoors and outdoors.
• Six-feet of social distancing — also called physical distancing — to allow space between people in attendance will be requested. Social distancing does not eliminate the expectation of wearing a face covering.

9 a.m. – 50th Remembrance Ceremony for Memorial '70 at Cessna Stadium
The remembrance ceremony will be held in Cessna Stadium with seating on the west side. Parking will be available north and west of the west concourse. Seating will be in sections C, D and E. There is an accessible platform on the mezzanine at entrance D-C for those that may have difficulty with stairs or using mobility scooter. Access to the mezzanine is via the ramp or the elevator in the middle of the main level. 
 
At this time, the overnight low Thursday night is estimated to be in the low 40s with an estimated high for Friday in the low 60s with a mix of sunshine and clouds. It may be a little cool in the morning.
 
There will be a reception immediately following the remembrance on the Cessna Stadium west concourse.
 
NOTE: If attendees are not able to travel and cannot attend in person, the ceremony will be available by livestream at www.Wichita.edu/memorial70 and later on demand on the Wichita State University YouTube channel.
 
11 a.m.  – Screening of "Overshadowed:  The Wichita State Football Plane Crash" at CAC Theater
A screening of "Overshadowed:  The Wichita State Football Plane Crash" is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. in the CAC Theater. The "mini-doc" originally aired Monday, September 7, 2020 at 5:30 p.m. on Fox KDVR in Denver. The reporter, Jeremy Hubbard is a Wichita State alum working in Denver. The viewing will also include a photo montage from previous remembrances.
 
8 p.m. – Screening of "Black and Gold: Remembering the WSU Plane Crash" on KPTS Channel 8 (Wichita)
Wichita State University is sponsoring the local Public Broadcasting Station KPTS Channel 8 airing of the documentary, "Black and Gold: Remembering the WSU Plane Crash" at 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2. The documentary was produced by KPTS in 2009.
 
12 p.m. Friday, October 2, 2020 – Memorial '70 Fellowship at Wichita Country Club, 8501 E. 13th Street
A luncheon reception for Memorial '70 players, families and friends will be hosted by Bruce Gerleman and Bill Moore at the Wichita Country Club, 8501 E. 13th Street. The country club has been reserved from noon to 4 p.m. and has ample space to accommodate social distancing with indoor and patio seating. Lunch will be a deli buffet that will be served by Wichita Country Club staff from 12:30 to 2 p.m. Cash bar available. To confirm attendance contact Bill Moore at Willbmoore@aol.com.  Donations will be accepted.  
 
OTHER TRIBUTE LOCATIONS ON CAMPUS
Attendees may visit the Memorial near 18th and Hillside. Enhancements have been made to the original memorial that will be revealed on October 2.
 
RSC 202 (Shocker 70) in Rhatigan Student Center is reserved. There will be floral tribute and looping PowerPoint featuring those who died as a result of the plane crash.
 
The Memorial 70 display case on the Koch Arena concourse has pictures of the deceased and the certificate for the Wichita Sports Hall of Fame.
 
PARKING AND DIRECTIONS
Please visit www.Wichita.edu/maps to explore the campus or download driving directions as needed.


WICHITA, Kan.  --  At 9 a.m. Friday, Oct. 2, Wichita State will host the 50th Observance of Memorial '70. The ceremony will honor the 31 WSU football players, administrators and supporters who died in a 1970 plane crash in the Rocky Mountains.

Due to COVID-19, the ceremony will be held at Cessna Stadium this year. It is open to the public. Face coverings and social distancing, when possible, are expected.

A wreath will be placed at the base of Memorial '70, and there will be a time of remembrance to acknowledge the changes that the plane crash made in the lives of the victims, their families, their friends and the university.

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, 1845 Fairmount St., Wichita, KS 67260-0002, for the Football '70 Memorial Scholarship.

Contributions also may be made online. Request to direct your gift to the Football '70 Memorial Scholarship at www.wichita.edu/give.

The Tragedy

In one of the worst tragedies of college sports history, a plane carrying WSU football players, athletic staff members and team boosters crashed at approximately 3 p.m., Oct. 2, 1970, on a mountain near Silver Plume, Colorado, while en route to Logan, Utah, for a game against Utah State University.

The "Gold" plane, a Martin 404, carried 36 passengers and a crew of four. Twenty-nine persons died at the scene. Trainer Tom Reeves and player John Taylor died later in the hospital after receiving medical attention for their injuries.

Survivors of the crash were players Mike Bruce, John Hoheisel, Randy Jackson, Glenn Kostal, Dave Lewis, Keith Morrison, Bob Renner, Rick Stephens and co-pilot Ronald Skipper.

Football players and coaches on the "Black" plane were told of the crash by Bob Seaman, assistant coach, shortly after arrival in Logan, Utah. The game with Utah State was cancelled. WSU players spent the night in Logan and returned to Wichita by commercial plane Saturday.

A plane was made available by Governor Docking to take university officials and family of the survivors to Denver. Classes were cancelled Monday, October 5, and a memorial service was held Monday evening at Cessna Stadium.

The Utah State football team held a brief memorial service at the stadium where the game was to be played Saturday and placed a black and yellow wreath on the 50-yard line.

The future of the 1970 football season was in doubt, with the decision lying in the hands of the football players, university officials and eligibility rules. The NCAA had no objection of using freshman in the remaining games; neither did the Missouri Valley Conference.

The football players decided to continue the season, which was later designated as the "Second Season." The first game following the air tragedy was Sat., Oct. 24 with the University of Arkansas Razorbacks in Little Rock at the War Memorial Stadium.