First game The first official football game played by Wichita State was in 1897, when they were known as Fairmount, under the coaching of
T. H. Morrison. Fairmount defeated Wichita High School, now known as
Wichita East, by a score of 12–4 in the only game played that year.
1905 night game In the 1905 season, the
Coleman Company set up temporary gas-powered lighting for a
night game against Cooper College (now called the
Sterling Warriors). It was the first night football game played west of the
Mississippi River. Fairmount won the game 24–0.
1905 "experimental" game On December 25, 1905, Fairmount played a game against the
Washburn Ichabods using a set of experimental rules. The game was officiated by then Washburn head coach
John H. Outland. The experiment was considered a failure. Outland commented, "It seems to me that the distance required in three downs would almost eliminate touchdowns, except through fakes or flukes." The
Los Angeles Times reported that there was much kicking and that the game was considered much safer than regular play, but that the new rule was not "conducive to the sport." According to Nelson, Washburn completed three passes, and Fairmount completed two.
Plane crash On October 2, 1970, a
plane crashed that was carrying about half of the football team on their way to play a game against
Utah State University. 31 people were killed. The game was canceled, and the Utah State football team held a memorial service at the stadium where the game was to have been played.
Breaking the color barrier in college football coaching When
Willie Jeffries became Wichita State's head coach in 1979, he became the first African-American head coach of a Division I-A football program. Former
T. C. Williams High School football coach
Herman Boone, who was portrayed by
Denzel Washington in the film
Remember the Titans, compared Jeffries's hiring to that of
Jackie Robinson signing with the
Brooklyn Dodgers.
Program discontinued On December 2, 1986, Wichita State President Warren Armstrong announced that the university would no longer sponsor football due to the financial strain the program placed on the university. On May 16, 2009, the Wichita State University alumni association held an all football players reunion at Cessna Stadium.
Potential program revivals In 1992, a study was done on Cessna Stadium to comply with I-A football standards. It was shown that $24 million in improvements were needed. In 1997, the cost was cited at $11 million to restart the football program and three other women's sports. In 1998, an advisory committee at Wichita State recommended reinstating the football program at Wichita State after a 15-month study for $70,000. In 2006, Wichita Mayor
Carlos Mayans proposed to use public funds to restart the football program at Wichita State. He would subsequently drop the plan weeks later. In 2012, an attempt was made to begin a club-level football team at Wichita State with hopes of eventually reviving the football program, though no official endorsement was given by the university. Wichita State's 2017 move to the
American Athletic Conference leaves it as the only full member of the conference which does not play football. However, the American has 14 football-playing schools, with
Army and
Navy as associate members for football only. == Conference championships ==