at right, Cleo Littleton ’55; Xavier McDaniel ’87/96, back row, standing at left, and, at right, Antoine Carr fs ’83 —
with members of the Homecoming royalty court: from left, Tessie Arambula, Melissa Ford, Laura Schlapp, Kailey Westemeir; Justin Hall, Tate Blanton, Tyler Joe and Tyler Kemp.
The party was on for the week of Feb. 4-9, when Shockers from just about every age group and many locales across the country came together to celebrate Homecoming 2013 – and the 100th birthday of the alumni association, established in 1913.
This once-in-a-century celebration began Monday, Feb. 4 at the Rhatigan Student Center with student voting for Homecoming royalty. Voting continued all week and culminated, on Saturday, Feb. 9, at halftime of the Shockers vs. Missouri State Bears game at Charles Koch Arena, with the crowning of the Homecoming King and Queen: Tate Blanton and Tessie Arambula.
Among the weeklong Homecoming festivities were special activities around the Feb. 8 women’s home basketball game and the return to campus of members of the University of Wichita’s class of 1963 for their 50-year reunion, which tipped off with an afternoon welcome reception on Thursday, Feb. 7. Campus Shockers were also invited to join in the spirited rivalry of the Homecoming decorations contest. Emerging with top honors in the contest were, in the departmental category, WSU Human Resources, which won an office party valued at $150, and, in the student category, Tornado Alley Press, located in the McKnight Art Center, which nabbed $150 in cash.
“Congratulation to both winners,” says Ashlee Baysinger ’12, assistant director of student and young alumni relations at the alumni association. “Thanks to all the departments and organizations that participated in the Homecoming 2013 contest. All the entries were amazing – and it was a close race.”
Another close race was the Feb. 7 Shocking Nearly Naked Run, with its goal of helping cloth the homeless. “It is our philanthropy event that we hold every Homecoming now,” Baysinger says. Wichita State student participants collectively contributed a truck-load of clothing to help the homeless. After running in the chill of the February night, the nearly naked runners warmed up at a Pancake Feed at the Heskett Center.
Earlier that evening, members of the 50-year reunion class of 1963 got together with classmates and met members of the Homecoming royalty court at the reunion’s opening reception. The next morning, reunion attendees were among the special guests at a presentation with the title: #42 #35 #34 #13 #54.
The numbers are those of the jerseys worn by five WSU basketball greats — Dave Stallworth fs ’65, Antoine Carr fs ’83, Xavier McDaniel ’87/96, Cleo Littleton ’55 and Cliff Levingston fs ’84. The five have had their numbers retired and hung at the top of the rafters of Koch Arena. As part of Homecoming 2013, this Shocker quintet was honored at a WSU Distinguished Alumni Speaker Series Rise & Shine breakfast on Feb. 8 at the Marcus Welcome Center. Three of the Shocker legends – Littleton, Carr and McDaniel – addressed the crowd as part of a panel discussion moderated by Mike “Voice of the Shockers” Kennedy ’74. Attendees were reminded of a few of the accomplishments of each of the Shocker five:
Dave “The Rave” Stallworth, No. 42, entered Shocker hoops history averaging 24.2 points a game during his career and ranking third on the Shocker all-time scoring list with 1,935 points and first in scoring average in NCAA Tournament games with a 29.5 point scoring average.
Antoine “Big Dawg” Carr, No. 35, finished his career as the fourth-leading scorer in WSU history with 1,911 points. He also set the Shocker single-game scoring mark of 47 points in his last collegiate game against Southern Illinois in 1983.
Xavier “X” McDaniel, No. 34, ended his career as the Shockers’ all-time rebounding leader with 1,359 and second on the all-time scoring list with 2,152 points. He twice led the nation in rebounding, and as a senior became the first player in NCAA history to lead the country in both scoring (27.2 points) and rebounding (14.8) in the same season.
Cleo Littleton, No. 13, a third team All-American selection in 1955, is the first player west of the Mississippi to score more than 2,000 career points. His 2,164 points still ranks as WSU’s all-time leading point total.
Cliff Levingston, No. 54, teamed with Carr to form the “Bookend Forwards” duo that led the Shocker to national prominence in the early 1980s. During his three-year career at WSU, he totaled 1,471 points and 965 rebounds, ranking eighth on the all-time scoring list and fourth in rebounding. His 53.8 career field-goal percentage ranks third in school history.
Later that morning of Friday, Feb. 8, 50-year reunion attendees were inducted into the WSU 50-Year Club during a luncheon ceremony at the Marcus Welcome Center. Class of 1963 inductees were Jerry Aaron, James Beasley, Victor Bender, Bill Brooks, Don Coulter, Jerrlea “Jerri” (Costello) Currigan, Celia (Cox) Goering, Robert Lee, Richard McKee, Robert Ohm, Pamela Postier, Jerry Riedl, Richard White and Dennis Wright.
On Saturday, Feb. 9 reunion attendees had a VIP dinner together before the Homecoming game. At halftime,WSU President John Bardo, Deborah Bardo ’75/77, Shocker AD Eric Sexton ’87/92, Debbie Kennedy ’94, president and CEO of the alumni association, Kathy Winslow ’04/09, association board chair, Homecoming 2012 Queen Cecilia Franz and Littleton, Stallworth, Carr and McDaniel were Shocker dignitaries at the culminating event of Homecoming 2013 — the crowning of the King and Queen.
Sponsored in part by Denis Dieker ’77/80, coronation ceremonies featured the introduction of the 10-member royalty court, all WSU seniors: Melissa Ford of Abilene, Kan., is a performing arts major whose dream career is to tread the boards on Broadway. Tyler Kemp, a music education major and Shocker bowler, hails from Conersville, Ind. Tessie Arambula an accounting major from Wichita, is active in Gamma Phi Beta and SGA. Tate Blanton of Winfield, Kan., is an integrated marketing communications major and a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon. Laura Schlapp, an integrated marketing communications major from Wichita, is involved in Delta Gamma, the Barton International Group and SGA. Tyler Joe of Wichita, a strategic communications major, serves as president of Sigma Phi Epsilon. Kailey Westemeir, a Wichita native who’s studying nursing, is a member of Delta Delta Delta, the Student Ambassador Society and Mortar Board. Justin Hall, a percussionist and music performance major from New Orleans, is active in the Hispanic American Leadership Organization and Ambassadors for Multicultural Affairs. Tanya Friesen of Hutchinson, Kan., is captain of the track and field team and is away competing at a meet. Devon Lockard, a Topeka native and member of Alpha Phi Alpha, studies secondary education and physics and is also away competing as a Shocker track-and-field athlete.
Littleton crowned Arambula Queen and congratulated Blanton as King.
