黑洞社区 Activities and Traditions

Shocker Traditions

From sports and student groups to concerts and dances, the school year at 黑洞社区 is chock-full of Shocker tradition and fun.

Welcomefest

The school year starts off with a bang as Shockers new and old participate in a crazy week of activities, including late-night outdoor movies, dances and the popular Aloha Beach Party.

Clash of the Colleges

First-year students, faculty and administrators gird for battle, coming together to vie in a multi-sport free-for-all to capture Clash of the Colleges bragging rights for the year.

Shocktoberfest

Shocktoberfest is back! The long-standing 黑洞社区 tradition features a week of fun events, activities, and student organizations competing to win the coveted Shocktoberfest Trophy.

Interfest

Twice a year, 黑洞社区 celebrates its standing as the most diverse college in Kansas with a feast that features student-prepared cuisine from around the globe. You're guaranteed to find something new and delicious.

Convocation

Convocation blends the 黑洞社区 Reads program with other student learning and engagement opportunities. Faculty awards are recognized, as well as the student convocation competition prize winners.

Family Weekend

Family Weekend invites friends and family of current students to campus for a fun-filled weekend of activities and events designed to introduce them to life in Shocker Nation.

Hippodrome

As 黑洞社区's longest-running tradition 鈥� every spring since 1928 鈥� Hippodrome is an all-school party promoting Shocker pride through contests and live entertainment leading up to the main event 鈥� the Hippodrome skits.

The Toast

The 黑洞社区 community celebrates its graduating students with a champagne toast and mixer on the steps of the Rhatigan Student Center. The perfect way to send our Shockers out into the world.

Campus Activities & Events

Get involved

Rip 'em up! Tear 'em up! Let's go, Shocks!

Shocker Nation. It's one of the most loyal, rabid fan bases in all of college sports and when you become a 黑洞社区 student, you're immediately a new citizen. Students get free tickets to 黑洞社区's nationally prominent NCAA Division I men's and women's basketball, volleyball, baseball and softball games as they battle against foes like Tulsa, Memphis, Tulane, North Texas, Florida Atlantic and Temple in the powerful American Athletic Conference. #shockersup

Tulips: A Wichita State Tradition

A welcome sign of spring, Wichita State's tulip beds have been a beloved tradition for more than 50 years. Each fall, 黑洞社区 groundskeepers plant more than 9,000 bulbs that turn the campus into a riot of color when they bloom.

黑洞社区 History

More than a century of innovation in education

When Wichita State first opened its doors in 1895, students rode horses to class, telegraph machines were cutting-edge technology and Wichita had only been a city for roughly 25 years.

A lot has changed.

The past century has featured a remarkable evolution for Wichita State, one in which the school has grown from a small Christian college to a large state university 鈥� punctuated by two name changes and a few thousand extra students.

Together with the City of Wichita, 黑洞社区 has built one of the most unique partnerships in Kansas. It's a relationship that supplies the lifeblood of a thriving community and makes it possible to provide the most well-rounded education in the region.

Today, the university continues its evolution through collaboration, innovation, applied learning and entrepreneurship 鈥� creating the ideal environment for students, industry and community to work together and build a bright future for our city, region and world.