Mississippi River. In 1905, there was an experimental game against Washburn College (now Washburn University) that had three new rules: 1) increase first down requirement from 5 yards to 10 yards, 2) allowing forward passes (suggestion came from President Theodore Roosevelt), 3) varying points (4/5/6) for a field goal kick based on the distance.
The school discontinued its football program following the 1986 season due to financial debts, NCAA recruiting violations, and WSU students voting against raising fees to pay for higher football expenses. It had never fully recovered from losing 16 starters, its athletic director, football coach, and many others vital to the WSU program in a plane crash in 1970 (see below). Legendary NFL coach Bill Parcells was a linebacker at WSU in 1962 and 1963 before serving as a graduate assistant in 1964. Wichita State University was also the first Division I-A school to hire a black head coach in college football, Willie Jeffries, in 1979.
==== 1970 plane crash ====
On October …
