Former Wichitan Brad Justice is the man behind the Website bringbackshockerfootball.com. His goal is to use the Internet to document demand for football at Wichita State. It seems like a quixotic task (tilting at goalposts), but you can’t fault Justice’s enthusiasm. He appears to be going about it the right way, in contrast to attempts to bully WSU’s administration into reviving football. Justice and his partners are determined to keep their efforts positive and work with WSU, should WSU be interested. Justice lives in Kansas City.
Q. What is your favorite Shocker football memory?
A. I only get one? Can I have three? No. 1, having a sideline pass to watch my brother-in-law (Barry Bales) start at left tackle under the lights against Oklahoma Stae. I can still see Barry out there engulfing the defense. An unbelievable night. No. 2, Seeing my dear childhold friend Ruben Eckels (a receiver at WSU) catch passes, break tackles and score touchdowns. It was like seeing a piece of me down there. No. 3, watching the Shockers play SMU in Cessna Stadium and seeing the Pony Express backfield of Craig James and Eric Dickerson run up and down that field. It was an incredible sight.
Q. What level (Football Bowl Subdivision or Football Championship Subdivision) do want WSU to play?
A. That is a such a secondary thing, I honestly have no interest. I just want to see the black and gold down there.
Q. Shocker football is a topic that never dies. Why?
A. I think there’s a number of factors. Given the size of the city that Wichita is, I think there was an enormous amout of civic pride that went into this team. The basketball team and the baseball team do a great job of carrying that on, but they can’t do it in the fall. There is still a lot of emotion and we’ve got to capture that emotion and build on it.
Q. Would be willing to drop a men’s sport in order to bring back football and satisfy gender equity and budget demands?
A. I have no intention of answering that. That needs to be answered by a (WSU) compliance officer. We do want to (raise enough donations through pledges) to start other sports.