Wayne State College is a

public college A public university or public college is a university or college that is in owned by the state or receives significant public funds through a national or subnational government, as opposed to a private university. Whether a national universit ...

Wayne, Nebraska Wayne is a city in Wayne County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 5,660 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Wayne County and the home of Wayne State College. History Wayne was founded in 1881 when the Chicago, St. Paul, Minn ...

. It is part of the

Nebraska State College System Established in 1867, the Nebraska State College System is the governing body for Nebraska's three public colleges (Chadron State College, Peru State College, and Wayne State College) that are not part of the University of Nebraska System. Ch ...

and enrolls 4,202 students. The college opened as a public

normal school A normal school or normal college is an institution created to Teacher education, train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high s ...

in 1910 after the state purchased the private Nebraska Normal College (established 1891). The State Normal College became State Normal School and Teacher's College in 1921. This was changed to Nebraska State Teachers College at Wayne in 1949 and the present name was adopted in 1963.

Academics

Wayne State offers 130 different programs of study in four Schools: Arts and Humanities, Business and Technology, Education and Counseling, and Natural and Social Sciences. Wayne State also offers classes at

Northeast Community College Northeast Community College (NECC) is a public community college system in northeast Nebraska with four campuses: Norfolk, O'Neill, South Sioux City, and West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metony ...

Norfolk, Nebraska Norfolk ( or ) is a city in Madison County, Nebraska, United States, 113 miles northwest of Omaha and 83 miles west of Sioux City at the intersection of U.S. Routes 81 and 275. The population was 24,210 at the 2010 census, making it the ninth ...

and through a satellite college in

South Sioux City, Nebraska South Sioux City is a city in Dakota County, Nebraska, United States. It is located immediately across the Missouri River from Sioux City, Iowa, and is part of the Sioux City, IA-NE- SD Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the ...

Athletics

Wayne State athletic teams are the Wildcats. The college is a member of the Division II level of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

(NCAA), primarily competing in the

Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, which operates in the western Midwestern United States. Nine of its ...

(NSIC) in all sports since the 1999–2000 academic year. The Wildcats previously competed in the

Central States Intercollegiate Conference The Central States Intercollegiate Conference (CSIC) was an American intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 1976 to 1989. It was known to be one of the toughest NAIA c ...

(CSIC) of the

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its stu ...

(NAIA) from 1976–77 to 1988–89; as well as in the

Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC), commonly known as the Rocky Mountain Conference (RMC) from approximately 1910 through the late 1960s, is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (N ...

(RMAC) as a provisional member during the 1989–90 school year. Wayne State competes in 15 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football and track & field (indoor and outdoor); while women's sports include basketball, beach volleyball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, track & field (indoor and outdoor) and volleyball.

History

The college began participating in athletics in 1912, when the football program began. Men's basketball and track and field began around the same time. These were the main sports up to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, when Wayne State was a member of the

Nebraska Intercollegiate Athletic Association The Nebraska Intercollegiate Athletic Association (NIAA) was an intercollegiate athletic conference that existed from 1928 to 1942. The league comprised public state colleges in the state of Nebraska.Nebraska College Conference The Nebraska College Conference (NCC), known as the Nebraska Intercollegiate Conference from 1916 to 1926 and later as the Nebraska College Athletic Conference (NCAC), was an intercollegiate athletic conference that existed from 1916 to 1976. The l ...

(NCC) and Wayne State began to compete in baseball, cross country, golf, swimming, tennis, wrestling, and for a short period, boxing. Before 1980, cross country, golf, indoor track and field, swimming, tennis, and wrestling were dropped. In 1997, women's soccer was added to the athletics program.

Notable alumni

Thomas M. Carsey Thomas M. Carsey (January 20, 1966 – February 21, 2018) was an American political scientist. Carsey earned his bachelor's and master's degree from Wayne State College before receiving a Ph.D from Indiana University Bloomington. He began teaching ...

, Professor of Political Science * Byron Chamberlain, NFL and Pro Bowl tight end *

Lamart Cooper Lamont "Lamart" Cooper (born December 2, 1973) is a former American football offensive specialist who played seven seasons in the Arena Football League with the Iowa Barnstormers, Milwaukee Mustangs, Oklahoma Wranglers and Buffalo Destroyers. ...

, American football player * Greg L. Adams, state senator and Speaker of the

Nebraska Legislature The Nebraska Legislature (also called the Unicameral) is the legislature of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The Legislature meets at the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln. With 49 members, known as "senators", the Nebraska Legislature is the sm ...

. *

Charlie Janssen Charlie Janssen (born January 15, 1971) is an American politician from the U.S. state of Nebraska. A member of the Republican Party, Jansen served in the Nebraska Legislature from 2009 to 2014; in 2014, he was elected Nebraska Auditor of Publ ...

, state senator in the

. * James Keogh, journalist and political adviser. Assistant managing editor of ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'', Special Assistant to President Richard Nixon, Director,

U.S. Information Agency The United States Information Agency (USIA), which operated from 1953 to 1999, was a United States agency devoted to " public diplomacy". In 1999, prior to the reorganization of intelligence agencies by President George W. Bush, President Bill ...

. *

Connie Kunzmann Connie Renea Kunzmann (July 3, 1956 – February 7, 1981) was a professional basketball player who was a member of the Iowa Cornets and the Nebraska Wranglers in the Women's Professional Basketball League (WBL) from 1978 to 1981. Kunzmann made ...

, women's professional basketball player * John H. Kyl, U.S. political figure. Member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

from Iowa's Fourth Congressional District 1959–1965, 1967–1973. Asst. Secretary, Dept. of the Interior, 1973–1977. Father of

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Jon Kyl Jon Llewellyn Kyl ( ; born April 25, 1942) is an American politician and lobbyist who served as a United States Senator for Arizona from 1995 to 2013 and again in 2018. A Republican, he held both of Arizona's Senate seats at different times, ser ...

. * Hilda Neihardt, history author and daughter of John G. Neihardt *

John Neihardt John Gneisenau Neihardt (January 8, 1881 – November 3, 1973) was an American writer and poet, amateur historian and ethnographer. Born at the end of the American settlement of the Plains, he became interested in the lives of those who had been ...

, writer and poet. Poet Laureate of Nebraska, author of ''Black Elk Speaks''. *

Gale McGee Gale William McGee (March 17, 1915April 9, 1992) was a United States Senator of the Democratic Party, and United States Ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS). He represented Wyoming in the United States Senate from 1959 until ...

, U.S. political figure. Democratic Senator from

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

1959–1977. U.S. Ambassador to the Organization of American States. * Ruben Mendoza, NFL guard *

Brad Ottis Brad Allen Ottis (born August 2, 1972) is a former defensive end in the National Football League. He played for the Los Angeles/St.Louis Rams and the Arizona Cardinals. Ottis played on the same Wayne State College football team as Byron Chamber ...

, NFL defensive end/defensive tackle *

Val Peterson Frederick Valdemar Erastus Peterson (July 18, 1903 – October 17, 1983), also known as Val Peterson, was an American politician and diplomat who served as the 26th governor of Nebraska from 1947 to 1953, as director of the Federal Civil Defense A ...

, U.S. political figure.

Governor of Nebraska The governor of Nebraska is the head of government of the U.S. state of Nebraska as provided by the fourth article of the Constitution of Nebraska. The officeholder is elected to a four-year term, with elections held two years after presidential e ...

1947–1953, Director of Federal Civil Defense Administration, Ambassador to Denmark and Finland. Wayne State College's Peterson Fine Arts Building is named after him. * Brett Salisbury, quarterback and author of ''The Transform Diet'' * Tom Sherlock,

British Basketball League The British Basketball League (BBL) is a men's professional basketball league in Great Britain and represents the highest level of play in the countries. The league is contested by 10 teams from England and Scotland. There are no clubs howeve ...

forward *

Kevin Swayne Kevin Swayne (born January 17, 1975) was an American football wide receiver for the New York Dragons of the Arena Football League. In the past, he had played for Wayne State College, the Iowa Barnstormers (AFL), the Philadelphia Eagles, San D ...

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

and NFL wide receiver *

Brian Wansink Brian Wansink is a former American professor and researcher who worked in consumer behavior and marketing research. He is the former executive director of the USDA's Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion (CNPP) (2007–2009) and held the Joh ...

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

professor and author of '' Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think'' *

DaVarryl Williamson DaVarryl Jerome Williamson (born July 25, 1968) is an American former professional boxer. A highly-touted amateur, he challenged once for the IBF world heavyweight title in 2005. Early and personal life Williamson was raised in poverty in th ...

, quarterback and boxer * Norma Wendelburg, composer

References

External links