# Wayne State College

Wayne State College (WSC) is a public college in Wayne, Nebraska. It is part of the Nebraska State College System and enrolls 4,202 students. The college opened as a public normal school 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 in Norfolk, Nebraska and through a satellite college in South Sioux City, Nebraska.

## Ranking

For 2024, U.S. News & World Report ranked Wayne State tied for No.96 out of 165 Regional Universities Midwest, No.32 in Regional Universities Midwest Top Public Schools, and tied for No.92 in Regional Universities Midwest Top Performers on Social Mobility.

## Undergraduate admissions

Wayne State has an open admission policy, admitting all applicants so long as certain minimum requirements are met. In 2024, those enrolled had an average 3.36 high school GPA.

## Athletics

Wayne State athletic teams are the Wildcats. The college is a member of the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) in all sports since the 1999–2000 academic year. The Wildcats previously competed in the Central States Intercollegiate Conference (CSIC) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 1976–77 to 1988–89; as well as in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) as a provisional member during the 1989–90 school year.

## Notable alumni

* Greg L. Adams, state senator and Speaker of the Nebraska Legislature
* Thomas M. Carsey, Professor of Political Science
* Byron Chamberlain, football player
* Lamart Cooper, football player
* Charlie Janssen, state senator in the Nebraska Legislature
* James Keogh, journalist and political adviser, Assistant Managing Editor of Time, Special Assistant to President Richard Nixon, Director U.S. Information Agency
* Connie Kunzmann, basketball player
* John H. Kyl, member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Assistant Secretary Dept. of the Interior 1973–1977
* Gale McGee, Democratic U.S. Senator from Wyoming 1959–1977, U.S. Ambassador to the Organization of American States
* Ruben Mendoza, football player
* Hilda Neihardt, historian
* John Neihardt, Poet Laureate of Nebraska, author of Black Elk Speaks
* Brad Ottis, football player
* Val Peterson, Governor of Nebraska 1947–1953, Director of Federal Civil Defense Administration, U.S. Ambassador to Denmark and Finland
* Rosie Ruiz, fraudster
* Brett Salisbury, football player and author of The Transform Diet
* Tom Sherlock, British Basketball League forward
* Kevin Swayne, football player
* David Townsend, Art Director for MGM
* Brian Wansink, Cornell University professor and author of Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think
* Norma Wendelburg, composer
* DaVarryl Williamson, boxer