Education General Sports

MSU Texas alums thrilled to see Mustangs compete in Washington

Andy Newberry
02 December 2024
5 min read

John and Louanne Hausmann graduated from Midwestern State University in the 90s, but have lived near Spokane, Washington, for many years. When they moved, they didn’t think they’d see their alma mater compete on the field again.

However, the landscape of Lone Star Conference athletics, in which MSU Texas competes, has changed many times since then. And recently, the Hausmanns had a chance to travel just 200 miles to Ellensburg, Washington, where they watched their alma mater compete on the football field against Central Washington.

“Unfortunately, the outcome of neither game (2022, 2024) was not in our favor, but it felt good knowing and seeing that MSU Alumni who live in the region are willing and happy to support the Mustangs!” John Hausmann said.

John and Louanne came to MSU Texas because of Sheppard Air Force Base. Louanne got her Master’s in Public Administration in 1995, and John received his Bachelor’s in Applied Arts and Sciences in 1997.

The couple has fond memories of their time in the Wichita Falls area and at MSU Texas. They lived on base with four children (three daughters, one son) from 1992-94. Their two oldest daughters graduated from Burkburnett High School. Their youngest daughter and their son attended John G. Tower Elementary School.

John retired at SAFB in 1995, and the family moved to Burkburnett with the intention of retiring there. He worked as a network administrator at Owens & Brumley Funeral Home and was a full-time student at MSU Texas.

Their favorite teachers at MSU Texas were Marilyn Mertens and Ernie Dover. “Louanne got her MPA at MSU before she left to go to the Azores, and both she and my last supervisor at Sheppard AFB convinced me to go back to school and use my GI Bill,” John said.

Why was Mertens so memorable? “When you took a class with Dr. Mertens, you ‘contracted’ for your grade. If you wanted a B, you did so many papers, so many oral presentations, etc. If you wanted an A, the bar got higher,” John said. “And at the end of the semester, if you didn’t complete the required amounts, you couldn’t say ‘I’ll settle for a B.’ She’d say ‘you contracted for.’ and would mark you an incomplete until you turned in the requisite amount of work.

“So, on my first day in class, she started going down the roster and asking people what they wanted to contract for. She gets to my name: ‘John Hausmann, ohhhhh! You’re Louanne’s husband, I presume you’ll be contracting for an A like she did!’ Talk about getting backed into a corner!”

The MSU-Burns Fantasy of Lights was a hit with the family. “We’d bundle the kids up, swing by and get them a hot chocolate, and drive down Taft Boulevard to look at the lights! It was truly a spectacle, and we enjoyed it very much.”

They both worked as volunteers in the traditional Hotter ’N Hell Hundred bicycle race. “We worked the last aid station on the 75- and 100-mile routes,” John Hausmann said. “We remember a couple on a tandem bike with long plumes pulling a baby carriage with a car battery and a boom box blasting out ZZ Top. We remember the first year they allowed rollerblades, asking participants to limit themselves to the 25-mile route (maximum), but we had them coming in offthe 75- and 100-mile routes. They were in pain, and when we peeled their blades off, they were just one giant blister over the whole foot. We were going to take them out of the race, and they grabbed their gear and took off to finish the race!”

And like many Wichitans, they loved going to Fort Sill and the Wichita Mountains. “We’d pack picnic lunches and head out to the reserve and watch the buffalo. One sneaked up on us one day, and I told Louanne ‘DO NOT MOVE’ and why; then the buffalo snorted and ambled off.”

The Hausmanns were transferred to Fairchild AFB, outside Spokane, in 1999 after Louanne returned from a 15-month Unaccompanied Tour at Lajes Field on the island of Terceira, Azores (an island chain belonging to Portugal).

John was born and raised in Chester, Pennsylvania, just south of Philadelphia. His father was a police officer, and his mom was a homemaker. They couldn’t afford to send him to college, so in March of his senior year he “swore in” to the Air Force on the Delayed Enlistment Program. He went to Lackland AFB in San Antonio for Basic Training at age 17. His travels included Zweibrücken Air Base, Germany, before he came to SAFB. He drew his first retirement check at age 37.

Louanne, a military brat, was born in Massachusetts. Her dad, Larry, had a career in the Air Force, and the family traveled extensively, including assignments in France, California, Washington D.C., Florida, and finally settling in San Antonio. Louanne started nursing school at Yuba College in California, then when the family moved to Texas, she went to Central Texas College for her associate degree in nursing, the University of the Incarnate Word for her bachelor’s, and MSU Texas for her Master’s in Public Administration. “It was interesting that Louanne got assigned to Zweibrücken. Her dad was stationed at Toul-Rosières Air Base in France during his career. Eventually, France ordered the U.S. Military out of the country, and her dad’s unit got transferred to Zweibrücken. So, 25 years later, Louanne was stationed with the same unit as her dad. Her dad, mom, sister, and uncle visited us twice, and we took trips over to Nancy (Nancy-Ochey Air Base), where his old base was, and we have wonderful memories.”

A lot of travels for the couple, and in two years, they’ll take another 250-mile trip as they plan to see the 2026 Mustangs earn a road win at Central Washington!