but not many have been victorious. Going into this year's campaign, the Jayhawks were 551-101 in 49 seasons at home.
101 in 49 seasons at home.
Ted Owens, who coached the men's basketball team from 1964 to 1983, always appreciated the ambiance of the fieldhouse on game night.
game night.
"The atmosphere at KU games and Allen Fieldhouse is unique in college basketball." Owens says. "The fans are very supportive of their own team, but they appreciate good play from the other teams and their players."
from the other teams and one.
One game stands out in the mind of the former coach: a 110-73 victory against Nebraska in 1966. Nebraska had led the conference all season, until a meeting with the Jayhawks late in the season in the fieldhouse. Owens calls the victory one of the greatest performances in the storied building.
stories building.
Owens and his assistant, Sam Miranda,
were treated to a special celebration after the
game.
invented. Owens recognizes that the fieldhouse has changed in appearance since he coached but noted that the spirit is still the same.
game?
"The players threw us in the shower," Owens says. "That was before Gatorade was invented."
noted that the spirit is "The old elevated court and the dirt surface are all gone, the seating has been restructured, but the atmosphere is the same," Owens says. "The pep band, the cheerleaders and the pompom squads still are excellent, the familiar music the same — and the Rock Chalk chant still moves you," he said.
still moves you, he says. Another figure in Kansas basketball who has watched hundreds of games from the sidelines is Howard Hill, Allen Fieldhouse's
last season after 12 years. Hill is not your traditional Jayhawk fan, as he graduated from Kansas State.
former public address announcer. Hill retired last season after 21 years of service.
he graduated from high school. "You don't just go to Allen Fieldhouse and suddenly become a Jayhawk," Hill says. "It takes a while." Hill began his work at the fieldhouse in 1982.
While the announcer has many memories from his courtside days, one emotional moment sticks in his mind. It was 1988, the year the Jayhawks won the National Championship, and the Jayhawks were facing Oklahoma. Archie Marshall had been out for the beginning of the season with a knee injury. Hill described Marshall's walk to the scorers' table in the middle of the game, with a brace on his knee.
on his knee.
"That was probably the most difficult introduction I have ever had to do." Hill said.
"Just because the fans and I, and we operated as one; the fans and I saw Archie and choked up, completely choked up, and then gave him a great ovation."
a great ovation. Hill received a great ovation of his own last year during his final game as the voice of Allen Fieldhouse. Athletics Director Lew Perkins presented Hill with photographs of him at his work.
work.
"I was overwhelmed, just absolutely overwhelmed," Hill said. "I thought, 'I'm only the announcer. I'm just a small dot in the field, please.' But they were so gracious; it still moves me to this day."
move him to this day.
Hill began his work as a public address announcer for Kansas football games and quickly recognized the devotion and knowledgeability of Jayhawk fans.
"I found out over the years that there was a great deal that I did not have to say because the fans at Allen Fieldhouse already knew it. If I could minimize my words, I could cut back on the verbage, which is what I wanted to do," Hill said. "At best the relationship is not through an announcer, the relationship is between the fans and the players directly, and as long as I could let that happen, that relationship, then I knew I was being successful, even if I hadn't said a word."
James Naismith is known as the "Father of Basketball." But Phog Allen, who considered Naismith his mentor, is known as the "Father of Basketball Coaching." Naismith didn't think the game could be coached. His actions transformed the game. Allen progressed the game in a way that was not even imagined during the first few decades of basketball.
during the first two decades,
"Allen had an inventive mind, and he was willing to take risks and try new things while men with less vision hung back and carped at him," wrote Joe McGruff, sports editor of The Kansas City Star, in a column the day after Allen passed away, Sept. 17, 1974.
ten passed away, september 17,
Allen is revered more than any other coach
in Kansas history; he may be revered more than
anyone who ever coached the game.
anyone who ever教练 in The Denver Post. Jack Carberry, a sportswriter, said about Allen, "Everyone who reads the sports pages knows of 'Phog' Allen. It would be impossible to be unaware of him. For it is doubtful if there is a man today in the world of sports who has been so cussed and discussed; who is loved more, hated more; who is damned and who is praised more than this doctor of osteopathy
who, during the past 38 years, has made his home a synonym for the game he loves above all — basketball."
all — basketball.
People looked up to him, saw him as something bigger than just the game. An editorial writer in the *Topkea Daily Capital* wrote in 1974 that many people had asked Allen to run for governor, but he decided against it because he claimed he was too outspoken.
Ongoing changes are nothing new to Allen Fieldhouse. The women's locker-room was recently remodeled, and restrooms on the north side were expanded and remodeled. There are plans to clean the limestone on the exterior of the building and replace the windows, Associate Athletics Director Jim Marchiony says, but the highest priority is to replace the scoreboard, which has hung at midcourt since the early 1990s.
1990s. Like everything in this world, Allen Fieldhouse has seen its share of ups and downs. From bad seasons to miracle seasons, nuclear warfare movies to the acquisition of faithful Jayhawk campers, the Phog will always have that special something, something one cannot explain using words alone, or even put a finger on just the right meaning. Some of us will have no idea what the true magic of the building is. Maybe those who know it best — the players, the coaches, the faithfuls — will someday let us in on this magical mystery that sits among us everyday.
everyday.
Until that time, enjoy and cherish your own experiences within the walls of Allen Fieldhouse. Magic can be appreciated at any age, and one can always "Beware of the Phog." ★
November 14, 1997 – Santa Clara 73, Kansas 99 Kansas kicked off its "100 Years of Kansas Basketball" celebration by naming the court in honor of Dr. James Naismith prior to the tip-off of the season opener.
December 13, 1997 - Middle Tennessee State 68, Kansas 103 Prior to the game,
Chancellor Hememay and Phog Allen's son Bob unveiled a statue to honor his father, the winningest coach in Kansas basketball history.
January 17, 1998 - Kansas State 62,
Kansas 69 Wilt Chamberlain returned for
his jersey retirement. He was honored in a halftime celebration in which he stepped out onto the Allen Fieldhouse floor wearing his letterman's jacket.
February 8, 1998 - Missouri 70, Kansas 80
The "100 Years of Kansas Basketball" celebration continued as 270 former players and coaches were honored at halftime. Members of KU's 10 Final Four teams were also honored in a separate ceremony.
December 8, 1998 – Iowa 85, Kansas 81
laowa halted KU's longest homecourt winning streak at 62 games. The Jayhawks hadn't lost
at Allen Fieldhouse since February 20,1994 in a game against Missouri.
November 25, 2000 - Washburn 56,
Kansas 99 Kirk Hirnich led the Jayhawks with
22 points in the 500th Kansas victory in Allen
Fieldhouse.
January 15, 2003 - Wyoming 70, Kansas 98 Roy Williams recorded his 400th win as a Kansas coach.
March 1, 2003 - Oklahoma State 81,
Kansas 79 Senior day not only marked the
final game in Allen Fieldhouse for seniors Kirk
Hinrich and Nick Collison, but also turned out to be the last for coach Roy Williams.
November 21, 2003 - Tennessee Chattanooga 76, Kansas 90 Keith Langford led the Jayhawks with 24 points in coach Bill Self's first victory in Allen Fieldhouse
February 28, 2004 Marian Washington returned to Allen Fieldhouse to be honored in a pregame ceremony for the women's team following her retirement as woman's coach. Lynette Woodard assumed the role of interim coach for the remainder of the season.
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