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SPORTS
KANSAN.COM
Missy Minear/KANSAN
There is provided seating on the first floor of the DeBruce Center, with a cafeteria and coffee stand.
DeBruce Center opens rules yet to be installed
SKYLAR ROLSTAD
@SkyRolSports
After being built for most of the 2015-16 school year, construction of the DeBruce Center was finished Monday. The new building stands next to Allen Fieldhouse and will house the original rules of basketball, which were purchased in 2010 by University donor and alumnus David Booth, who donated them to the University.
"[The opening of the DeBruce Center] means a great deal to the athletic department and the university as a whole. I think for the university it's a place where students, faculty and staff can catch a meal or meet," Jim Marchiony, associate athletics directer at the University, said. "It's also a huge drawing card for people who are interested in the original rules of basketball."
The Center features a rules of basketball gift shop along with a cafeteria. Outside the Center is a statue of James Naismith, the creator of basketball, holding a peach basket and a ball.
The cafeteria in the new University building is now open, but the area housing the original rules of basketball has not been completed. This area is at the back of the DeBruce Center on the second floor.
Curtis Marsh, director of the DeBruce Center and KU Info, said the University hopes to be ready to install the rules into the DeBruce Center in the next few weeks.
Marsh was named Director of the DeBruce Center in January.
"We get to enjoy the tangible elements that helps us tell the story of how unique the KU athletic program really is," Marsh said. "There are a lot of places around the country that can claim historic success in a sport, but to talk about the consistent success of our program and own and display the rules of the game, that just sends it home for me that students get to enjoy that."
He added: "You don't just come here to enjoy a museum experience. It's a great opportunity to enjoy both the rules and a space on campus that is for our students, alumni and guests."
Curtis Marsh Debruce Center director
We get to enjoy the tangible elements that helps us tell the story of how unique the KU athletic program really is."
Once the area where the rules will be housed is completed, the University will be able to conduct tests to make sure the rules are preserved in a safe environment. The case holding the document will be tested to ensure it maintains a safe environment to be displayed. These tests include the case's ability to keep the document in the appropriate temperature
and away from light that could damage it.
Marsh said he is reluctant to give a date for when the rules will be housed in the DeBruce Center because the University must coordinate these tests.
"As soon as [the rules are installed,] it becomes a real draw for this campus for people all around the state," Marchiony said. "And the country, really, if you're a basketball fan."
When the rules are installed, Marsh said, the case that holds them will have a button that when pressed makes the rules visible. This is to protect the document from light.
Along with the exhibition of the rules will be a presentation about the origin of the game of basketball and how the sport came to Kansas. Marsh said the University is looking forward to bringing other things to the DeBruce Center in the future. One idea is a theater that shows a video about the rules of basketball.
After the completion of McCarthy Hall last October and the School of Business' Capitol Federal Hall, the DeBruce Center is another construction project in the area around Allen Fieldhouse to be completed. Other projects in the area include the new Burge Union and the new student-athlete dorms.
"I think it really begins to tie this part of campus in with the other parts of campus," Marchiony said, "particularly in light of the impressive new construction it is starting in this area now."
MAWSON FROM
PAGE 10
Keeping in touch
Mawson officially retired from coaching in 1975. She left the University in 1990. Still, you'd be hard pressed to find someone within KU Athletics who hasn't heard her name.
And today, she continues to promote women's sports by speaking with players, coaches and administrators. She's perhaps most present in volleyball, where she can be seen in the crowd at home games.
Today, the focus on the athletics staff is on equity, which sends a very clear message to the athletes, according to Van Saun.
Kansas volleyball coach Ray Bechard said she's always welcome whenever she wants to stop by, whether it's at games or behind the scenes.
"I introduced her to the team, and they quickly figured out that obviously we have things a little bit better than what they did back then." Bechard said.
Mawson described her first time visiting Rock Chalk Park — a $39 million facility that will eventually house five sports, four of which are women's. As she walked onto the concourse, she felt a sense of pride for what had happened over the last five decades.
"When you know you're important and you see things being built for
One thing that has changed is the venues. Whereas in 1968, the women's athletics programs were relegated to a lesser facility, things are different.
Still, the job is not done. In 2016, things are not perfect. Total gender equality in sports has yet to be reached.
you [...] that goes a long way," Van Saun said.
Furthermore, the smallest budget for an individual women's sport is golf, which still receives upwards of 300 times what Mawson had for all six sports in her first season.
However, the 2.5-to-1 ratio between the men's and women's athletics budgets varies sharply from the 270.5-to-1 ratio that existed in 1968.
This year, the budget for men's athletics at Kansas is just over $37 million, with more than $32 million coming from the "revenue sports," football and men's basketball. On the other side, the budget for women's athletics is $15 million.
I was 28 when I came to KU. You think about a 28-year-old now and you think, 'Oh they can't do that,' but nobody ever told me I couldn't."
But for Mawson, this is an issue larger than budgets and facilities. Similar to her coaching philosophy, it's about doing things the right way.
Mawson said she has spoken with Kansas' Athletics Director Sheahon Zenger about moves that affect women's sports,
Marlene Mawson KU women's athletics founder
most recently expressing her concerns with the hiring of the current women's basketball coach.
She's certainly not shy with her beliefs.
Off campus and online, the Lawrence Journal-World has published three letters to the editor from Mawson, all advocating for expanded coverage of women's sports.
"Even though the media is not held legally to Title IX compliance, it is time for the J-W to equitably report the competitive coverage for all of the sports teams at KU," Mawson said in a letter to the editor on Dec. 13, 2013.
Women's athletics have progressed far from where they were in the 1960s. The journey may not be complete, but Mawson said things are still moving in the right direction, even if the progress is slower than it was decades ago.
And looking at Kansas, it can be argued that the change in culture occurred because Mawson was brought in as the right person at the right time to lead the charge.
When she came on campus, she was far from as established as she is today. Yet she persevered and left an impact that remains nearly five decades later.
"I was 28 when I came to KU. You think about a 28-year-old now and you think, 'Oh they can't do that,' Mawson said. "But nobody ever told me I couldn't."
- Edited by Mackenzie Walker
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