James Naismith was a Canadian-American physical educator, physician, Christian chaplain, and sports coach, best known as the inventor of the game of basketball. After moving to the United States, he wrote the original basketball rule book and founded the University of Kansas basketball program. Naismith lived to see basketball adopted as an Olympic demonstration sport in 1904 and as an official event at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, as well as the birth of the National Invitation Tournament (1938) and the NCAA Tournament (1939).
The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital in Kansas City, Kansas, the Edwards Campus in Overland Park. There are also educational and research sites in Garden City, Hays, Leavenworth, Parsons, and Topeka, an agricultural education center in rural north Douglas County, and branches of the medical school in Salina and Wichita. The university is a member of the Association of American Universities and is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity".
Allen Fieldhouse is an indoor arena on the University of Kansas (KU) campus in Lawrence, Kansas. It is home of the Kansas Jayhawks men's and women's basketball teams. The arena is named after Phog Allen, a former player and head coach for the Jayhawks whose tenure lasted 39 years. The arena's nickname, The Phog also pays homage to Allen. Allen Fieldhouse is one of college basketball's most historically significant and prestigious buildings. 37 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Tournament games have been hosted at the arena. The actual playing surface has been named "James Naismith Court", in honor of basketball's inventor, who established KU's basketball program and served as the Jayhawks' first coach from 1898 to 1907.
Forrest Clare "Phog" Allen was an American basketball coach. Known as the "Father of Basketball Coaching," he served as the head basketball coach at Baker University (1905–1908), the University of Kansas, Haskell Institute—now Haskell Indian Nations University (1908–1909), and Warrensburg Teachers College—now the University of Central Missouri (1912–1919), compiling a career college basketball record of 746–264. In his 39 seasons at the helm of the Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball program, his teams won 24 conference championships and three national titles.
The Kansas Jayhawks, commonly referred to as simply KU or Kansas, are the athletic teams that represent the University of Kansas. KU is one of three schools in the state of Kansas that participate in NCAA Division I. The Jayhawks are also a member of the Big 12 Conference. KU athletic teams have won fifteen national championships all-time, with twelve of those being NCAA Division I championships: four in men's basketball, one in men's cross country, three in men's indoor track and field, three in men's outdoor track and field, and one in women's outdoor track and field. Kansas basketball also won two Helms Foundation National Titles in 1922 and 1923, and KU Bowling won the USBC National Title in 2004.
The Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball program is the intercollegiate men's basketball program of the University of Kansas. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I and the team competes in the Big 12 Conference. Kansas is considered one of the most prestigious college basketball programs in the country with six overall national championships, as well being runner-up six times and having the most conference titles in the nation. The Jayhawks also own the NCAA record for most consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances with 28 consecutive appearances. They were also, along with Dartmouth, the first team to appear in multiple NCAA Tournaments after making their second appearance in the 1942 tournament. The Jayhawks had been ranked in the AP poll for 231 consecutive polls, a streak that had stretched from the poll released on February 2, 2009, poll through the poll released on February 8, 2021, which is the longest streak in AP poll history. Of the 24 seasons the Big 12 conference has been in existence, Kansas has won at least a share of 19 regular-season conference titles.
The Drake Bulldogs are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent Drake University, located in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The Bulldogs' athletic program is a member of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) and competes at the NCAA Division I level. Drake also sponsors teams in the Pioneer Football League, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, and Summit League. Drake's live bulldog mascot is Griff II; the costumed mascot is Spike; and the school colors are blue and white.
The 1940 NCAA basketball tournament involved eight schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the participating champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. The second edition of the tournament began on March 20, 1940, and ended with the championship game on March 30 in Kansas City, Missouri. A total of eight games were played, including a single third place game in the West region.
Hinkle Fieldhouse is a basketball arena on the campus of Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana. Completed in early 1928, it was the largest basketball arena in the United States until 1950. The facility was renamed Hinkle Fieldhouse in 1966 in honor of Butler's longtime coach and athletic director, Paul D. "Tony" Hinkle. It is the sixth-oldest college basketball arena still in use. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 and designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1987, Hinkle Fieldhouse is sometimes referred to as "Indiana's Basketball Cathedral."
Richard F. Harp was an American college basketball coach who spent the majority of his career at the University of Kansas. He became the Kansas Jayhawks' fourth men's basketball coach in 1956. He coached for eight years until his resignation in 1964. Harp's overall Kansas record was 121–82 (.596) and conference record was 63–45 (.583).
Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center is a building located in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, that is part of the Iowa Events Center. Named to honor the World War II veterans of Polk County, it opened on February 1, 1955.
The 1987–88 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team represented the University of Kansas for the NCAA Division I men's intercollegiate basketball season of 1987–1988. The team won the 1987–1988 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship, the second in the school's history. They were led by Larry Brown in his fifth and final season as head coach. Their star player, Danny Manning, earned the team the nickname "Danny and the Miracles" because of the Jayhawks' improbable tournament run after an 11-loss season, the most ever by a national champion. The team played its home games in Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas. In the last three games of the NCAA tournament, the Jayhawks avenged their three home losses to Kansas State, Duke, and Oklahoma.
Nicholas Evans Bradford is an American former professional basketball player. At 6 foot 7 inches in height, he played at small forward.
Karl L. Schlademan was an American college sports coach and athletics administrator. Principally a track and field coach, Schlademan also coached football, basketball and cross country. He served as the head track and field coach at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana in 1914, the University of Kansas from 1919 to 1926, the State College of Washington—now known as Washington State University—from 1926 to 1940, and Michigan State University from 1940 to 1958.
Arthur Tusten "Tus" Ackerman was an American basketball player in the early days of college and semi-professional basketball.
The 1937 Melrose High School (Iowa) Shamrocks were the Iowa state high school basketball champions. With an enrollment of only 66, the Melrose Shamrocks were the smallest school ever to win a single-class state basketball title in Iowa. The team finished their season 33–0, the first undefeated boys basketball team in Iowa history. In 2012, the Des Moines Register recognized the Shamrocks as one of the ten best State tournament teams in Iowa history. In May 2012, the Iowa House of Representatives officially congratulated the 1937 Melrose Shamrocks basketball team on the 75th anniversary of their championship.
The 2020–21 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team represented the University of Kansas in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, which was the Jayhawks' 123rd basketball season. The Jayhawks, members of the Big 12 Conference, played their home games at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas. They were led by 18th year Hall of Fame head coach Bill Self. The Jayhawks finished the regular season 20–8 overall and 2nd in the Big 12. They were selected to the 2021 NCAA tournament as a 3 seed. They would be eliminated in the second round.
The 1955–56 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team represented the University of Kansas during the 1955–56 college men's basketball season. The Jayhawks played their home games at Allen Fieldhouse, their first full season playing at the arena. It was the 39th and final season under head coach Phog Allen, who was forced to retire after the season. The Jayhawks finished the season 14–9 overall and 6–6 in the Big Seven Conference and did not qualify for the NCAA Tournament.
The 1954–55 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team represented the University of Kansas during the 1954–55 college men's basketball season. The Jayhawks were coached by Phog Allen who in his 36th season of his second tenure, 38th season overall. Kansas played their home games primarily at Hoch Auditorium, however, they did play their first game at Allen Fieldhouse, named after their head coach, on March 1, 1955 against Kansas State. They would play one more game at Allen Fieldhouse that season. The Jayhawks finished 11–10 and failed to qualify for the NCAA tournament.
The 1940 NCAA Basketball Championship Game was the final of the 1940 NCAA basketball tournament and determined the national champion in the 1939–40 NCAA men's basketball season. The game was held at the Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri, on March 30, 1940. The Indiana Hoosiers defeated the Kansas Jayhawks 60–42 to win the school's first national championship in men's basketball.
