Former KU coaches return to Allen Fieldhouse

Ted Owens coached basketball at Kansas for 19 seasons, recording a 206-47 record at Allen Fieldhouse. That’s a home winning percentage of 81 percent. For almost any college coach, at almost any other college program, such a record might culminate with you getting building or floor named in your honor.

For Owens, who also led the Jayhawks to two Final Fours, it just means he’s in fourth place. Among men who have coached at least 75 games at Allen Fieldhouse, Owens trails Larry Brown (71-5), Roy Williams (201-17) and Bill Self (175-9) in home winning percentage. And that’s just fine with him.

“Coming out that tunnel into the arena are some of the most wonderful moments of my life,” says Owens.

Owens will be back on the Allen Fieldhouse floor on Monday, along with Brown, Williams and Self, for the 60th anniversary celebration of the building, which officially opened in 1955. This is the 60th season of basketball inside the building.

The event, which is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m., will include reflections and memories from each of the four coaches. Television analyst Jay Bilas, a former Duke standout in the late 1980s, will be on hand to serve as the moderator.

“When they built it, what a magnificent structure,” Owens says. “It’s as strong today as it was 60 years ago. It has that wonderful mix of a really modernized inside, but it still holds that wonderful feeling of tradition and history; it’s really unique. A lot of universities have built new arenas and so forth, and that place has stood the test of time.”

This story was originally published October 27, 2014 at 5:52 AM with the headline "Former KU coaches return to Allen Fieldhouse."