Former Kansas Basketball Coach Ted Owens Joins College Basketball Hall of Fame

Being a Kansas men’s basketball coach means you’re in rare company with some of the greatest who have ever coached the game. From James Naismith to Bill Self, there has been no shortage of leaders at Kansas who have made their mark on college basketball.

Ted Owens is one of those eight coaches whose legacy at Kansas has now been enshrined forever in the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.

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On Thursday, Owens was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame alongside Jay Wright, Tubby Smith, Glen Rice, Danny Ainge, and Walt Hazzard (posthumously). The ceremony took place at the College Basketball Experience in Kansas City, Missouri.

Owens coached at Kansas for 19 seasons from 1964 to 1983, amassing a record of 348-182 (657). In that time, he took the Jayhawks to two Final Fours, won six Big Eight titles, and coached some of the greatest players in KU basketball history – including Jo Jo White, Walt Wesley, Darnell Valentine, Bud Stallworth, and Dave Robisch.

“When I was growing up on a farm in southwest Oklahoma, on a cotton farm, I had time when hoeing cotton or pulling cotton to have a lot of dreams,” Owens recalled. “My dreams were never great enough to imagine that I’d have the chance to play at the University of Oklahoma and coach at the saint Andrews of college basketball at the University of Kansas. It’s incredible.”

Owens went on to thank the people in his life, namely his friends and family, who helped get him to where he is today.

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“One thing I’ve learned in 97 years is that no matter how hard you work and prepare, you don’t experience success without the help and support of others. So, while they honor me tonight, they also honor some special people.”

Owens is now one of 15 former Jayhawks in the College Basketball Hall of Fame. The others honored include Wilt Chamberlain, Phog Allen, Dutch Lonborg, Larry Brown, Roy Williams, Dean Smith, Adolph Rupp, Ralph Miller, John McLendon, William Johnson, Paul Pierce, Danny Manning, Paul…

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Publish date : 2026-10-24 04:11:00

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