The Kansas Jayhawks greatest player, who was previously retired, has just declared his return to the team, and the team is…

The Kansas Jayhawks greatest player, who was previously retired, has just declared his return to the team, and the team is…

The University of Kansas’s intercollegiate men’s basketball program is known as the Kansas Jayhawks men’s basketball program. The squad plays in the Big 12 Conference and the program is categorized as Division I of the NCAA. With six overall national championships (two from the Helms tournament and four from the NCAA Tournament), six runner-up finishes, and the most conference titles in the country, Kansas is regarded as one of the most elite collegiate basketball programs in the nation. With 28 straight appearances, the Jayhawks hold the NCAA record for the most consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament. The Jayhawks have only missed the tournament twice since 1984, and both times it was because of NCAA disciplinary action; they were declared ineligible for the 1989 tournament and their 2018 attendance was canceled.

Since the 1983 event, they have not missed the tournament solely as a result of their performance on the court. After earning their second appearance in the 1942 tournament, they became the first team, along with Dartmouth, to participate in two NCAA Tournaments. The longest running streak in the history of the AP poll was achieved by the Jayhawks, who had been ranked in the poll for 231 straight surveys, starting on February 2, 2009, and ending on February 8, 2021. Kansas has won at least a share of 19 regular-season conference titles in the 24 seasons that the Big 12 conference has been in existence.

James Naismith, the man who invented basketball, was the first coach of the Jayhawks. Ironically, the only Kansas basketball coach to have a losing record is Naismith. Pro basketball players like Clyde Lovellette, Wilt Chamberlain, Jo Jo White, Danny Manning, Raef LaFrentz, Paul Pierce, Nick Collison, Kirk Hinrich, Mario Chalmers, Andrew Wiggins, and Joel Embiid are among the many well-known alumni of the Kansas basketball team.

Bob Dole, a politician, was a Kansas basketball player as well.[1] Former assistants to become successful coaches include John Calipari, Gregg Popovich, and Bill Self; former players to become coaches include Phog Allen, Adolph Rupp, Dean Smith, and Dutch Lonborg. Former players and assistant coaches Tad Boyle, Danny Manning, Jerod Haase, and Mark Turgeon all rose to the position of head coach.

Along with Lonborg, Allen created the National Association of Basketball Coaches and was a pioneering supporter of the NCAA tournament.[2][3] Roy Williams, Phog Allen, Larry Brown, and Bill Self, the current head coach of the Jayhawks, are the four head coaches who are inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Three distinct Division I basketball facilities bear the names of former Kansas players: the Jayhawks’ Allen Fieldhouse, named for Phog Allen, the Dean Smith Center at North Carolina, the Rupp Arena at Kentucky, and the Dean Smith Center at North Carolina, named for Dean Smith.

Kansas was placed second on a list of the most esteemed programs of the contemporary age of college basketball by ESPN in 2008.The current record for the longest streak of consecutive NCAA tournament appearances is held by Kansas (28),[5] the longest current streak of consecutive NCAA winning seasons (39), the most winning seasons (104), the most non-losing seasons (.500 or better) in NCAA history (106), the most conference championships (63), a tie with UCLA for the most consecutive Division I regular-season conference titles (13), the most First-Team All-Americans (24), and the most First-Team All-American selections (31). The program is ranked second in Division I all-time victories (2,370) and third in Division I all-time winning percentage (.723) as of the most recent full season.

Ever since the Jayhawks’ home arena, Allen Fieldhouse, opened its doors in 1955, they have had a firmly established home court edge. In collegiate basketball, Allen Fieldhouse is frequently regarded as having one of the best home court advantages.[6][7][8][9] In the 69-year existence of Allen Fieldhouse as of 2024, the Jayhawks have won more than 87% of their games and only lost 112 games.

The Jayhawks have enjoyed three home court winning streaks exceeding 30 games and two exceeding 50 games under current head coach Bill Self. The Jayhawks regularly host games at the adjacent T-Mobile Center (previously Sprint Center) in Kansas City, Missouri, in addition to Allen Fieldhouse. Except in their six-game series against rival Missouri, these games—which are actually neutral sites—are officially regarded home games when they’re not in a tournament.