Sunday: OSU keeps promise to remember the 10
BY MICHAEL OVERALL World Staff Writer
Saturday, January 22, 2011
1/22/11 at 3:25 PM
In January 2001, when a plane crash killed 10 people from the Cowboys basketball program, Oklahoma State University’s president made a solemn vow: “We will never forget.”
It’s the kind of statement officials always make after a tragedy. And Karen Hancock, OSU’s assistant soccer coach and the wife of one victim, didn’t know how seriously to take it.
“That has always been my biggest fear, that nobody would remember these guys,” Hancock tells the Tulsa World. “It’s one thing to say, ‘We’ll remember,’ but it’s another thing to do it.”
Year after year since, the OSU library bells have chimed 10 times each Jan. 27 at precisely 6:37 p.m., the exact moment when a university-chartered aircraft went down in snowy weather on its way back from a game in Colorado.
Year after year, university officials have returned to the crash site to lay flowers at a nearby memorial, about 30 miles from Denver.
Year after year, a larger memorial in Stillwater has remained one of the most visited sites on campus.
Year after year, fans have faithfully observed a moment of silence during a home basketball game close to the anniversary date.
“OSU has kept its promise,” says Hancock, whose husband, Will, was coordinator of athletic media relations. “They have not been forgotten.”
With the 10th anniversary next week, OSU will host a banquet for the families Wednesday, followed by a halftime ceremony during Wednesday’s home game against Texas.
Associated Images:
Ann and Zane Fleming at their home Thursday night in Edmond. Their son, Nate, an OSU basketball player, was one of 10 men associated with the OSU team who were killed in a plane crash 10 years ago while returning from a game in Colorado. BILL WAUGH/For the Tulsa World
The plane crash memorial inside the lobby of Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater. CORY YOUNG/Tulsa World
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