KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Former Kansas coach Ted Owens will be inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, the organization announced on Monday afternoon.
Owens joins fellow former KU coaches Phog Allen, Larry Brown and Roy Williams, who were all members of the Hall of Fame’s inaugural 2006 class; past inductees also include the likes of Wilt Chamberlain, Clyde Lovellette, Danny Manning and Paul Pierce, among others. The Hall of Fame operates out of the College Basketball Experience at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.
Owens’ induction, as part of a 2026 class that also includes coaches Tubby Smith and Jay Wright and players Danny Ainge, the late Walt Hazzard and Glen Rice, will become official with a ceremony on Oct. 22 at the College Basketball Experience.
“The thing I’m most proud (of) is that they’re not only honoring me,” Owens said via Zoom at a Hall of Fame press conference on Monday, “but they’re honoring all of the people in my life who have been such an influence: my family, my friends, the incredible players that I had the opportunity to coach, and my staff of coaches … I accept this honor on behalf of all of them that have been a part of my life.”
According to the Hall of Fame’s press release, “Each induction class is selected by the Blue Ribbon Selection Committee, (composed) of college basketball executives and respected leaders around the country, and administered by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Foundation.”
“The Class of 2026 represents the very best of college basketball-individuals whose performance, leadership, and impact helped shape the game at the highest level,” said Kevin Henderson, the Hall of Fame’s CEO, in the release. “Their legacies will forever be preserved as part of the sport’s rich history.”
Owens, who turns 97 on Thursday, is best known for his 19-year tenure as the head coach at KU with a 348-182 record, which included trips to the Final Four in 1971 and 1974 and a national coach of the year honor in 1978.
“There have only been eight of us in the history of Kansas basketball, and I’m so honored to be one of those,” he said.
He is originally from Oklahoma, played at OU and began his coaching career at Cameron Junior College (now Cameron University) before joining KU as an assistant to Dick Harp. He went on to coach Oral Roberts, the Fresno Flames and the Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv. In later years he worked as an investment business adviser at First Capital Management in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
He has previously been inducted into Kansas and Oklahoma’s state halls of fame and in 2025 earned the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Award.
“You know, I hear people all the time talking about honoring people a year or two after they finish their career,” Owens said. “But believe me, it is wonderful late in your life to receive all these honors.”
Current KU coach Bill Self said in a press release on Monday that he felt Owens’ honor was overdue.
“Considering not only what he did for his respective employers, what he has done for the game overall has been terrific,” Self added. “I have become very close friends with Coach and he’s one of the most unselfish leaders I’ve ever been around. I don’t know that I’ve ever met a coach who is as proud of his past players as Coach is. I am so happy for him, and I can’t wait to celebrate with him and his family.”
A graphic created by the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame to announce Ted Owens’ induction on Monday, July 13, 2026.
National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame