A more in-depth look at the DeBruce Center, which will house James Naismith’s original ‘Rules of Basket Ball’

By Matt Tait     May 29, 2014

A few weeks ago, administrators and coaches at Kansas University joined the DeBruce family and members of the community and officially broke ground on the forthcoming $18 million facility just north of Allen Fieldhouse that will house James Naismith’s original rules of basketball.

In addition to being the permanent home of the rules, which Naismith penned in 1891, the new 32,000-square-foot facility, also will serve as a student activity center built to accommodate seating for 320 that includes retail dining, café seating, a new training table setting for both the KU men’s and women’s basketball teams and a catered event space.

The DeBruce Center, which also will support future KU basketball exhibits, will be directly connected to Allen Fieldhouse through the second-floor concourse, which will provide access to the Booth Hall of Athletics.

This week, Gould Evans, the architectural firm in charge of designing the building released a dozen artistic renderings that provide a sneak peek at what the DeBruce Center will look like. Construction is expected to begin this summer and the target date for completion is the beginning of the 2015-16 basketball season.

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44676A more in-depth look at the DeBruce Center, which will house James Naismith’s original ‘Rules of Basket Ball’

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.