This week on The Jayhawker Podcast we celebrate the 65th anniversary of college basketball’s greatest venue: Allen Fieldhouse. Hear how this iconic sports venue came together, from the initial blueprints to the building’s name, all told from the perspective of the last living original architect, Warren Corman.
Corman was one of 8 men – 6 architects and 2 engineers – that originally designed “The Phog” in the early 1950’s. He takes listeners inside the minds of that initial Allen Fieldhouse brain trust, what their goals for the building were and how it all came together. Listeners might be surprised to learn what the inside of this American sports treasure first looked like 65 years ago and how the seating capacity has evolved over the years, as well as what it would take to ever expand it. Corman also shares his favorite Fieldhouse moments, how Bill Self reminds him of the building’s namesake, and what the popularity of this historic venue means to his own, personal legacy.