What endures: How 10 lives continue to shape OSU 25 years later

What endures: How 10 lives continue to shape OSU 25 years later

Friday, January 23, 2026

Media Contact: Page Mindedahl | Communications Specialist | 405-744-9782 | [email protected]

On Jan. 27, 2001, a plane carrying 10 members of the Oklahoma State University men's basketball program and athletics support staff crashed in Strasburg, Colorado, while traveling home from an away game.

All 10 people on board were killed, sending shockwaves through Stillwater and far beyond campus.

Classes paused.

Games stopped.

A university mourned.

A quarter century later, the date continues to drift further in the past, but the Cowboy family continues to keep its promise that the 10 lives the crash took with it are not forgotten.

For OSU, remembrance has never been passive.

What remains is more than remembrance. Ten scholarships established in honor of those who died continue to support OSU students, extending the impact of the individuals lost that day into classrooms, careers and lives across campus.

In the months and years following the crash, families, alumni, friends and fans sought a way to honor lives defined by mentorship, service and commitment to others. The result was a series of endowed scholarships, each carrying a name, a story and a set of values meant to endure.

Those scholarships were not designed to look backward. They were created to invest in future students whose paths would be changed because others once believed deeply in education, teamwork and opportunity.

Today, those investments continue to change lives.

In recent years, students receiving these scholarships often arrive at OSU with little personal connection to the events of 2001. Many were not born. Yet through the scholarship process, they learn they are now part of something larger than themselves; beneficiaries of a legacy rooted in resilience and generosity.

Stephen Howard understands that connection from multiple perspectives.

Howard, now director of marketing and communications for the Spears School of Business, spent six years working directly with OSU men's basketball as the program's sports information director. Today, he is also a graduate student, receiving the Kendall Durfey Scholarship, established in honor of one of the 10 individuals lost in the crash.

Durfey was a television and radio producer and engineer for OSU. Working with the Cowboy Radio Network was his dream job.

"Aside from the financial support, it's the impact that stays with you," Howard said. "It's more about what it represents than anything else."

During his time with Cowboy basketball, Howard sat at the desk once used by Will Hancock, one of the victims of the crash and a fellow media relations colleague. The desk was a daily reminder of the individuals whose absence still shaped the program's culture.

"When you sit in that chair, you're reminded every day of what happened," Howard said. "You don't forget it. And you don't take it lightly."

Howard said that sense of responsibility extends to the classroom, as well.

"Every assignment I turn in, every project I take on, it's not just about me," he said. "It's about carrying on someone else's name and honoring that legacy."

That responsibility is also felt by Serg Thomas, a graduate assistant in athletics communications and the primary media contact for OSU softball. Thomas is earning his master's degree in mass communications while receiving the Will Hancock Scholarship.

Thomas first learned about the scholarship by seeing previous recipients honored and taking time to read about Hancock in the media workroom, where a plaque lists the names of previous scholarship recipients.

"It's a really cool honor and tradition to be able to carry on his legacy," Thomas said.

For Thomas, the scholarship carries both pride and accountability.

"It gives me some pressure, good pressure, to make sure that I fulfill his legacy and what he would have wanted to do," he said. "It's something I don't take lightly."

That influence shows up daily in his work.

"I see Will's face everywhere around the office," Thomas said. "One of the things I took away when I learned about him was how uplifting and cheerful he was, and that's something I try to carry into my work, being someone people can trust and want to be around."

The scholarships support students across several disciplines and backgrounds, reinforcing the idea that the loss affected the entire university. Each award carries with it a responsibility to remember and, more importantly, to carry forward the principles the honorees embodied during their lives.

Over 25 years, the cumulative impact has grown quietly but steadily. Hundreds of students have received financial support tied directly to this moment in OSU history, students who have gone on to become educators, professionals, leaders and advocates within their communities. Their successes form an unbroken line from tragedy to purpose.

For Karen Hancock, Will Hancock's wife and OSU's current senior woman administrator for athletics, that continuity is both personal and profound.

The Will Hancock Scholarship was established in the months following the crash, as donations made in his honor were redirected into a lasting form of support.

"We knew immediately we wanted it to go to a student working in the media relations office," Karen said. "Will had the heart of a teacher. He understood how important it was to help young people find their way."

Over the years, Karen has watched recipients grow into professionals, building careers across the collegiate athletics landscape and beyond.

"It represents a legacy for Will and for our family," she said. "Hopefully it inspires others to help where they can and to pay it forward."

She credits OSU Athletics, particularly the communications staff, for carrying the responsibility with care.

"They take issuing the scholarship very seriously," Hancock said. "It means a lot that people remember, and that they remember with intention."

For the university, the anniversary serves as both a moment of reflection and a reaffirmation of stewardship. OSU has not allowed the story to fade into abstraction. Through continued funding and intentional remembrance, the institution has ensured that the legacies attached to these scholarships remain personal and present.

"This was a promise the university made, to never forget those names and to keep them alive," Howard said. "These scholarships do exactly that."

The passage of time may have softened the immediacy of grief, but it has also sharpened perspective, revealing how a tragic end can beget a hopeful beginning; one defined not by loss alone, but by how a community chose to respond.

When asked what each recipient would want to say to their scholarship's namesake if they could speak to them today, Howard and Thomas both said they believe none of what followed the tragedy would come as a surprise.

"I don't think Kendall would be surprised at all by how Oklahoma State wraps its arms around its people, especially during adverse times," Howard said. "I think he would be really proud of the OSU community for the way it has embraced the families and made remembering the 10 such an important part of what OSU and Cowboy basketball are all about."

"Will wouldn't be surprised by how much Oklahoma State continues to care," Thomas said. "The support here doesn't fade, the loyal and true have stayed, and honoring those lives is something that still matters deeply."

For Howard, the message would ultimately be one of gratitude.

"If I had the opportunity to speak to Kendall, it would be a thank you, for the inspiration and for the example he set," Howard said. "We truly see it as our obligation and our duty to keep their memory and legacies in mind as we go about what we do every day."

"After thanking Will, I would make sure he knows he's not forgotten," Thomas said. "He set an example for our entire office with his positive spirit and uplifting personality and that's a legacy we all strive to uphold in our everyday lives."

In classrooms and offices across campus, the legacy of the Ten continues to grow, not just through monuments and pictures, but through new stories made possible by these scholarships and a promise to never forget.

Classes have continued.

Games are still played.

But a university remembers.