Some may have taken note that an oak tree has been moved from the Rhatigan Student Center at Wichita State, due to the renovation, to the southwest corner of Charles Koch Arena. This tree is more than just an oak tree. It is a national monument to the WSU basketball team. 

Back in 1936, basketball officially became an Olympic sport during the games in Berlin. On that U.S. team were two basketball players from WSU, Francis Johnson and Jack Ragland.

The U.S. won 24 gold medals, with each of the winners receiving an oak tree, the national tree of Germany and many other European countries at the time. On the long trip home, however, the trees were forgotten.

Four of the trees survived and were kept at U.S. Customs offices, until Donald Holst, a U.S. 1968 decathlon coach, identified the trees. The tree was alive and even bore acorns. Holst presented Johnson with a seedling from the tree. Johnson brought the seedling to WSU in 1990 and planted it in front of the RSC. A plaque was placed in front of the tree, but was lost not long after.

The tree was soon forgotten, until Collin McKinney, a WSU graduate, saw a program on PBS about the Olympic Oak tree.

A rededication ceremony is scheduled Oct. 12 for the tree and the presentation of a new plaque. No time has been set.

The Special Collections room in the basement of Ablah Library has an exhibit dedicated to the basketball players of the 1936 Olympic games. You can stop by and see this exhibit from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to noon on Friday, or schedule an appointment to hear about the history of the team and tree from a collections representative. 

You can schedule an appointment by going to the library page on the school website and clicking the link to Special Collections or by calling 978-5318.