page_title: Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball
section_title: James Naismith era (1898–1907)
hierarchical_section_title: Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball / History / James Naismith era (1898–1907)
caption_attribution_description: English: First basketball team at the University of Kansas, 1899. Coach James Naismith is on the far right. Walter is 3rd from the left, back row. Walter's brother, William, and team captain, is 3rd from the left, middle row.
context_page_description: The Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball program is the intercollegiate men's basketball program of the University of Kansas. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I and the team competes in the Big 12 Conference. Kansas is considered one of the most prestigious college basketball programs in the country with 5 overall National Championships, as well being a National Runner-Up six times and having the most conference titles in the nation. Kansas is the all-time consecutive conference titles record holder with 14 consecutive titles, a streak that ran from 2005 through 2018. The Jayhawks also own the NCAA record for most consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances with an active streak of 30 consecutive appearances. The Jayhawks have been ranked in the AP poll for 220 consecutive polls, a streak that has stretched from the poll released on February 2, 2009 poll through the poll released on March 18, 2020, which is the longest active streak in the nation. That streak is 1 behind UCLA's record run of 221 straight from 1966-1980. Of the 24 seasons the Big 12 conference has been in existence, Kansas has won at least a share of 19 Regular Season Conference titles.
context_section_description: The men's basketball program officially began in 1898, following the arrival of Dr. James Naismith to the school, just six years after Naismith had written the sport's first official rules. Naismith was initially hired to be a chapel director and physical education instructor, but became the head basketball coach.
  During those early years, the majority of the university's basketball games were played against nearby YMCA teams, with YMCAs across the nation having played an integral part in the birth of basketball. Other common opponents were Haskell Institute and William Jewell College. Under Naismith, the team played just one game against a current Big 12 school, a matchup with rival Kansas State University. Naismith was, ironically, the only coach in the program's history to have a losing record (55–60).
  Including his years as coach, Naismith served as the Athletic Director and a faculty member at Kansas for a total of almost 40 years before retiring in 1937. Naismith died in 1939, and his remains are buried in Lawrence, Kansas. The basketball court in Allen Fieldhouse is named James Naismith Court. Beyond inventing the game, his next greatest basketball legacy may be his coaching tree, whose two trunks are the well-known Phog Allen and Kansas native John McLendon. (McLendon attended KU in the 1930s when Allen was head coach.  Although McLendon tried out for the team, he never played for Allen. Naismith mentored McLendon from his arrival at Kansas through degree completion and beyond.)
  On December 10, 2010, the David Booth family purchased Dr. James Naismith's 13 Original Rules of the game at a Sotheby's auction in New York City for the sum of $4.3 million. They brought the founding document of basketball back to KU's Lawrence campus, where it is currently housed at the DeBruce Center.
caption: The 1899 University of Kansas basketball team, with Dr. James Naismith at the back, right.
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