The DeBruce Center
Home to Naismith's Original Rules of "Basket Ball"
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Information

WELCOMING YOU BACK  THIS FALL

The KU Memorial Union is looking forward to reopening our doors to the community on August 3 at the Kansas Union and Burge Union, and August 10 at the Debruce Center. Click here to learn more about the enhanced cleaning & safety measures we have taken, the Protect KU pledge we're asking our community to take, fall building hours, and other updates as we welcome you back to our spaces. 

The DeBruce Gallery

DeBruce Gallery

Come visit our brand new gallery exhibit, Game Changers, just a few steps from Dr. Naismith's Original Rules. You can visit The DeBruce Gallery at the DeBruce Center anytime the building is open. 

Exhibit: Game Changers

Our new exhibit, "Game Changers" is now open as of January 22, 2020, and it explores the story of basketball's game changers and their impact on the game throughout time. 

 

Previous Exhibit: Original Rules Experience

Photo of John McClendon display in the Original Rules Experience.

 

 

Locker Room Legends

There are eight people in the Naismith Hall of Fame who either attended KU or were head coaches at KU. In this exhibit, we highlight the extraordinary accomplishments of these eight Jayhawks, showing in detail how KU played a prominent role in the story of basketball—both past and present.

 

 

 

Photo of the Equipment Evolution section of the Original Rules Experience.

 

Equipment Evolution

The game has certainly changed since Dr. Naismith had those 13 rules typed in December of 1891. He would be proud to see that the spirit of his game remains the same, but how did we get from a peach basket to the basket we use today?  How did we get from an old soccer ball (Dr. Naismith called it an Association Football) to the highly evolved leather basketball of today? In this exhibit we look at the evolution of the basket, the ball, the court, and even the shoes.

 

 

Photo of vistors using the video display feature in the Original Rules Experience exhibit.

 

Video Display

In the middle of the new exhibit space is a large touchscreen monitor that displays a list of video clips. Visitors can press play to learn how the Rules returned home to Kansas, how the Beware of the Phog Banner was created, how the Naismith Audio recording was discovered, how to learn the tricky clapping sequence to the KU fight song…the list goes on!

 

 

 


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