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Home > Blogs > Chick Ludwig At Large > Archives > 2008 > April > 06 > Entry

Making Phog proud: ‘Rock Chalk, Jayhawk, KU’

By Chick Ludwig | Sunday, April 6, 2008, 09:02 AM

WORLD’S GREATEST CHEER

===LUDWIG AT LARGE salutes the Kansas Jayhawks, who ambushed North Carolina, 84-66, in the NCAA Tournament semifinals at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, on Saturday night, April, 5, 2008. For as long as I live, I’ll remember Kansas’ 40-12 lead late in the first half. The Tar Heels cut the deficit to 54-50 with 11:16 to go, but ran out of steam while KU stepped on the gas. CBS analyst Billy Packer said, “This game is over,” when Kansas built its big lead. Prior to the game, former LSU coach Dale Brown put “Final Four Saturday” into perspective in a FOX Sports interview: “It’s the one day every year that when I wake up, I wish everybody could be me.”===

‘LUDWIG AT LARGE” would also like to thank the following 3 Web sites as sources for this blog entry:

1. Rock Chalk, Jayhawk - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RockChalk,Jayhawk

2. Rock Chalk Chant

http://www.rockchalk.com/john/john/rock.html

3. KU: Traditions at the University

http://www.ku.edu/about/traditions/chant.shtml

It’s one of the great traditions — not just in college basketball, but in all of college sports.

And it belongs to the mighty Jayhawks of Kansas University.

“Rock Chalk, Jayhawk, KU”

Known quite simply as “The Rock Chalk Chant,” the cheer starts low, then builds to a crescendo, rocking Allen Fieldhouse and Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kan., like no other cheer in the land.

Its lyrics are a refrain of “Rock chalk… Jay-Hawk… KU,” repeated twice slowly, and then three times quickly. It is usually preceded by the Kansas alma mater — “Crimson and the Blue” — and followed by the fight song, “I’m a Jayhawk.”

The chant was first adopted by the university’s science club in 1886. Chemistry professor E.H.S. Bailey and his colleagues were returning by train to Lawrence from Wichita after a conference.

As the legend goes, they passed the time by trying to create a rousing cheer. The sound of the train’s wheels on the rails suggested a rhythm and a cadence. At first, the cheer was “Rah, Rah, Jayhawk, KU” repeated three times.

Later, an English professor suggested “Rock Chalk,” in place of “Rah, Rah” because it rhymed with Jayhawk and because it was symbolic of the limestone, also known as chalk rock, surrounding Mount Oread, the site of the Lawrence Campus. It became the university’s official cheer in 1897.

U.S. president Teddy Roosevelt called it the greatest college chant he has ever heard. Kansas troops have used it in the Philippine-American War in 1899, the Boxer Rebellion in China and World War II. At the Olympic games in 1920, the King of Belgium asked for a typical American college yell. The assembled athletes agreed on KU’s Rock Chalk and rendered it for His Majesty.

I’m told the only way to truly appreciate the chant is to sit in Allen Fieldhouse before a Missouri game. May the rafters of Phog’s place rock forever.

Listen to “The Rock Chalk Chant” at …

http://www.kusports.com/multimedia/audio/history/rockchalk.mp3

KU FACTS & TRADITIONS

1. Allen Fieldhouse (capacity 16,300) — A.K.A. “The Phog” — opened on March 1, 1955. The arena was named in honor of Dr. Forrest C. “Phog” Allen, who coached the university’s men’s basketball team for 39 years. The playing surface is the James Naismith Court, honoring the inventor of basketball who later established Kansas’ basketball program and served as its first coach from 1898 to 1907.

2. Before the start of every home game, it is tradition to sing the National Anthem, followed by the school alma mater, “Crimson and the Blue,” followed by “The Rock Chalk Chant.”

3. While the opponent is being introduced, KU’s students take out a copy of the student run newspaper, The University Daily Kansan, and pretend to be reading it. After a short video of Kansas basketball is shown, as the Jayhawks are introduced, students rip up their newspapers and throw the confetti in the air as celebration.

4. Banners hang in the south rafters to honor such Jayhawk greats as Wilt Chamberlain, Clyde Lovellette, Jo Jo White, Danny Manning, Paul Pierce, Lynette Woodard, Drew Gooden and Nick Collison.

5. The lyrics to the KU alma mater:

Crimson and the Blue

<em>Far above the golden valley
Glorious to view,
Stands our noble Alma Mater,
Towering toward the blue.

CHORUS: Lift the chorus ever onward,
Crimson and the blue
Hail to thee, our Alma Mater
Hail to old KU.

Far above the distant humming
Of the busy town,
Reared against the dome of heaven.
Looks she proudly down.

Greet we then our foster mother,
Noble friend so true,
We will ever sing her praises,
Hail to old KU.

Contact Chick Ludwig at (937) 225-2253 or cludwig@DaytonDailyNews.com

Permalink | Comments (359) | Post your comment | Categories: College hoops

Comments

By Mark

April 7, 2008 7:41 AM | Link to this

Chick, I was pleased to see that your Editor had the good sense to delete your rubbish blog about Brian Gregory and Marquette being a “done deal”. No only was you blog incorrect, malicious and damaging to the interests to the University of Dayton basketball program, it was also a very poor reflection on the DDN as well. Over the past number of decades, Dayton sports fans have had the honor of reading articles by some of the finest sportswriters in the country - Si Burrick, Ritter Collett, Bucky Albers, and others. Unfortunately, your very amateurish offerings have greatly diminished the reputation of the DDN as a quality newspaper.

By LB

April 7, 2008 8:46 AM | Link to this

Chick, glad to see you “hang ‘em out there” on the Gregory blog … Billy Packer’s statement was way premature and your entry was also sensationally caught-up in the moment BUT the emotion is what I as a blogger wanna see … not the sterile, clinical, conservatism saved for paper publishing … monday-morning-qb’s like Mark, Kiefaber and john like the conservative stuff … as for me, “I got a fever and the only prescription … is more cowbell!”

By Martha

April 7, 2008 8:48 AM | Link to this

Another Jayhawk fact: The music of their fight song, “I’m a Jayhawk” is not often adapted by high schools, but former Northmont band director, the late Dick Cool did just that for Northmont when the school was created back in the 50s. IMHO, it’s a refreshing change from most of the more ordinary high school fight songs heard locally.

By Jack

April 7, 2008 10:13 AM | Link to this

Chickie: I have no idea whether to believe any of the above in regards to KU based upon earlier lies. You have lossed any credibility that you may have had.

By emmy katz

April 7, 2008 4:26 PM | Link to this

Hey Chick, Were you hanging out with Drew Lavender before writing your previous (now deleated) entry on BG and UD?

By Harvey

April 7, 2008 5:27 PM | Link to this

Dear Chick, Thank you for posting the history of the Rock Chalk chant. My friends and I were wondering about it and where it came from. Great research! HS

By The Brad

April 7, 2008 5:39 PM | Link to this

Looks like the UD schmucks of the world are having problems realizing they didn’t get rid of Gregory as they secretly hoped! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!! And the only way this newspaper went downhill was when schmucks like Mark, Jack and emmy katz post commentary about UD and being great. You know, Memphis has played in the National Title game once before as well (1973), and in made it to multiple Elite 8’s. They made it back to the NCAA Title game. What’s wrong UD’ers. Got a bug up your kazoos about not even making it to the first round the last 4 years. Bunch of sore losers. And a personal note to Jack, it’s “lost” not “lossed”. Really showing your UD education there buddy! “Hedo, me be Jack. Mine grammer be goodeder thaned mosters othar peepoles’es.”

By emmy katz

April 7, 2008 5:59 PM | Link to this

I must be doing something right if my comments gets someone upset who calls themselves “The Brad” and has to resort to childish behavior by using HAHAHAHA!!!! instead of making a point like an adult

By The Brad

April 8, 2008 12:33 AM | Link to this

emmy, The Brad is just responding to your earlier childish post about Drew Lavender. Maybe Drew should have gotten B-Rob and the flyers some of the funky weed. Maybe it would have gotten the flyers into the NCAA Tournament (aka the big kids table) and not to some red headed step child like the nit. And if memory serves The Brad correctly, Xavier and Drew Lavender got to the Elite 8 in the NCAA Tournament whist the flyers whined that they had to play on the road for games 2 and 3 in the nit. Aw, poor babies.

By Wikipedia

April 9, 2008 1:57 PM | Link to this

Hey Chick - Stop cutting and pasting me. Signed - Wikipedia.

By jimelyyes

May 2, 2008 1:28 AM | Link to this