OSU family reflects on plane crash

Times change, places change, people change. Memories remain.

And for many in the OSU family, Jan. 27 is a day of memories.

Eleven years ago, a plane crash in Byers, Colo., killed 10 men affiliated with the Oklahoma State basketball team.

But as the years have passed, students have filtered through the university, and most of today's OSU population were only children at the time of the crash.

And although most students don't have vivid memories of that day, OSU has made special efforts to ensure the lives lost will not be forgotten.

Bill Hancock, the executive director of the BCS, whose son, Will, died in the crash, said this has been important to him.

"All of us want people to remember our children, and husbands and grandsons," Hancock said. "One of my biggest fears, early on, was that people would forget about Will. So, everything the university has done to keep their memory alive has been comforting for me."

Because of OSU's efforts, Hancock doesn't have to worry about people forgetting, even those who weren't aware of what happened 11 years ago.

Paul West, a sports media senior, said he didn't know about the plane crash until he came to OSU but was impressed by how the university keeps the memory alive.

"As far as preserving the memory, I think OSU does as good a job as you can," West said.

Ashley Voss, a management information systems freshman, said she remembered when the tragedy happened but didn't comprehend the gravity of it until several years later. She said remembering is an essential part of moving forward.

"You want to remember people who are lost because it could happen any day," Voss said.

Although many students on campus were too young to have recollections of Jan. 27, 2001, there are those who can recount exactly what they were doing.

Bradley Kershaw, a political science sophomore, said he had watched the game against Colorado with his dad not long before hearing the news.

"I was listening to the post-game show with my dad, and it just came on. Plane crash," he said. "I think it's something the whole community still remembers and probably always will."

Eleven years removed from the events of that tragic night, thoughts and memories of the ten lost are still swirling around OSU's campus — memories that have forever shaped a university and a city.

"Our lives will never be the same," Hancock said.