LAWRENCE, Kan. — Kansas men's basketball will retire Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Arthur "Dutch" Lonborg's jersey No. 7 at the Feb. 22 home game against Oklahoma State, Kansas Athletics announced today.
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Lonborg was a three-sport letterwinner at Kansas in football, basketball and baseball. The Gardner, Illinois, native was a three-time all-conference performer in football (1917-19), twice named all-conference in basketball and was a Helms Foundation All-America First Team selection in basketball in 1919. Lonborg played basketball for Phog Allen while at KU.
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After graduating from the KU law school, Lonborg coached at McPherson College and Washburn before beginning a 23-year career as coach at Northwestern. At Northwestern, he was instrumental in organizing the first NCAA basketball tournament in 1939.
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Lonborg returned to KU in 1950 as director of athletics, a position he held for 14 years. During his tenure, the Jayhawks won 38 conference titles and four NCAA crowns, including the 1952 basketball title. Under Lonborg's guidance, Allen Fieldhouse was built, and Quigley Field (now Hoglund Ballpark) and Memorial Stadium expansion projects were completed.
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From 1947 to 1960, Lonborg was the chairman of the men's basketball NCAA Tournament Committee as the tournament grew from an eight-team to a 25-team format. Lonborg also served as president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) in 1935 and managed the U.S. Olympic basketball team in 1960 that won the gold medal in Rome.
Lonborg was enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1973 as a coach. He died on Jan. 31, 1985, in Horton, Kansas, at the age of 86.