Cowboys Honor Remember the Ten Legacy on 25th Anniversary — OSU hosts No. 9 Iowa State Saturday in emotional matchup
Steve Lutz emphasizes importance of honoring plane crash victims as Oklahoma State seeks upset of ninth-ranked Cyclones
Steve Lutz vividly remembers his first Remember the Ten game as Oklahoma State’s head coach.
Jan. 18, 2025. A cold, brisk Stillwater that afternoon ushered in a larger home crowd in Gallagher-Iba Arena. Perhaps more so than usual. OSU made easy work of Colorado in an eventual 83-73 win, but victory wasn’t the most appealing element of that day, Lutz said.
Instead, it was the care and reverence fans present displayed toward the matter.
“The biggest thing is just how passionate people are about that terrible day,” Lutz said Thursday. “And not only the families of the people who were lost, but just the people in Stillwater and the people at Oklahoma State. “
On Saturday at 2 p.m., OSU hosts No. 9 Iowa State for its annual Remember the Ten contest. It will mark the 25th anniversary of the plane crash that took the lives of 10 Cowboy basketball members on Jan. 27, 2001 — players Daniel Lawson and Nate Flemming, play-by-play announcer Bill Teegins, broadcast engineer Kendall Durfey, media relations coordinator Will Hancock, director of basketball operations Pat Noyes, athletic trainer Brian Luinstra, student manager Jared Weiberg and pilots Denver Mills and Bjorn Fahlstrom.
And 25 years later, OSU and the Stillwater community continue to honor the lives lost on that calamitous night. Lutz is merely the newest coach to pass on its legacy and highlight its importance.
“Nobody can ever replace them,” Lutz said. “But what we can do is we can always remember them, and they’ll never be forgotten, and we can always honor them. And no one has stopped short in doing that.”
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Similarly to his first season at OSU, Lutz brought his players to the Memorial Lobby in GIA the day prior to the Remember the Ten game. There, he explained the event’s history and highlighted its sentimental value within the community. He emphasized the vitality behind showing that the event means as much to them as it does to fans and family members of the plane crash victims.
Of the 15 players on OSU’s roster, 12 are newcomers. One of the three returners is senior guard Kirk Cole.
Cole, a Yukon native, frequently attended OSU basketball games during his adolescence. Thus, he has seen firsthand what the event means to the area. Assistant coach Scott Sutton, the son of the heralded Eddie Sutton, who was the Cowboys’ coach during that tragic time, often relays to players what that day and the days following were like. OSU athletic director Chad Weiberg, the brother of Jared Weiberg, also helps relay that message to players during the days leading into the game.
Cole said having such resources helps highlight its importance.
“Every time I hear about it, it touches me, just because I couldn’t imagine losing a teammate, a coach. I mean, that just sounds crazy,” Cole said. “But I think this university has done a really good job of holding onto that, having Sutton around, having Chad around and them touching on that. They do a great job. It’s just a really important piece of this program, and I’m glad they haven’t let go of that.
“I think it brings a little bit of an edge to this game because I think a lot of those family members will come back. So, it’s a must-win game either way, but it does add a little extra layer to it.”
The Cowboys (14-5, 2-4 Big 12) are 17-7 all-time in Remember the Ten games, including victories in eight of the past nine. Since Sutton joined OSU’s staff as an assistant in 2017, OSU has become increasingly dominant in that game, logging wins over the last five.
OSU hasn’t forgotten, 25 years later, and it's likely that won’t change over the next 25.
Sure, an upset bid against the ninth-ranked Cyclones (17-2, 4-2 Big 12) would pay dividends for OSU NCAA Tournament resume come March. But that won’t be an easy task to complete.
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The Cowboys are coming off a dejecting loss to TCU in Fort Worth on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Cyclones are off to their best start since the 2013-14 season. Not to mention, ISU clinched the first contest of the season against OSU, 83-71 at Hilton Coliseum on Jan. 10.
Regardless, that’s a footnote compared to the overall magnitude of the situation, Lutz said.
This game holds more significance than most. Lutz acknowledged that Thursday during his weekly media availability. And if anything, he said, that should help motivate players to compete with their hearts on their sleeves.
Not to honor themselves. Instead, to honor the 10 lives lost on that calamitous January 2001 night.
“I think that every year we continue to honor them to the highest level that we can and do more and more each year. And that’s what you do in situations like this,” Lutz said. “It’s a big testament to just how good of people we have around here and how committed they are to never forgetting these 10.”
Oklahoma State vs No. 9 Iowa State
🕑 Jan. 24, 2 p.m.
📍Gallagher-Iba Arena
📺 Peacock
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