Watch: Bill Self sits down with last living Allen Fieldhouse architect

To celebrate the 70th anniversary of Allen Fieldhouse, Kansas basketball head coach Bill Self recently sat down for an interview with a very special guest to look back on the historic building.

98-year-old Kansas alumnus Warren Corman, ‘50 is the last living architect of the original six-man team responsible for designing the fieldhouse at legendary coach Phog Allen’s request.

He spoke with Self about how the building came together in the early 50s and the efforts it took to finish construction following World War II and then the ongoing Korean War at the time.

“Warren, sitting here knowing that you’re one of the founding architects of this building and looking at it now like it’s a bright, new shiny penny with all the renovations has to make you pretty proud because this is a 70-year-0ld project you’ve been a part of,” said Self.

“Sure is … makes me want to cry,” Corman said tearfully.

Corman spoke about how Allen was always on him to make sure the capacity was to his liking.

“Coach picked on me because I was the youngest and said ‘Warren, every Friday when I come up here and look at the drawings there better be 17,000 seats here. I’m gonna hold you responsible,’” Corman said. “He scared the heck out of me,” he said jokingly.

The sit-down between Self and Corman features a lot of early photos of the fieldhouse during construction along with some old clips of the first game from March 1, 1955, when the Jayhawks beat K-State 77-66 in front of an overflowing crowd of more than 17,000 people.

And for any of those who may be worried about the fieldhouse wearing down with age, Corman offered some comforting words: “We designed it to live 100 years.”

Watch the full sit-down between Self and Corman below.