It has been 22 years since 10 men died after an OSU airplane crashed in Colorado.
On January 27, 2001, the Cowboys were flying back to Stillwater after an OSU-Colorado game. The team flew in three separate planes. The last plane carrying 10 men crashed 40 miles east of Denver in a field after its pilot became disoriented from the winter night.
OSU players Nate Fleming and Daniel Lawson, student manager Jared Weiberg, radio broadcaster Bill Teegins, pilots Denver Mills and Bjorn Fahlstrom, director of basketball operations Pat Noyes, trainer Brian Luinstra, media relations coordinator Will Hancock, and television/radio engineer Kendall Durfey were all killed when the plane crashed.
The rancher who owned the land where the crash occurred, Darrel Haerther, allowed a memorial to be placed 1,000 feet from the site of the crash in honor of the 10 men.
The memorial consists of granite and marble, and pictures of the 10 men with words chosen by their families to form the shape of a decagon. In the center of the memorial are 10 stars, which surround the OSU Spirit Rider. On the outer edge of the memorial are two arrows, one pointing west to where the crash occurred, and the second pointing southeast toward Stillwater, 465 miles away.
OSU considers it their duty to "Remember the Ten." The annual Remember the Ten effort is considered a key part of the healing process at the university.
Each year, there is an annual Remember the Ten game, with the 2023 installment set for Saturday, Jan. 28 when the Cowboys will face Ole Miss. There is also a charitable 5/10K race every spring in honor of the 10 men.
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