Earlier this spring, in the middle of its regular season, the Kansas rowing team was greeted by something that many of them will never forget.
A new boat.
But this wasn’t just any boat. This boat, the only brand new shell the Jayhawks bought for the 2025-26 season, came with a name that is as special as just about anything in the Kansas athletics stratosphere.
The “Scooter Ward.”
The boat, which features the name SCOOTER WARD in blue letters, all caps, on the front of the boat with a black and white SW patch a foot or so ahead of it, was a surprise to team members new and old. But seeing it had the same impact on just about everyone.
“We were just like, ‘No way,’” senior Kara Lyons told R1S1 Sports this week, when reflecting back on the big moment when her team honored the late KU academic advisor who passed away in January. “And then we got to wear the patches on our uniforms for the Sunflower Showdown. I don’t know who spearheaded it, but I’m glad they did. We saw all the other teams get to wear patches or honor him in some way and I’m glad we were able to jump in on that.”
Yes, even KU rowers felt the impact of Scooter’s life and legacy at Kansas, which spanned 30 years and included but was not limited to roles like fan, friend, academic advisor, leader, confidant and colleague in various areas of the athletic department and university communities.
Not all of them knew him well — including first-year head coach Andy Derrick — every one of them knew of him. And Derrick said he believed it was important for his team to honor Ward in a meaningful way to fully illustrate just how far his reach spread throughout the KU community.
“While I didn’t get a chance to know Scooter well due to only a few months of overlap, it was very clear how much impact he had and how much he meant to the people here from other staff to our student athletes,” Derrick said. “This is the only brand new shell we bought this year, and it will be around for a long time. So, it only made sense for this to be the Scooter Ward.”
Lyons, along with senior teammates Rory Brennan and Lindsey True, knew Scooter the best among the Kansas rowers. And, as was his way, he meant something unique to each one of them.
Brennan, from Fairfax, Virginia, met Scooter on her visit to campus five years ago. She didn’t know much about Kansas basketball at the time, but he made sure to give her a crash course on the legendary history of that program, while sharing with her the excitement of her first game.
Later, Brennan worked with Scooter as an intern in the KU Leads department last summer. On an almost daily basis, he talked with her about school and life and rowing and even the coaching search that landed Derrick.
“He really made an effort to get to know me on a personal level, when I worked in the office,” she said. “And being able to sit at my desk and know that Scooter was right down the hallway was just awesome.”
Lyons’ connection to Scooter was born from her chosen sport, and she first met him when one of her coaches suggested she go talk to him to help with the mental blocks she encountered as a new rower.
“We couldn’t be more proud to have his name and patch on our boats as we try to go make history with our program this year.”
— KU senior Kara Lyons, of Englewood, Colorado on the late Scooter Ward
Those casual conversations ultimately led to a friendship, with Scooter even being able to work his magic to turn a hated training tool into something Lyons grew to love.
“He definitely helped me out a lot,” she said. “He said, ‘I know you hate the Erg (machine), everyone does; but I’m gonna make you love that machine.’ He really invested in me and I don’t think I’d be where I am without him.”
And then there was True, a lifelong Kansas basketball fan who grew up in Pilot Point, Texas, and felt like she had just seen a celebrity the first time she bumped into Scooter on campus.
“My relationship with Scooter started long before he even knew it started,” True told R1S1 Sports. “I remember the first day I saw him, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I feel like I’ve known you forever.’ The day he passed, they made a graphic on social media and genuinely every single person I follow had reposted the graphic, people I’ve been fans of. It was so surreal.”
Like all of them — big name future NBA basketball stars, all-conference volleyball standouts, football players, soccer players, coaches and more — True and her teammates were always inspired by the way Scooter lived his life.
Whether it was fist bump in the hallway, his signature, “Let’s go!” rallying cry after a meeting or at a meet or the way he built connections big and small with everyone he encountered that made each athlete feel like they mattered more than anything, Scooter’s soul shined on the rowing community, too.
“It’s definitely special getting to wear the SW patch on your uniform,” True said. “And it’s close to your heart, which is really cool, too.”
More important than that, however, is the placement of his name and initials on the boat. Like so many KU athletes before them, this trio and their team always moved with the idea that Scooter was leading them.
In a very real way, he still is.
“Just being able to have his name on that boat and the SW patches on every single boat that we race, that’s been really impactful,” Brennan said. “It’s like he’s crossing the finish line first.”
Added Lyons: “We couldn’t be more proud to have his name and patch on our boats as we try to go make history with our program this year.”
Perhaps not so surprisingly, Jayhawks have been hot ever since the arrival of Scooter’s boat. They won their second consecutive Sunflower Showdown battle against K-State in mid-April and, last week in Minnesota, their Varsity III 8+ boat was named Big 12 Boat of the Week after finishing first in a field of Big Ten foes.
That boat was directed by Samantha Ronen, Lauren Burright, Ashley Herbert, Catherine Bachovchin, Suyin Howard, Morgan Tenpenny, Andronika Dyer, Naida Paschal and Audrey Crowson.
Next up, Derrick and company will compete for a Big 12 title at the conference championships in Sarasota, Florida on May 17.
— For tickets to all KU athletic events, visit kuathletics.com
