On Jan. 12 and 13, a group of 15 University of Kansas alumni gathered to celebrate the 30^th anniversary of the now iconic banner that hangs at Allen Fieldhouse for Kansas basketball games. Mark Hershman, an associate and architectural lighting designer in the Kansas City office of Henderson Engineers, had a hand in bringing the “Pay Heed, All Who Enter: Beware of the Phog” banner to life nearly 30 years ago.

Hershman and his former architectural engineering classmates spent the weekend reminiscing about the creation of the now famous banner that hangs from the rafters of Allen Fieldhouse. The original banner was created on dormitory shower curtains that were sewn together and then hand-painted before being hung in Allen Fieldhouse. The banner was intended to be up for only a short time, but immediately resonated with KU fans and has since become part of the school’s illustrious basketball history.

“It’s an honor to be part of the storied history of KU basketball,” Hershman said. “At the time, none of us thought it would evolve into a new language associated with Allen Fieldhouse. We were the first ones to coin the term ‘The Phog’ and now it is permanently associated with the home of the best atmosphere in college basketball.”

Since joining Henderson, Hershman has been part of numerous teams for high-profile projects at his alma mater. He helped design lighting for the office of head coach Bill Self, the Booth Family Hall of Athletics which is now home to the original banner, the DeBruce Center that houses James Naismith’s 13 Original Rules of Basket Ball, Allen Fieldhouse locker room renovations, and the Forrest and Sally Hoglund Practice Facility and donor atrium. Henderson also completed lighting for the locker room renovations at the Anderson Family Football Complex at Kivisto Field. Additionally, Hershman worked on the North Carolina men’s basketball locker room renovation, which won an Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) National Award of Merit.

“It always adds a level of pride to work on projects affiliated with your alma mater, but there is an added level of significance associated with athletics projects,” Hershman said. “While it may be perceived as a small part, I know that Henderson is contributing to the reputation of the athletics program through the spaces we help bring to life.”

Doodling in engineering class led to the famous phrase. The original plan was to hang the banner for the game against Duke on Feb. 20, 1988. Fueled by pizza and beer, the group hand lettered the sign in the hallways of Marvin Hall. Floyd Temple – the assistant athletics director for facilities – helped them hang the banner in time for the game. It was raised again for star player Danny Manning’s Senior Night later that season as “Danny and the Miracles” were closing in on a March Madness run that concluded in a national title for the Jayhawks led by coach Larry Brown.

Temple reached out to Hershman and his friends following the season after Judy Morris – the granddaughter of famous KU coach Phog Allen – requested the banner become a permanent fixture at Allen Fieldhouse.

Manning also took a liking to the banner. The phenom who went on to enjoy a 15-year NBA career and is now the head coach of Wake Forest University, shared his appreciation as the banner group reconnected 30 years later.

“The ‘Pay Heed, All Who Enter: Beware of the Phog’ banner is a historic sign of the intimidating atmosphere for opponents at Allen Fieldhouse,” Manning said. “That banner meant a lot to our 1988 team that won the national championship and we knew right away that it would become a part of KU basketball history. Congratulations to the designers on the 30^th anniversary and thank you for establishing a timeless symbol unique to the arena with the best home court advantage in the nation.”

In the early 1990s, former Kansas coach Roy Williams asked for the creation of a newer, more durable version of the banner with the exact same design as the original to last for decades to come. The original banner was moved to the Booth Family Hall of Athletics, where KU fans can view the unique piece of history for eternity.