Ray Kauffman was in attendance at Yost Center when the Larks played the Tabor College JV (B) team Thursday, November 8, 2007, some 52 years after the Hesston’s first intercollegiate basketball game. And this time, Hesston College won, 102-68.
Kauffman was impressed with the facilities and this year’s team. “What a difference—we played in old Hess Hall, which was new then. Also, that was the first game players were permitted to wear shorts. Before then, our male basketball players always wore white, long pants. Those maroon and white basketball uniforms were beautiful to behold. Hesston College has come a long way.
“And looking back, introducing varsity athletics, in my first year of teaching, just out of Goshen (Ind.) College, is a most rewarding memory and meaningful achievement,” Kauffman said. “That year of teaching plus four prior years as a student at Hesston were some of the most challenging and best years of my life.
“’Start here and go (everywhere),’ it’s true,” Kauffman said.