kansas basketball dorm tour

RELATED ARTICLES

The Allure of Stepping into the Digital Realm of Online Casinos

Comparing Sports Betting to Traditional Casino Games: What’s the Better Bet?

Unveiling the Latest and Greatest Australian Casinos for Sports Fans

• Truity Credit Union Bracket Challenge
• Men’s Basketball
• Women’s Basketball
• Tale of the Tait
• The KUsports.com Ratings
• The KU Sports Hour
• Basketball Friends
• ‘Hawks in the NBA
• Video Gallery
• Advertising
• Terms of Use

Inside McCarthy Hall, the KU basketball team’s ‘insane’ new home

By sara shepherd     oct 17, 2015.

Nobody has to duck inside Kansas University’s McCarthy Hall.

With extra-lofty ceilings, tall doorways, high countertops and even shower heads mounted 9 feet off the ground, the new on-campus apartment building is constructed to scale for 7-footer types.

Just opened last week on Naismith Drive next to Allen Fieldhouse, Marie S. McCarthy Hall is home to the 16-member KU men’s basketball team plus 21 non-athlete upperclassmen — all male students. There’s also an extra apartment for guests, such as recruits or visiting family members.

The $11.2 million, three-story facility was built with private money, and KU Student Housing runs and staffs it.

http://www2.kusports.com/photos/2015/oct/17/297930/

Construction fell a few months behind, and the basketball players and other McCarthy residents started the semester at Naismith Hall (in past years, the athletes have lived at Jayhawker Towers apartments).

But McCarthy was completed and the residents moved in Oct. 8 — just in time to show off the new hall to basketball recruits who came to town for Late Night in the Phog on Oct. 9 .

Here’s what’s inside:

• Apartments : With full kitchens and private bedrooms. There are two layouts, two-bedroom with one bathroom or four-bedroom with two bathrooms.

http://www2.kusports.com/photos/2015/oct/17/297922/

• A half-court basketball court : Adjacent to the lobby and visible through big glass windows, with a wooden floor and replicas of the national championship and “Beware of the Phog” banners that hang in Allen Fieldhouse.

http://www2.kusports.com/photos/2015/oct/17/297924/

• A multipurpose room : With a fully equipped kitchen, large round tables and a couple more TVs. KU Student Housing director Diana Robertson said the kitchen is available to any residents and that Coach Bill Self indicated he may use the space for home game day meals and a pre-game team meeting place.

http://www2.kusports.com/photos/2015/oct/17/297935/

• A movie theater : Or media room, with 25 plush recliners that each have their own cup holder.

http://www2.kusports.com/photos/2015/oct/17/297934/

• A barbershop : There won’t be a barber operating out of the shop, but the facility is there in case someone comes in from time to time, Robertson said. The room features a crimson leather chair (with a Jayhawk on it) and a counter and sink. The barbershop is adjacent to the game room.

http://www2.kusports.com/photos/2015/oct/17/297920/

• Game room : With a pool table, ping-pong table and big window overlooking the basketball court.

http://www2.kusports.com/photos/2015/oct/17/297936/

• An outdoor lounge : This balcony at the north end of the third floor has another fireplace, TVs and tables and chairs.

http://www2.kusports.com/photos/2015/oct/17/297928/

• Study rooms : One on each floor.

• Fingerprint scanners : In addition to keycard access at other KU residence halls, McCarthy has fingerprint scanners at the building entrance and all apartments.

Living in McCarthy costs $9,875 a year, Robertson said, though full scholarships for athletes cover their room and board. The second most expensive dorm at KU is Oswald/Self — also brand new this fall — which costs $9,230 for a suite with private bedrooms.

‘Words can’t describe’

KU envisions the new facility as both a good home for its basketball players but also a draw for new recruits.

“We have the best venue (Allen Fieldhouse), and we will have the best housing,” Coach Self said in a KU Athletics press release prior to McCarthy’s construction. “These things are very, very significant for the benefit, development and overall experience of our student-athletes. We want them to be comfortable and have the same type of living conditions as the programs we’re recruiting against.”

Perry Ellis, a senior forward from Wichita, said he always thought Jayhawker Towers were great.

McCarthy is something else.

“Words can’t describe it,” Ellis said. “I think it definitely will help persuade kids. It’s just so nice.”

Ellis — who’s 6-foot-8, according to the KU basketball roster — cited McCarthy’s super-high ceilings and extra privacy as favorite features.

As for the basketball court, players obviously spend a lot of time already in formal practices — up to 20 hours in a typical week.

The court floor was still curing Wednesday but Ellis said he expected players would try it out as soon as they were allowed.

“It’s definitely still fun,” Ellis said. “You always want to get better and better.”

The other residents

In addition to the basketball players, McCarthy is open to male upperclassmen who are not athletes.

Cole Neville is one of those.

A junior majoring in political science and minoring in psychology, Neville transferred to KU this year from community college in his hometown of Scottsdale, Ariz. He said he got a scholarship that’s paying his room and board.

Neville called KU to inquire about campus housing and was told he qualified for a new dorm that was under construction. Neville — who has never been to a KU basketball game — said he realized only later that he’d be living with the basketball team.

At that point, he said he started getting excited because he knew “it was going to be really nice.”

Neville said he toured McCarthy for the first time about a week before moving in.

“Right when I walked in I was like, ‘Oh, wow, OK. This is pretty insane,'” Neville said. “I love it.”

http://www2.kusports.com/photos/2015/oct/17/297929/

So far the place has been pretty quiet, Neville said. Residents have only been in McCarthy a week, part of which was fall break.

“I can’t wait to see what it’s like throughout the season,” Neville said.

Robertson said there currently are two open spots for non-athletes, after one man who had signed up left KU and another decided to move into a different residence hall.

Jim Marchiony, associate athletics director for public affairs, said it’s good to have both groups of students under the same roof, especially for the athletes.

“Interaction with non-athletes is vital to college life,” Marchiony said. “McCarthy gives them the best of both worlds — it gives them exposure, but it also provides them with a bit more security.”

Who’s Marie S. McCarthy?

Kansas University alumni Kent and Missy McCarthy donated the lead gift to construct McCarthy Hall, which is named after Kent’s late mother and proud Kansan, Marie S. McCarthy.

Marie McCarthy was born in 1929 and attended KU on a math scholarship, a rarity for women in her day. She graduated in 1951.

“Mom was a Kansas girl who grew up during the dust bowl era,” Kent said in a Kansas University Endowment report . “KU and the basketball team were a big part of her life, and we wanted to honor her.”

GAMEDAY BREAKDOWN: A look at Saturday's Kansas-Texas Tech football game

47427inside mccarthy hall, the ku basketball team’s ‘insane’ new home.

The Comeback: Today’s Top Sports Stories & Reactions

• Link to Twitter Link to Twitter
• Link to Facebook Link to Facebook
• Link to Instagram Link to Instagram
• Link to RSS Link to RSS

VIDEO: Kansas Basketball has its own $12 million dorm ‘mansion’

It may not be a mansion, but the Kansas Jayhawks have their own $12 million dollar basketball dorm/gym/palace/fun house/whatever you want to call it.

Kansas isn’t the first big basketball school to build one and they won’t be the last. However, as of now, the Jayhawks have the newest basketball dorm in the country.

McCarthy Hall originally opened in 2015 and currently is the home to 16 KU men’s basketball players and 17 other students that aren’t on the team or are affiliated with the program. The building cost $12 million to build and was funded through private donors. On top of that, it’s only a couple hundred feet away from Allen Fieldhouse.

The dorm building has much more than just dorm rooms and bathrooms. It also has a half-court basketball facility, media room, game room, barbershop, and much more.

One unique feature to the building is the security. To get to the second or third floor, one must have the correct fingerprint or ID card to get in. If they are a visitor, they must be let in by someone who lives there.

Back in 2012, the University of Kentucky built a specialized dorm for its basketball players as well. Kentucky’s special dorm includes a private chef, flat-screen televisions, and are specifically designed for seven-footers.

The reason why schools are allowed to build these ridiculous basketball-centric dorms is because according to the NCAA, they aren’t athletic dormitories, which typically are against the rules.

NCAA rules state a dorm building isn’t considered an athletic dorm if at least 50% of the residents on every wing and/or floor are non-student-athletes. McCarthy Hall has 33 students living inside it, 17 of which (or 52%) are non-student-athletes while the other 16 (48%) are student-athletes.

Kudos to Kansas, Kentucky, and all the other schools with dorms like this for bending the NCAA rules and working through the loopholes. Now how lucky does a non-student-athlete have to be to secure one of the 17 open spots in McCarthy Hall?

[ KU Hoops ]

About David Lauterbach

David is a writer for The Comeback. He enjoyed two Men's Basketball Final Four trips for Syracuse before graduating in 2016. If The Office or Game of Thrones is on TV, David will be watching.

• FanNation FanNation FanNation
• Swimsuit SI Swimsuit SI Swimsuit
• Sportsbook SI Sportsbook SI Sportsbook
• Tickets SI Tickets SI Tickets
• Shop SI Shop SI Shop
• Free Agency
• What's on TV

Take a video tour of Kansas’s $12 million basketball dorm

• Author: Extra Mustard

Kansas opened McCarthy Hall to house its basketball players last year. People still seem to be talking about it.

That’s because there’s now a video, thanks to the Kansas City Star , showcasing all the stuff in it, which is utterly ridiculous, but also pretty great, if you play basketball for Kansas.

We highlighted this beautiful building a year ago.

 Now, you can see it.

So yeah, it’s pretty cool. And yeah, apparently 17 other students who do not play basketball get to live there.

Uh, do they accept grad students?

Latest News

Saints’ Cam Jordan Makes Playful Free Agency Pitch to Chase Young

Country Music Star Luke Combs Blasts Panthers After Reported Brian Burns Trade

Tiki Barber Comes Out Winner in Feud With Saquon Barkley

ESPN Badly Misspelled ‘San Francisco,’ and College Basketball Fans Were Howling

Kyle Pitts Teases Number Change After Kirk Cousins’s Reported Signing

• pop Culture
• Facebook Navigation Icon
• Twitter Navigation Icon
• WhatsApp icon
• Instagram Navigation Icon
• Youtube Navigation Icon
• Snapchat Navigation Icon
• TikTok Navigation Icon
• pigeons & planes
• newsletters
• Youtube logo nav bar 0 youtube
• Instagram Navigation Icon instagram
• Twitter Navigation Icon x
• Facebook logo facebook
• TikTok Navigation Icon tiktok
• Snapchat Navigation Icon snapchat
• Apple logo apple news
• Flipboard logo nav bar 1 flipboard
• Instagram Navigation Icon google news
• WhatsApp icon whatsapp
• RSS feed icon rss feed

Complex Global

• united states
• united kingdom
• netherlands
• philippines
• complex chinese

Work with us

terms of use

privacy policy

cookie settings

california privacy

public notice

accessibility statement

COMPLEX participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means COMPLEX gets paid commissions on purchases made through our links to retailer sites. Our editorial content is not influenced by any commissions we receive.

© Complex Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Complex.com is a part of

Check Out The Kansas Jayhawks Men's Basketball Team's Insane New Tricked-Out Dorm

The Kansas men's basketball team is living in luxury this year.

Lately it seems like one big-name college program every year constructs an absolutely insane facility for its athletes. The fortunate recipients this year: the Kansas Jayhawks men’s basketball team.

Kansas hoopers Devonte’ Graham, a junior guard, and Landen Lucas, a senior forward, recently led a tour of the men’s basketball team’s new $12 million dorm, McCarthy Hall.

The dorm has a basketball court, media center, outdoor lounge, and a barbershop. Yep, a barbershop .

“Before games and stuff, we’ll have some barbers come in here and cut us up,” Lucas said.

The basketball court is a beautiful half-court practice facility. The best part? The players can come down late at night—whenever they want to, really—to get shots up.

The media room, with leather seats and a theater for the athletes to watch TV and movies, is luxurious. The bedrooms are made to accommodate for the basketball players’ size, too, with raised counters and taller showers.

Seventeen of the 33 dorm rooms in McCarthy Hall house students who are not Kansas basketball players. Clearly, these are the luckiest students on campus. This is how the college dorming experience goes for everyone, right?

Rock Chalk, Jayhawk.

SHARE THIS STORY

Sign up for the

Complex Newsletter

Your leading source for what’s now and what’s next in Music, Style, Sports, and Pop Culture.

By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you’re agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our

Latest in Sports

| BY MIKE DESTEFANO

LeBron James’ Recent Tunnel Outfits Reference an Important Part of His History

| BY ZION OLOJEDE

Falcons Are Losers, Chiefs Are Winners: 2024 NFL Draft Winners & Losers

| BY CRUNCHYSUNFLOWER18

76ers' Kelly Oubre Jr. Crashes Lamborghini Hours After Stunning Game 2 Loss to Knicks

| BY KAMERON HAY

The 10 Best Pound-For-Pound Boxers, Ranked

| BY MARK ELIBERT

Shaq and Charles Barkley Use Punching Bag With Kendrick Perkins Face On It

Reggie Bush Getting 2005 Heisman Trophy Back After Forfeiting Award

Ryan Garcia Admits 'Crazy' Behavior Was Publicity Stunt: 'We Had It Pre-Recorded Months Ago'

| BY JAELANI TURNER-WILLIAMS

Kelsey Plum and Darren Waller File for Divorce After One Year of Marriage

Video Shows Nikola Jokic's Brother Punch Fan at Playoff Game, NBA Investigating (UPDATE)

| BY DERRICK BELL

Final 2024 NFL Mock Draft: Predicting Round 1

The Kansas Jayhawks Basketball Dorm is Unbelievable Campus Housing

By stephen douglas | sep 29, 2016.

Kansas basketball might set the gold standard for athlete living. The Jayhawks live in McCarthy Hall, a dorm with everything from a basketball court to a barber shop to an outdoor lounge overlooking the baseball field. Just take the tour. It will make you wish you’d been good enough to play D1 college basketball.

UPDATE: If the video isn’t loading properly, check it out on the KC Star website . Or take the virtual tour on the KU website .

The most interesting part of this dorm is that in addition to the basketball team, 17 other students live there. What kind of lottery must be involved to get into that incredible campus housing situation?

• Enroll & Pay
• Summer Housing
• Summer Camps & Conferences

Virtual Tours

Residence hall virtual tours.

• Corbin Hall
• Ellsworth Hall
• Hashinger Hall
• Oswald Hall
• Templin Hall

Scholarship Hall Virtual Tours

• Battenfeld Hall
• Douthart Hall
• Grace Pearson Hall
• K.K. Amini Hall
• Krehbiel Hall
• Margaret Amini Hall
• Pearson Hall
• Rieger Hall
• Stephenson Hall

Apartment Virtual Tours

• McCarthy Hall
• Jayhawker Towers
• Stouffer Place

For premium support please call:

• Subscriptions
• Entertainment
• Home & Garden
• Lighter Side
• Online Classes
• Science & Tech

Kansas player shares a video tour inside the Jayhawks’ basketball dorm

Dorm life for the Kansas men’s basketball team is much, much different from what others have experienced.

Forward Dillon Wilhite shared a TikTok video tour of the Kansas Jayhawks basketball dorm.

Wilhite showed a basketball court, movie theater, game room, barber shop, rooftop patio and a kitchen. It’s a pretty sweet set up for the hoopsters and not just anyone can get in.

Finger print access is needed to gain entry into the dorm.

Here is the video from Wilhite of Marie S. McCarthy Hall.

@dillonwilhite Check out the crib! Follow for more!! #fyp #kansasbasketball #behindthescenes #dormlife #tour #dormtour #mtvcribs #rockchalk #fypシ #CheetosReaperReactions #ItsGreatOutdoors ♬ That Way - Lil Uzi Vert

Advertisement

In Other News

Sophia bush and girlfriend ashlyn harris make their red-carpet debut in coordinating …, at 92, rita moreno knows she won't be around forever, says daughter fernanda is 'brav…, a fed meeting, jobs report, and more big tech earnings: what to know this week, paramount ceo bob bakish could be out as soon as monday as skydance merger talks cont…, the best copycat mcdonald's recipes, 10 gross foods the rich eat that are a waste of your money, man named taylor swift opens up about sharing a name with the pop star: 'i just shake…, utah cat found in amazon warehouse a week after sneaking into a return box, nfl draft winners, losers: bears puzzle with punter pick on day 3, 2024 nfl draft grades: falcons earn year's worst grade, while eagles strengthen and b…, tornadoes leave a trail of destruction in oklahoma, at least 2 killed, 2 dead in oklahoma as tornadoes, storms blast midwest; more severe weather looms toda….

• CBSSports.com
• Fanatics Sportsbook
• CBS Sports Home
• Champions League
• Motor Sports
• High School
• Horse Racing 

Men's Brackets

Women's Brackets

Fantasy Baseball

Fantasy football, football pick'em, college pick'em, fantasy basketball, fantasy hockey, franchise games, 24/7 sports news network.

• CBS Sports Golazo Network
• PGA Tour on CBS
• UEFA Champions League
• UEFA Europa League
• Italian Serie A
• Watch CBS Sports Network
• TV Shows & Listings

The Early Edge

A Daily SportsLine Betting Podcast

With the First Pick

NFL Draft is coming up!

• Podcasts Home
• The First Cut Golf
• Beyond the Arc
• Eye On College Basketball
• NFL Pick Six
• Cover 3 College Football
• Fantasy Football Today
• My Teams Organize / See All Teams Help Account Settings Log Out

LOOK: You won't believe Kansas' glitzy new dorm for basketball players

A private basketball court, a barbershop, flat screens on every floor, elevated showers and more.

Hey, remember what your living situation in college was like?

Remember freshman year? That dorm? You know, you probably have some good memories of those days, even if you were poor, struggling in some classes and down on your luck in romance. Eating lunch on a Saturday at the caf while still in your PJs. Staying up in the common room until 3 a.m. on a Wednesday night, getting to know fellow newbies on your floor. Trudging to class after sleeping through your alarm. Then remember sophomore year, when you upgraded your dorm situation? Or how about junior and senior year, when you moved off campus and opted to live in a house? Disaster zone, but so fun. So endemic to the college experience.

Those were the days. But you struggled through it to a degree, probably. It was never perfect, but you can find romance in it now.

Yeah, Kansas players' living situation is the opposite of all of that. KUHoops.com recently got into McCarthy Hall -- Kansas' dormitory for all its players -- where Devonte Graham and Landen Lucas gave a tour of the digs. Just an incredible setup. The rec room, barbershop, private basketball court, spacious rooms, showers made for dudes 6-foot-10.

Take a look.

The dorm opened in 2015. Now, NCAA rules explicitly state that schools can't build lavish living spaces specifically for student-athletes. So there are actually 17 "regular" students who lucked into living in this spot as well. And what a deal that is.

That third-floor outdoor chill space is fantastic.

The building cost $12 million, all of it reportedly raised in private donations.

"In addition to helping KU's recruiting, coach Bill Self said the new dorms also were constructed to help security," per KUHoops.com . "Visitors are not able to get to the second or third floor of the building without a fingerprint or card, with Self saying he can't even get to that level without someone letting him in."

Fingerprint tech. Nice. Just another reason why Kansas is a no-doubt-about-it top five program in America. Only a handful of schools can compete with recruiting vessels like this.

Our Latest College Basketball Stories

2024 Kentucky basketball: CatsPause transfer updates

Cbs sports staff • 4 min read, 2024 arkansas basketball: hawgsports transfer updates, cbs sports staff • 3 min read.

Kiki Iriafen to set to transfer to USC

Isabel gonzalez • 1 min read.

Top 25 And 1: Bluejays slide after Alexander's exit

Gary parrish • 1 min read.

Top 25 And 1: Kansas solidifies its early No. 1 ranking

Gary parrish • 2 min read.

Kansas C Dickinson returning to Jayhawks

Cameron salerno • 3 min read, share video.

LOOK: Kansas' lavish dormitory

Creighton slides after Alexander declares

How Hepburn's pledge impacts Louisville

Calipari lands UK signee Richmond to play for Hogs

Transfer rankings: Miami's Poplar tests waters

Kentucky's Pope add Baylor assistant Brooks to staff

Why Purdue's Gillis could pay off for Duke

Coaching changes: Tracking every offseason move

North Carolina gets boost with Davis' return