The Kansas Jayhawks played perhaps the game of the year in the 2025-26 men's college basketball season on Tuesday, January 6, and for them, the 104-100 overtime win over Texas Christian University meant a little more. The Jayhawks were playing with heavy hearts, grieving the death of athletics staffer Scott "Scooter" Ward, who died on Saturday, January 3, at age 59. His wife, Robin Ward, wrote via Facebook that he had been recovering from surgery. "This man - Scott 'Scooter' Ward - son, brother, friend, husband, dog dad, counselor, coach, adviser, inspiration was such a gift to us and to the world," she wrote on Saturday. "He was full of life and sometimes larger than life, so it's so hard to tell you that his time on this earth came to a close today after struggling to recover from surgery last month. If you knew him, you know." Robin added, "And to all of you who knew him well, I say this: There aren't enough words to thank you for your kindness and for the joy you have brought into his life. The memories you made together will be treasured always, and I will count on you to keep them alive for me as time goes by. Thank you for sending him off with so much love." Rodney Rogers Dead at 54: NBA Star Remembered for 'Towering Legacy' The Jayhawks debuted an SW patch on their uniforms against the Horned Frogs and head coach Bill Self said the team would wear them for the rest of the season. Kansas senior Melvin Council Jr. had 18 points and eight assists in the win. He confirmed that the victory was for Scooter, who had a "Scooter No. 1" jersey draped over an empty chair in the arena during the game. "Do it for Scooter, man," Council, 23, said in a video posted by Kansas athletics via X. "Scooter was with us today." His head coach agreed, saying Scooter's presence was in Phog Allen Fieldhouse as Kansas overcame a 15-point deficit in the final 6:44 to force overtime and eventually win. Football Tragedies of 2025: Marshawn Kneeland and More Shocking Deaths "Whatever the announced attendance was tonight, we had plus-one, and I think that probably had as much to do with it as anything," Self, 63, said in his postgame press conference. "Maybe our No. 1 fan for the last quarter-century was looking down on us." Scooter, a Kansas alum, joined the university's athletic department in 2003, the same year Self was named head coach. He spent 14 years as an academic advisor, working mainly with men's basketball and volleyball. Scooter was most recently the Director of Jayhawk Peak Performance, a job that focused on "mental performance aspects" for Kansas athletes, according to his bio on KU's athletics website. "I think that if you are from the Lawrence community, you probably know of Scoot and Robin, at least in some capacity," Self added. "That's a tough one for a lot of folks, just because we were able to witness first-hand on a fairly daily basis for 23 years almost what real courage and what a real man actually looks like. And our players were influenced by that in a very, very positive way. He was incredible, and Robin too. People talk about being a positive influence and a role model. I mean, he was the definition."