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Louisville basketball making Denny Crum's seat a permanent memorial at KFC Yum! Center

Starting Monday night, one seat among the sea of red inside the KFC Yum! Center will not be like the others.

It belonged to the late Hall of Fame Louisville men's basketball coach Denny Crum, who died in May at age 86.

Crum's seat in Section 106 will be permanently changed to black and marked in his honor ahead of the Cardinals' season opener against UMBC (7 p.m., ACC Network Extra), U of L announced Wednesday.

A red jacket and a rolled-up game program were on display at the Denny Crum Celebration of Life on May 15 at the KFC Yum! Center.
A red jacket and a rolled-up game program were on display at the Denny Crum Celebration of Life on May 15 at the KFC Yum! Center.

It's a nod to Crum's constant presence around the program he led to new heights upon being handed the reins in 1971. It will resemble a memorial to one of his mentors, legendary UCLA coach John Wooden, at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles.

A halftime seat dedication ceremony, featuring an appearance from Crum's family, is among several tributes planned Monday night.

There will be a moment of silence in the arena before Louisville tips off against the Retrievers. Memorial videos will air throughout the game. And all season, the Cards' uniforms will feature a patch with Crum's iconic red jacket.

Across three decades patrolling the sidelines, Crum won a program-record 675 games and two national championships, in 1980 and 1986. He led U of L to six Final Fours and had 13 players selected in the first round of the NBA draft.

And, after retiring in 2001, he remained a staple in the Louisville community — whether through the radio show he co-hosted with the late Kentucky coach Joe B. Hall, the Denny Crum Foundation or countless interactions with fans in public that have stuck with them for years.

"He did appreciate each and every one of you all who came to all his games and supported him all these years and helped make him as successful as he was," his wife, Susan Sweeney Crum, said during a celebration of life ceremony on May 15 at the Yum! Center.

"He was my husband, but he was all of ours."

'One of us’: Louisville community comes together to remember Hall of Fame coach Denny Crum

Reach Louisville men's basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville MBB: Denny Crum seat to become memorial at KFC Yum! Center