Funds from Wilt Chamberlain’s estate will establish programs that will be a lasting reminder of the player’s special place in Kansas basketball history.

A gift announced Thursday from the estate of basketball great Wilt Chamberlain is another reminder of how Kansas University touches individual hearts and lives.

Chamberlain’s estate has donated $650,000 to establish three scholarship funds and support a university-based Special Olympics program. The money is great, but the sentiment behind it may be even better. In one of his books, Chamberlain wrote that his three years at KU were three of the best years of his life. Considering the many experiences he had as a member of the Harlem Globetrotters and during 14 seasons as a professional player, that’s saying quite a bit.

The generous Chamberlain gift is good for many reasons, including the fact this represents one of the relatively few major financial gifts that has been made to the university by a former star athlete. Many former KU athletes have carved out successful careers in professional sports, but few have made sizable financial gifts to the university. Gale Sayers, a frequent visitor to the campus, is another star player who has been generous to the university and the school of education.

The help, input, interest and friendship of the late Bob Billings and Monte Johnson, both teammates of Chamberlain’s, along with the interest of Chamberlain’s sister and several close advisers, also played a major role in giving the basketball great the idea of a major gift to KU.

Although he was arguably KU’s most famous player ever, Chamberlain reportedly had doubts about how the people of Kansas felt about him. He worried that they were disappointed by the Jayhawks’ failure to win a national championship while he was at KU or in his decision to leave the university in 1958 after his junior year.

Any question he had about the Kansas fans, however, were erased when Chamberlain finally returned to Allen Fieldhouse in 1998 to have his jersey retired. The spontaneous and long standing ovation he received as he stood at midcourt “was one of the highlights of his life,” according to his longtime manager.

The people in the fieldhouse that day weren’t after Chamberlain’s money. The ovation they gave was pure adulation. They were showing the basketball star how important he was to KU and Kansas basketball.

KU fans loved Wilt Chamberlain and it’s good to know he felt that love. The scholarship funds established from his estate will be a lasting tribute to the athlete and his KU ties.