STILLWATER, Okla. — “We Will Remember.”

Those words are emblazoned on the memorial to “The Ten” in Gallagher-Iba Arena. The memorial features a kneeling cowboy and pictures of the 10 men who were killed in a Jan. 27, 2001 plane crash near Byers, Colo.

Ten years hurried past.

Seasons changed.

Games won and lost.

Athletes and coaches came and went.

Through all those changes, the Oklahoma State University family still remembers “The Ten” who died when a Beechcraft King Air 2000 crashed, killing two Oklahoma State University basketball players, six members of the support staff and the two-man crew.

“The Ten” memorial continues to be the most visited display in the Heritage Hall area of Gallagher-Iba Arena.

Wednesday night, the Oklahoma State family will remember “The Ten” when Texas comes to Gallagher-Iba Arena for a key Big 12 Conference matchup.

Former OSU basketball coach Eddie Sutton and former players Andrew Williams, Desmond Mason and Doug Gottlieb will be part of special halftime ceremonies. The university has invited former student-athletes, athletic staff, coaches and student workers who were part of the 2000-01 team or whose years in Stillwater overlapped that team to attend the game and ceremony.

Fans at the game will receive a commemorative T-shirt honoring those lost. The shirt will only be available at the game and will not be sold at any time.

OSU also has planned a private gathering for family members of the 10 men before the game.

Thursday, Oklahoma State representatives will travel to the crash memorial in Colorado to commemorate the anniversary with residents of Byers, Colo., and members and former members of the emergency response teams that responded to the crash.

Cowboys men’s basketball coach Travis Ford arrived at Oklahoma State in April 2008, replacing Sean Sutton. Ford, who played college ball at Missouri and Kentucky, didn’t have ties to OSU.

He is building those ties and said he has devoted time to learning about “The Ten” and the crash that forever changed Oklahoma State and Stillwater.

“I’ve met several of the family members and learned a lot about them as people. It’s an emotional time for a lot of people, but it’s also a time to celebrate their lives,” Ford said.

Killed that day were:

• Daniel Lawson, guard

• Nate Fleming, guard

• Pat Noyes, director of basketball operations.

• Will Hancock, sports media relations

• Brian Luinstra, trainer

• Jared Weiberg, manager

• Bill Teegins, Cowboys sports play-by-play announcer

• Kendall Durfey, master control supervisor, Educational Television Services at OSU.

• Denver Mills, pilot

• Bjorn Fahlstrom, pilot.

Wednesday’s game will be about them and for them, Ford said.

“The Texas game is a distant second to what’s important on that night,” he said.

Learning about “The Ten” transcends the coaching staff. Oklahoma State players keep the memories alive, too.

Players pass the memorial a dozen times or more a week and the upper classmen ensure new Cowboys know about the crash and understand what it means to the OSU family, senior forward Marshall Moses said.

“When I first heard about it – seeing the memorial and all the flowers – I even shed a couple of tears,” Moses said. “I didn’t really know what was going on. Just to see the people who experienced it or had been through it or who were related to the people in that plane crash and how it made them feel, it just – I’ve never been one to handle death or tragedy well.”

It’s important for the freshmen to understand the tradition, the history and who “The Ten” are, Moses said, “Those were great people, great basketball players and it was unfortunate how they went.”

“When (the freshmen) get to see and know the history of it, they understand what it means to the history of the school,” he said.