The University of Evansville basketball team and others associated with it were killed in an airplane crash in December, 1977. The University had to decide how to respond to the tragedy. Advice received from other universities was based upon impression rather than systematic data collection. At Evansville, interviews were held with 87 students who were asked how they behaved and how they felt about their adjustment to the loss. While random selection of the sample was only approximated, the sample was demographically representative of the full time undergraduate population. Most students reported spending the evening of the crash in groups watching television news reports, going to the chapel, and talking together in the dorms. The next day most attended the memorial service at the campus chapel. Students did seem to profit from maintenance of these natural groups and communication networks. Maintaining students on campus and offering them a wide range of memorial activities seems appropriate. Adjustment indicators suggest that students coped well, however psychosomatic reactions may have been relatively frequent but unrecognized as such. Data suggest that the relatively successful adjustment may have been due to the matching of activities (religious) with a type of student body (religious). (Author)