Kansas Jayhawks football

University of Kansas Jayhawks
Current season
First season	1890
Athletic director	Lew Perkins
Head coach	Mark Mangino
	7th year, 47–41
Home stadium	University of Kansas Memorial Stadium
Stadium capacity	50,071
Stadium surface	FieldTurf
Location	Lawrence, Kansas
Conference	Big 12
Division	North
All-time record	563–543–58 (.509)
Postseason bowl record	6–6
Claimed national titles	0
Conference titles	8
Heisman winners	0
Consensus All-Americans	6[1]
Current uniform
Colors	Blue and Crimson
Fight song	I'm a Jayhawk
Mascot	Big Jay, Baby Jay
Marching band	Marching Jayhawks
Trophy game rivals	Missouri Tigers, Kansas State Wildcats
Website	KU Athletics

The Kansas Jayhawks football program is the intercollegiate football program of the University of Kansas Jayhawks. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I, and the team competes in the North Division of the Big 12 Conference.

KU football dates from 1890. While not a national powerhouse like the men's basketball team, the football team has had notable alumni including Gale Sayers, a two time All-American who later enjoyed an injury-shortened yet Hall of Fame career with the Chicago Bears; John Riggins, another Pro Football Hall of Famer and Super Bowl XVII MVP with the Washington Redskins; Pro Football Hall of Famer for the Cleveland Browns, Mike McCormack; plus John Hadl, Dana Stubblefield, Bobby Douglass, and Nolan Cromwell. The Jayhawks have appeared three times in the Orange Bowl: 1948, 1969 and 2008. The team currently plays in Memorial Stadium (capacity 50,071), the seventh oldest college football stadium in the nation^[2], which opened in 1921. It replaced McCook Field, which had been constructed in 1892. Mark Mangino, former Oklahoma assistant coach, has coached the team since 2002. As of September 12, 2009, the program's overall record is 570-549-58 (.509). Early this football season the Kansas Board of regents approved the expansion of Memorial Stadium on the east side.

Team records and statistics

Records

• October 6, 1990: KU and Iowa State end their game in a 34-34 tie^[3], giving KU the all-time NCAA Division I-A record for number of tie games with 57.^[4] Since then, NCAA football games have a tie-breaking rule, so only a rule change would allow this record to be broken.
• December 23, 2005: KU's strong rushing defense finishes the season by limiting Houston to just 30 rushing yards in the Fort Worth Bowl, a KU bowl record, bringing its season average down to 83.3 yards allowed per game^[5] and breaking the school record of 109.2 set in 1948.^[6] It was the ninth time in the season the Jayhawks held their opponent to less than 100 yards on the ground. For the season, their defense ranked 3rd nationally against the rush.
• November 18, 2006: Kansas State rusher Leon Patton's 102 yards rushing breaks the Jayhawk defense's record setting 23 game streak without allowing a 100-yard rusher.^[7] The streak started following a controversial 27-23 loss to Texas on November 13, 2004.
• November 25, 2006: In the regular season finale, senior running back Jon Cornish rushes for 126 yards in a 42-17 loss to Missouri to become KU's all-time single season leading rusher. His 1,457 yards surpassed the previous record of 1,442 yards set by Tony Sands in 1991.^[8]
• November 17, 2007: Kansas defeats Iowa State 45-7, moving to 11-0 for the first time in school history.
• September 12, 2009: Kansas defeats UTEP 34-7, going to 20-2 in their last 22 nonconference games since 2005.
• October 10, 2009: Todd Reesing throws 37 completions for 442 and 4 Touchdowns, Kerry Meier had 16 catches for 142 yards an 2 Touchdowns, Dezmon Briscoe had 12 catches for 186 yards and 2 Touchdowns

Bowl appearances

Bowl Championship Series commissioners and the Orange Bowl Committee selected Kansas and Virginia Tech to play in the 2008 Orange Bowl.

The Jayhawks have a 6-6 bowl record:

Conference championships

(*) Indicates a co-championship.

In 1960, the Jayhawks beat Missouri 23-7 to take the Big 8 title. This game was later reversed, due to the Jayhawks use of an ineligible player, giving Missouri the title.

Divisional championships

(*) Indicates a co-championship.

Note: While officially recognized as 2007 divisional co-champions by the Big 12, the Jayhawks lost the tie-breaker to Missouri, giving them the championship game berth.

Series records

Rivalries & other series

Missouri (Border War)

KU competes with the Missouri Tigers in the longest uninterrupted rivalry in college football west of the Mississippi River, first played in 1891 and known as the "Border War." The name of the rivalry has since been officially rebranded as the "Border Showdown" following the advent of the Iraq War, although the historical name prevails in usage. Each year the winner of the game is awarded a traveling trophy, the Indian War Drum. Following the 2007 Border Showdown, Kansas retired the current drum. However, Kansas earned it back with a victory over Missouri in the 2008 Border Showdown, under current quarterback Todd Reesing.

Kansas State (Sunflower Showdown)

In addition, KU has a rivalry with the Kansas State Wildcats called the Sunflower Showdown; when the two teams compete in football, the winner is awarded the Governor's Cup by the governor of Kansas. Kansas leads the all-time series 64-37-5.

Nebraska

Kansas has also played a game with the Nebraska Cornhuskers as early as 1892, and annually since 1906.^[10] This gives Kansas the second- and third-most played college football games in existence. KU is only 23-88-3 all-time against the Cornhuskers (as of 2007), and from 1969-2004 the Huskers rang up 36 consecutive victories, second longest in NCAA Division I (only Notre Dame's streak over Navy was longer). That streak ended on November 5, 2005, when Kansas defeated Nebraska 40-15 in Lawrence. They also beat Nebraska 76-39 in Memorial Stadium on November 3, 2007. This was the largest number of points ever surrendered by a Nebraska team; the Jayhawks also set records for most points against Nebraska in a half (1st half, 48 points) and quarter (2nd quarter, 27 points). The 95 points scored by the Jayhawks in 2006 and 2007 combined is the largest consecutive two-year total in the series. Also, the 32 points scored in an overtime loss at Nebraska on September 30, 2006, was the most by any Jayhawk team in Lincoln since 1899, when KU won 36-20 in the two teams' eighth all-time meeting.^[11]

Players of note

First-Team AP All-Americans

• 1947- Ray Evans, running back/defensive back
• 1947- Otto Schnellbacher, wide receiver
• 1951- George Mrkonic, offensive line
• 1952- Oliver Spencer, offensive line
• 1952- Gil Reich, defensive back
• 1960- John Hadl, running back
• 1961- John Hadl, quarterback
• 1963- Gale Sayers, running back
• 1964- Gale Sayers, running back
• 1968- Bobby Douglass, quarterback
• 1968- John Zook, defensive end
• 1973- David Jaynes, quarterback
• 1983- Bruce Kallmeyer, place kicker
• 2007- Anthony Collins, offensive line
• 2007- Aqib Talib, defensive back

Ring of Honor members

• Ray Evans (1941-42, 1946-47), defensive back/running back
• Otto Schnellbacher (1942, 1946-47), end
• Mike McCormack (1948-50), offensive tackle
• George Mrkonic (1950-52), offensive line
• Oliver Spencer (1950-52), offensive line
• Gil Reich (1952), defensive back/quarterback
• John Hadl (1959-61), quarterback, running back
• Curtis McClinton (1959-61), running back
• Gale Sayers (1962-64), running back
• Bobby Douglass (1966-68), quarterback
• John Zook (1966-68), defensive end
• John Riggins (1968-70), running back
• David Jaynes (1971-73), quarterback
• Nolan Cromwell (1973-76), quarterback, safety
• Bruce Kallmeyer, (1980, 1982-83), place kicker
• Willie Pless, (1982-85), linebacker

(The Ring of Honor is located atop the northern bowl at Memorial Stadium and is intended to honor Kansas All-Americans and others who have made a significant on-field contribution to the football program.)

Retired numbers

• 21- John Hadl, running back, quarterback (1959-61)
• 42- Ray Evans, running back/defensive back (1941-42, 1946-47)
• 48- Gale Sayers, running back (1962-64)

College football Hall of Fame

• 1951 - Fielding H. Yost (Coach)
• 1954 - Jim Bausch, HB
• 1964 - Ray Evans, HB
• 1964 - Gale Sayers, HB
• 1994 - John Hadl, QB
• 2001 - John Outland, OT

NFL Hall of Fame

• 1977 - Gale Sayers
• 1985 - Mike McCormack
• 1992 - John Riggins

KU alumni currently in the NFL

• Anthony Collins, OT, Cincinnati Bengals
• Derek Fine, TE, Buffalo Bills
• Justin Hartwig, C, Pittsburgh Steelers
• James Holt, OLB, San Diego Chargers
• Moran Norris, FB, San Francisco 49ers
• Mike Rivera, LB, Tennesse Titans practice squad
• Aqib Talib, CB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Marcus Henry, WR, New York Jets

^[12]

Coaches

Head football coaches, including their win-loss records, years coached, and reason for leaving if other than firing:

• Will Coleman, (1-2-0), 1890
• E.M. Hopkins (6-1-1), 1891
• A.W. Shepard (9-6-0), 1892-1893
• Hector Cowan (15-7-1), 1894-1896
• Wylie G. Woodruff (15-3-0), 1897-1898
• Fielding Yost (10-0-0), 1899, accepted Stanford job
• Charles Boynton (2-5-2), 1900
• John H. Outland (3-5-2), 1901
• Arthur Curtis (6-4-0), 1902
• Harrison Weeks (6-3-0), 1903
• A. R. Kennedy (52-9-4), 1904-1910
• Ralph W. Sherwin (4-2-2), 1911
• Arthur Mosse (9-7-0), 1912-1913
• H.M. Wheaton (5-2-1), 1914
• Herman Olcott (16-7-1), 1915-1917
• Jay Bond (2-2-0), 1918
• Leon McCarty (3-2-3), 1919
• Forrest "Phog" Allen (5-2-1), 1920
• Potsy Clark (16-17-6), 1921-1925
• Franklin Cappon (5-10-1), 1926-1927
• Bill Hargiss (22-18-2), 1928-1932
• Ad Lindsey (19-28-8), 1933-1938
• Gwinn Henry (9-27-0), 1939-1942
• Henry Shenk (11-16-3), 1943-1945
• George Sauer (15-3-3), 1946-1947, accepted Navy job
• J.V. Sikes (35-25-0), 1948-1953
• Chuck Mather (11-26-3), 1954-1957
• Jack Mitchell (44-42-5), 1958–1966
• Pepper Rodgers (20-22), 1967–1970, accepted UCLA job
• Don Fambrough (19-25-1), 1971–1974
• Bud Moore (17-21-1), 1975–1978
• Don Fambrough (17-24-4), 1979–1982
• Mike Gottfried (15-18-1), 1983–1985, accepted Pittsburgh job
• Bob Valesente (4-17-1), 1986–1987
• Glen Mason (47-54-1), 1988–1996, accepted Minnesota job
• Terry Allen (20-33), 1997–2001
• Mark Mangino (47-41), 2002–present

References

External links

• Official KU Athletics website
• Lawrence Journal-World KU football website
• Kansas Historical Data - includes win-loss records since 1890