Kansas Jayhawks

Kansas Jayhawks
Current season: 2024 Kansas Jayhawks
First season	1890
Head coach	Lance Leipold
	2nd year, 8–17–0 (.320)
Home stadium	David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium
Stadium capacity	47,233
Stadium surface	FieldTurf
Location	Lawrence, Kansas
Conference	Big-12 Conference
Past conferences	Kansas Intercollegiate Athletic Association (1890–1891) Western Interstate University Football Association (1892–1897) Independent (1898–1906) Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association (1907–1928) Big 6/7/8 Conference (1929–1995)
All-time history
Template:Kansas Jayhawks history
All-time record	599–681–58 (.469)
Postseason bowl record	6–7 (.462)
Claimed national titles	None
Conference titles	9
Division titles	1 (2007 Co-Big 12 North Division)
Rivalries	Missouri (rivalry) Kansas State (rivalry) Nebraska (rivalry)
Consensus All-Americans	11
Current uniform
Colors	KU Blue and Crimson
Fight song	"I'm a Jayhawk"
Mascot	Big Jay, Baby Jay
Marching band	Marching Jayhawks
Outfitter	Adidas
Website	kuathletics.com

The Kansas Jayhawks football team represents the University of Kansas located in Lawrence, Kansas. The Jayhawks are a member of the NCAA Big 12 Conference and play their home games at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence. The Jayhawks are currently coached by Lance Leipold.

Team History

The program's first season was 1890, making it one of the oldest college football teams in the country. The team's home field is David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, which opened in 1921 and is the seventh-oldest college football stadium in the nation. Until 2014, Memorial Stadium was one of the few football stadiums in Division I that had a track encircling the field. The track was removed in 2014, as the University's newly built Rock Chalk Park sports complex gave way to new sports facilities for other athletic's team. In 2019, immediately adjacent to the west of the stadium, the University of Kansas Football Indoor Practice Facility was completed. The facility was built using only private donations from University of Kansas alumni, most notably David Booth. KU's all-time record was 585–640–58 as of the conclusion of the 2018 season. The program saw a re-emergence under head coach Mark Mangino who won 50 games in eight seasons. After Magino's departure the program quickly declined winning only 15 games in the eight seasons after he left the program.

While Kansas has yet to have a Heisman Trophy winner, they have had one Heisman finalist and 2 other players receive votes. John Hadl, Bobby Douglass, and David Jaynes all received votes, Jaynes being the only finalist. Other notable former Kansas players include Pro Football Hall of Famers Gale Sayers, John Riggins, and Mike McCormack, as well as All-Americans Nolan Cromwell, Dana Stubblefield, Aqib Talib, and Anthony Collins. Kansas has appeared in twelve bowl games, including three trips to the Orange Bowl (1948, 1969, and 2008). Kansas played in the first NCAA-contracted nationally televised regular season college football game on September 20, 1952, against TCU.

Along with Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, and Washington University in St. Louis, Kansas was a charter member of the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association in 1907, which evolved into the Big Eight Conference. The Big Eight was folded into the Big 12 in 1996, and Kansas is the only original member of the MVIAA that is still part of the Big 12.

Logos/Helmets/Jerseys

Image gallery

Records

• October 6, 1990: KU and rival Iowa State end their game in a 34–34 tie, giving KU the all-time NCAA Division I-A record for number of tie games with 58. Since then, the NCAA has introduced the overtime period in football games. Only a rule change would allow this record to be broken.
• December 23, 2005: KU's strong rushing defense, led by Big 12 Defensive Player of the year Nick Reid, 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 and breaking the school record of 109.2 set in 1948. It was the ninth time in the season the Jayhawks held their opponent to less than 100 yards on the ground. The Jayhawks held future NFL quarterback Kevin Kolb to 214 yards 0 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. For the season, their defense ranked 3rd nationally against the rush.
• November 18, 2006: The Jayhawk defense's record setting 23 game streak without allowing a 100-yard rusher ends in a 39–20 victory over rival Kansas State when K-State runningback Leon Patton rushes for 102 yards. The streak started following a 27–23 loss to Texas on November 13, 2004.
• November 25, 2006: In the regular season finale, senior running back Jon Cornish ran 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.
• November 17, 2007: Kansas defeated rival Iowa State 45–7, moving to 11–0 for the first time in school history.
• September 12, 2009: Kansas defeated UTEP 34–7, going to 20–2 in their last 22 nonconference games since 2005. It was the last road game Kansas won until September 8, 2018, marking a 46-game losing streak.

In the polls

The Jayhawks have finished ranked in the AP poll seven times, and appeared in the poll at some point in 17 different seasons. They have only been ranked in a preseason poll 6 times. In the 2007 season the Jayhawks achieved a #2 ranking in the AP poll and the BCS rankings, which is the highest the team has ever been ranked. The last game the Jayhawks played as a ranked team was on October 24, 2009 against 25th ranked Oklahoma, a game the Jayhawks lost 13–35. Since its inception in 2014, the Jayhawks have yet to be ranked in the College Football Playoff rankings. The most consecutive weeks the Jayhawks have been ranked in the AP poll is 16 consecutive polls dating from October 7, 2007 through October 19, 2008.

AP Poll

AP Poll Rankings
Season	Preseason	Highest Rank	Final Rank
1947	–	12	12
1950	–	19	–
1951	–	20	–
1952	17	7	–
1960	–	5	11
1961	8	8	–
1968	–	3	7
1973	–	17	18
1974	–	13	–
1975	–	17	–
1976	19	8	–
1992	–	13	22
1995	–	6	9
1996	24	20	–
2007	–	2	7
2008	14	13	–
2009	25	16	–

BCS rankings (1998–2013)

BCS Rankings
Season	Highest BCS Rank	Final BCS Rank
2007	2	8
2008	23	–
2009	25	–

Seasons

2020s

Season	Coach	Record
2024	Lance Leipold
2023	Lance Leipold	9-4
2022	Lance Leipold	6-7
2021	Lance Leipold	2-10
2020	Les Miles	0-9

2010s

Season	Coach	Record
2019	Les Miles	3-9
2018	David Beaty	3-9
2017	David Beaty	1-11
2016	David Beaty	2-10
2015	David Beaty	0-12
2014	Charlie Weis; Clint Bowen	3-9
2013	Charlie Weis	3-9
2012	Charlie Weis	1-11
2011	Turner Gill	2-10
2010	Turner Gill	3-9

2000s

Season	Coach	Record
2009	Mark Mangino	5-7
2008	Mark Mangino	8-5
2007	Mark Mangino	12-1
2006	Mark Mangino	6-6
2005	Mark Mangino	7-5
2004	Mark Mangino	4-7
2003	Mark Mangino	6-7
2002	Mark Mangino	2-10
2001	Terry Allen; Tom Hayes	3-8
2000	Terry Allen	4-7

1990s

Season	Coach	Record
1999	Terry Allen	5-7
1998	Terry Allen
1997	Terry Allen
1996
1995
1994
1993
1992
1991
1990

Notable Alumni

"Ring of Honor" members

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. They are listed in the order in which they were inducted.

KU Jayhawks "Ring of Honor" members
Player	Career	Position
Ray Evans	1941–42, 1946–47	DB / RB
Otto Schnellbacher	1942, 1946–47	End
Mike McCormack	1948–50	OT
George Mrkonic	1950–52	OL
Ollie Spencer	1950–52	OL
John Hadl	1959–61	QB / RB
Curtis McClinton	1959–61	RB
Gale Sayers	1962–64	RB
Bobby Douglass	1966–68	QB
John Zook	1966–68	DE
John Riggins	1968–70	RB
David Jaynes	1971–73	QB
Nolan Cromwell	1973–76	QB / S
Willie Pless	1982–85	LB
Aqib Talib	2005–07	CB
Anthony Collins	2004–07	OT
Gilbert Brown	1989–92	DT
Chris Harris	2007–10	CB
Todd Reesing	2006–09	QB
Larry Brown	1967–70	OL

Source:

External Links

• Kansas Jayhawks football article at Wikipedia
• Official team site