Kansas University students aren't so sure how well head football coach Mark Mangino's plea for fans to forgo a foul phrase will fare. For many, there's little optimism the controversial chant will go away.

The coach sent a video to students by e-mail on Thursday, asking them to quit yelling the explicit chant - "Rip his (expletive) head off" -- that's traditionally shouted after kickoffs.

Some KU students, like freshman Carter Renfrow, said they found Mangino's plea to be humorous.

"No one's going to listen to it," said Renfrow, of Tulsa, Okla. "It's going to make everyone do it more. They're just going to yell louder."

Other students said some would honor Mangino's request.

"He's got a lot of influence around us now," said Nathan Hergott, Overland Park sophomore. "Some people will : respect his wishes to make us a classier school."

The true test will come Saturday, when the KU football team plays for the first time since Mangino's request was distributed. Student leaders behind the efforts to remove the chant will be waiting with great anticipation to see what transpires.

"I don't know if it will work the first kickoff or not," said KU senior Adam McGonigle, Student Senate president. "Whether or not it works (at first), I do think long term that this chant is something that we don't want representing this university."

Efforts to terminate the tradition came from leaders of the student newspaper, who initiated a meeting to brainstorm ideas that would prevent the chant from reaching the ears of young children at the games and national television audiences at home. Saturday's game will be broadcast live on ESPN2, Sunflower Broadband Cable channel 34.

Mangino's video will be broadcast on the big screen at Kivisto Field before the 11:30 a.m. game against the University of Colorado. But some students said that's likely to only add fuel to the fire.

"I have a feeling that there's going to be an outburst similar to the chant to the video," said Julia Urban, a KU junior from Kansas City, Mo. "It'll have a reverse effect. If not, it's going to spread the word about saying that chant."

Some students are trying to brainstorm things that might go in place of the naughty word.

"Rip his freaking head off?" said Amber Wheeler, an Olathe freshman. "I don't know."

"Maybe like 'forking' or something," Urban said. "Something where we get the gist of what they mean, but it's going to essentially be the same thing."

McGonigle said the group of student leaders will brainstorm other ideas for convincing the crowd to remove the vulgar vocabulary, if things don't happen the way they'd like on Saturday.