The last time the Kansas University football program set a season-ticket sale record, 27,700 in 1969, the Jayhawks also posted an average attendance mark of 41,161 for five home games. That was finally topped by last year’s 43,675 average when KU surprised railbirds with a 7-5 season mark that included a bowl victory.
KU now has a new season-ticket mark, which probably will top 29,000. With all this in mind, anything less than a 48,000 turnout for Saturday night’s opener with Northwestern State will be disappointing. There’s always the prospect that injuries, bad luck and periodic lapses could cause initial enthusiasm to dwindle and fade. But with all the hype and high hopes, as evidenced by the ticket upsurge, there’s every reason to think Kansas can, and should, average 45,000 or more fans for seven 2006 home appearances.
How about more 50,000-plus turnouts this fall? Such as for Texas A&M on Oct. 7 and, most certainly, the Kansas State visit Nov. 18. Last fall, stadium attendants caught the fire and security marshals looking the other way when Kansas ripped nemesis Nebraska, 40-15, and the crowd was listed at 51,750. That’s the largest turnout ever recorded here. It’s particularly significant since the official capacity for the old gray horseshoe is rated at 50,250.
Couple more winning seasons, including this one, and we’re going to hear coach Mark Mangino, athletic director Lew Perkins and his people talking in terms of further expansion of the local arena, to keep pace with the $31 million Anderson Family Football Complex where work will start this fall.
Mangino has swung his impressive Jayhawk rejuvenation effort enough to convince Perkins that Mark was entitled to a healthy contract extension. The Sword of Damocles no longer hovers over Mangino’s desk. He’s assured more time on the job, whether his team winds up 4-8 this fall, as Sports Illustrated predicted, or produces an 8-4 mark, or even 9-3, as some optimists see in their crystal balls.
Harsh reality: KU and a lot of other teams in the Big 12 are a wrecked knee, a pesky hamstring, a concussion or persistent turf toe away from mediocre rather than boffo seasons. Jayhawks like Kerry Meier, Jon Cornish and such cannot be disabled. But look at other teams, including the pros, where that applies. You don’t reach postseason glory or Super Bowl honors with key people hurt.
Kansas could start 4-0 and go to Nebraska on Sept. 30 with every prospect of upsetting NU, which I think is overrated. Trading the Big 12 South’s Oklahoma, Texas and Texas Tech for Baylor, Oklahoma State and the TexAgs doesn’t hurt. But no key people can be lost, to injury, lipping off too much or carousing around after midnight. KU has every reason to think it can beat Kansas State here because the Wildcats are nowhere near as threatening as they were under Bill Snyder.
Nobody has a more practical view than Mangino, a bedrock pragmatist. He deals with injuries and other personnel aberrations head-on, and his teams generally play wisely and well. Don’t sell Mangino or KU short.
Back to the KU stadium crowds. The biggest turnout in Big Six history, estimated at 40,000, saw the great 1947 KU-Missouri game here. Jack Mitchell’s successes boosted the capacity to 44,900 in 1963, then to 51,500 in ’66 before the downsizing to 50,250.
KU deserves a turnout of 48,000-plus on Saturday night – and a lot more 50,000-plus throngs down the line.
