Kansas Athletics intends to keep its football hype train rolling right up until the beginning of the season.
The school announced Monday morning the date of the inaugural KU football Kickoff Party. The event at the team’s Indoor Practice Facility, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Aug. 18, will feature speeches from athletic director Travis Goff, coach Lance Leipold and select players, along with “music, tailgating games, food trucks, inflatables, face paintings, balloon artist and other activities,” according to a press release.
The Jayhawks’ football season opens exactly two weeks later on Sept. 1, at home against Missouri State.
The announcement comes on the heels of the unveiling of this year’s date for the men’s and women’s basketball preseason event Late Night in the Phog (Oct. 6) and it seems the Kickoff Party could fulfill a similar role for the resurgent football squad.
KU football was last seen at the Big 12 Conference Media Days in Arlington, Texas, last Wednesday, shortly after unveiling its new jerseys for the upcoming season (which, the press release reminds fans, will be available for sale at the event). The Jayhawks are then expected to begin camp in a little over two weeks.
Cross-country schedule revealed
The Kansas cross-country team became the latest fall sports team to reveal its schedule Monday.
The calendar includes four principal meets — beginning with a home event at Rim Rock Farm just north of Lawrence on Sept. 2 — ahead of the Big 12 Championship on Oct. 28, NCAA regionals on Nov. 10 and the national competition eight days later.
Chandler Gibbens and Lona Latema, KU’s top performers at last year’s Midwest Regional, are both expected to return this fall. In fact, the Jayhawks only had two total seniors between the men’s and women’s roster last year and should retain plenty of continuity entering the 2023 campaign.
University of Kansas track and field coach Stanley Redwine lets out a laugh during a break at an event during the 2019 track season.
Nick Krug
Photo courtesy of Kansas Athletics