The Big 12 Conference officially announced on Wednesday morning that Kansas and Arizona State will play a football game in London on Sept. 19, 2026.
KU and ASU will become the first-ever college football teams to play at Wembley Stadium, and the first FBS programs to play in the United Kingdom, as part of the new event, which is called the Union Jack Classic.
“This is the perfect moment in time for Kansas Football to blaze an uncharted trail to historic Wembley Stadium in London,” KU athletic director Travis Goff said in a press release. “This opportunity is reflective of the growth and trajectory of our football program and the entire University, and will provide our fans and student-athletes an unprecedented experience.”
Goff stressed in the release, and in the KU Athletics board of directors meeting on Wednesday morning, that the university will still host six home contests at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium in 2026.
“We have often had six home games, meaning that’s really been the bar that Lawrence, the region, our campus, our students, our fans, et cetera, have come to expect,” Goff said.
Those six games will be against Middle Tennessee, Long Island, Missouri, Baylor, BYU and UCF, though it’s not yet clear to what date Middle Tennessee has been moved, since KU was originally supposed to pay the Blue Raiders $925,000 for a buy game on Sept. 19. (ASU also had a game against Hawaii set for that date.)
Goff added that it makes sense for KU to relinquish a home game during a year it will be playing with reduced capacity as a result of the second phase of the university’s Gateway project — and that it could be valuable in other ways.
“This is a financially beneficial move for Kansas,” he added. “And of course, not the primary or sole (justification) by any stretch of the imagination, but in that regard, it certainly clears an important hurdle for this to be a financial win.
“And all those things aside, I think we can all understand to be invited to be the first team to play at Wembley in college football, to be the first (power-conference) program in college football history to play a game in London, the global stage that that provides far beyond football and athletics, but provides our university, and the strategic opportunities that we have over the next 11 and a half months or so to put together a great plan to activate our international alumni, to activate Europe, to really emphasize the level of excellence and trajectory of KU, is very, very exciting.”
KU coach Lance Leipold called the event “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our student-athletes” in the release.
“We’re excited to be part of college football’s international growth in its infancy, as the sport continues to expand globally,” he added.
KU Chancellor Douglas Girod said during the board meeting that the game will form the second half of “a good one-two punch for KU on the international front.”
“That also will come on the heels of having just had the World Cup in Kansas City, and with a few breaks here or there hopefully Lawrence will be hosting a team and will continue to put the university on an international stage in a different way,” he said.
The implementation of the Union Jack Classic constitutes the latest international move for the Big 12, which sent Kansas State and Iowa State to Ireland in August, will have TCU there in 2026, will have Baylor women’s basketball in Paris in November and has frequently discussed opportunities in Mexico during Commissioner Brett Yormark’s tenure.
“I’ve often said my goal is for the Big 12 to be the most globally relevant conference in college athletics,” Yormark said in a release. “Expanding our international presence will elevate our brand, create new opportunities for student-athletes, and open the door to meaningful commercial growth for the league.”
The Union Jack Classic will be the first college football game of any kind in the United Kingdom since Richmond beat Boston University 20-17 at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre on Oct. 16, 1988.
KU and ASU will battle for the second time as league foes after the Sun Devils beat the Jayhawks 35-31 in Tempe, Arizona, on Oct. 5, 2024.
Kansas head coach Lance Leipold looks to the scoreboard late in the game against Cincinnati at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, in Lawrence.
Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham reacts after a play by his team during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Mississippi State in Starkville, Miss., Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025.
Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World
AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis