FRISCO, Texas — When Brian Dubiski was a defensive back at Texas Tech, the Red Raiders ventured far afield to battle Oklahoma State in the Coca-Coca Classic in Tokyo.
“What a cool experience for a 19- or 20-year-old athlete that’s getting to do both: play football that you love and … get some global international experiences,” Dubiski said in an interview with the Journal-World at Big 12 media days on Tuesday.
Now he’s helping bring a different cultural experience to athletes from Kansas and Arizona State — albeit with a much shorter flight required than the one he and his teammates took to Japan, as he noted.
Dubiski is the CEO of the Union Jack Classic, the organization sending KU and ASU to Wembley Stadium in London on Sept. 19 for what will be the first-ever power-conference college football game played in the United Kingdom.
“I think it’s a life-changing experience,” Dubiski said of the game. “You know, 90% of the players have never been out of the country, so the universities are both having to handle passports and visas for the players, right?
“And I think the players are excited about it, and it was really important to both coaches, not only to be focused on the game itself, because it is a conference game, but to provide the student athletes really an experience of gaining some of that culture, seeing all the landmarks, and doing the events that we’re putting forth — in very limited times, because the coaches are very serious about keeping it at a minimum — but making sure their players get that culture experience.”
And so the lead-up to the game will include not just the extensive preparation for what will be both teams’ conference opener, but also “taking all the players on an excursion to show them all of London’s landmarks and doing some special things with them, including a full private rental of Tower Bridge for both teams, where we’ll have a little get-together and party and get to show them really London and the culture,” Dubiski said.
The Union Jack Classic also faces the reciprocal challenge of acquainting British fans with the ethos of college football. From a promotional standpoint, the organization is certainly trying to attract American supporters and alumni to cross the pond to support their teams — Dubiski pointed out that KU is technically the home team and so fans should attempt to show up in appropriate numbers. It is also attempting, though, to harness European fans’ enthusiasm for the NFL and leverage it into interest in college football, with its unique “spirited tribalism and fan engagement,” as Dubiski called it.
That’s why the organization started a podcast with British influencers, one that has included guests such as KU coach Lance Leipold, athletic director Travis Goff, sport administrator Collin Sexton, running back Dylan Edwards and more.
In terms of drawing attention to the game itself — which, as a result of the European soccer calendar, must take place several weeks into the year instead of in the season-opening “week zero” — the Union Jack Classic received some big news in mid-June when Fox announced that its “Big Noon Kickoff” pregame show will broadcast live from Wembley Stadium ahead of the game. It’ll be KU’s second time ever on the program. The game itself will air nationally on FS1.
“That was a negotiation that Brett Yormark, the Big 12 commissioner, approached me on and said, ‘Hey, we have an opportunity to bring “Big Noon Kickoff,” are we interested? And you know, what does that look like?'” Dubiski recalled. “And, of course, we were ecstatic. I mean, having a two-hour live show, positioning the first time the game’s ever been played, and just kind of all the wow factor, and being in London, and being set up outside of Wembley Stadium, the most iconic stadium in Europe, right, and the United Kingdom, so that all of those pieces just kind of aligned for us, and we jumped on it.”
Dubiski downplayed the potential challenge of hosting the game in Week 3 as opposed to “week zero” (when, for example, the Ireland-based Aer Lingus Classic occurs) and noted that the Union Jack Classic will continue to take place in Week 3 each year as a result of its multi-year exclusive deal with Wembley Stadium.
“For us, it doesn’t matter what week it is anymore,” he said, “because the conferences are all wanting to really expand the game globally, and now they’re willing to kind of manipulate schedules and calendars to really take care of the players and the teams with the off week after a Week 3 game.”
Indeed, ASU and KU each have bye weeks after returning from London. The Sun Devils will welcome Baylor and Jayhawks will host Middle Tennessee on Oct. 3.
