When it comes to the Big 12’s forays into international play, Kansas coach Lance Leipold wants his team to be “on the cutting edge of this for years to come,” he said at the conference’s media days in Frisco, Texas.
“We talk about a lot of things in our sport now that are going on that emulate a lot of things that are done in the NFL,” Leipold said. “Well, there’s a reason why the NFL keeps adding more and more international games for different reasons. Yes, they have more open weeks, they have more games, but if it wasn’t beneficial to the overall bottom line — and let’s face it, we’ve got to worry about the bottom line — if it wasn’t beneficial, they wouldn’t be doing it.”
One side effect of being on the cutting edge in this particular realm, though, is that it requires teams to experiment. That’s one reason why KU and Arizona State are taking different approaches to traveling to London for the Union Jack Classic, the first-ever college football game taking place at Wembley Stadium, on Sept. 19.
ASU is going to fly straight over in the wake of its road matchup at Texas A&M on Sept. 12. KU, which hosts Missouri on the 11th, will linger in Lawrence for several additional days, a decision it reached after consulting with NFL personnel and people who have played games in Ireland.
“We’ll leave on Tuesday — they have more money than we do,” Leipold joked. “No, but I talked a little bit with Kenny (Dillingham, ASU’s coach). They play in Texas and to go back and to turn around, they got worried a little bit about that.”
Under their plan, the Sun Devils will have to cross fewer time zones than if they went home and then flew to London.
In any case, managing the logistics of the trip is delicate and comes with high stakes. Nebraska, Florida State and Kansas State have struggled after losing season openers in Ireland the last two seasons, although Leipold downplayed that trend somewhat: “When you go over and play that game, if you win, everything’s good,” he said. “If not, if things then (don’t go well), everybody has that that’s the reason the rest of the season, and that’s a tough opportunity.”
Even if the Week 3 timing presents other obstacles for KU and ASU, the two teams do have the advantage of a bye week immediately afterward, something that those Ireland teams did not receive.
“(KSU and ISU) came back and had to play that next Saturday,” Leipold said. “It didn’t matter if it was an FCS opponent or who they each play, they had to get their teams back and ready, and that’s tough. I think hopefully we feel we have a very confident plan (for) when we do get back about how we’re going to get our guys some time down, transition back, and then get ready for a game on Oct. 3.”
The Union Jack Classic is a conference opener on a big stage that could set the tone for the remainder of Big 12 play, but it is also just one of nine league games. Leipold always takes care to stress in advance of big games that his team will have to find a way to rally afterward regardless of the result, and this one is no exception.
“To have our teams ready to play that day but then to continually play the nine games afterwards will be very important,” Leipold said.
CROSSING THE POND
The preparation for traveling to London requires not just picking a departure date but, as Leipold said, “food and menus and hydration and all the different things, let alone hotels and distance and passports,” not to mention additional logistical issues from which chief of staff Michael Painter may have shielded Leipold. In terms of coordination, “it’s a bowl-game-plus type of deal,” the head coach added.
The extent to which visiting the United Kingdom will be a brand-new experience for the Jayhawks varies widely. Some had to get passports for the first time. Wide receiver Cam Pickett will be visiting Europe for the first time, but had one on hand already because he’s an avid traveler.
“It’s a little bit more exciting because of the World Cup now, seeing all the great soccer players that’s been there,” Pickett said.
The venerable Wembley Stadium itself has been an object of some interest for the Jayhawks. Middle linebacker Trey Lathan, who has traveled to London twice in rapid succession in recent years — first at West Virginia as part of a student-athlete organization called Chambers Elite Climbers, then again for vacation — said in an ESPNU interview, “I don’t know much, but I know it’s pretty iconic.”
“As soon as they came out that we’re playing in Wembley, I recognized the stadium … I knew it was a great, legendary stadium,” left tackle Calvin Clements said.
Union Jack Classic CEO Brian Dubiski previously told the Journal-World that the organization hosting the game will treat the athletes to sightseeing opportunities and a private rental of Tower Bridge.
At least one Jayhawk has some simpler objectives for his time in London.
“I’m really excited for the bus,” defensive end Leroy Harris III said. “I just want to be on the red bus, double-decker bus, stand on the top, and then just kind of talk to people, see the different words and different lingo they use, and just interact with the people.”
