One day, David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium will be transformed into an arena that befits the modern era of college football.
But, getting there requires time. For this season, the Kansas Jayhawks won’t play a single game in Lawrence.
The stadium underwent a near-demolition right after the 2023 season ended so that construction crews could get started, as the reimagined stadium should be ready for the 2025 season.
The Jayhawks will play six “home” games this year and all will be in nearby Kansas City. Two of them will be at Children’s Mercy Park, which is the home of Sporting Kansas City in Major League Soccer. The other four will be played at Arrowhead Stadium, the home of the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs.
Because of that, the Jayhawks have been preparing in a different way this offseason.
“We’re practicing on grass more than we ever have,” Kansas coach Lance Leipold said. “That’s going to be different, gauging — anytime you’ve got to gauge weather conditions as it goes, I think we have an outstanding relationship with the Chiefs, and any other nuances that we need to be aware of, we’ll have — we’ll be educated on.”
Kansas Memorial Stadium has had field turf the past several years, so checking field conditions, along with cleat lengths, hasn’t been much of an issue for home games.
Leipold likes the fact that his players will get to play in an NFL stadium for several games this season. What he hates is that his seniors don’t get the chance to play their final season in Lawrence.
“We have over 30 seniors and guys that have done an outstanding job helping us get this turned around,” he said. “Part of me feels bad that they don’t get to play in large or get a chance to play in the new stadium renovated site.”
Kansas is coming off a 9-4 season, with a 5-4 record in Big 12 play. The Jayhawks beat UNLV in Guaranteed Rate Bowl.
Kansas has six returning starters, including running back Devin Neal, who rushed for 1,280 yards last season. Quarterback Jalon Daniels s one of the most talented players in the conference. The trick is keeping him healthy. If he is able to do that, he could put up impressive numbers.
Defensively there are five returning starters, but there are a wealth of Jayhawks that were rotational players last season who could emerge as starters. The concentration of talent is in the secondary, led by a quartet of seniors headlined by Cobee Bryant, who had four interceptions in 2023.
The schedule starts with Lindenwood at home on Aug. 29. After Kansas travels to Illinois on Sept. 7, the Jayhawks host UNLV on Sept. 14.
Big 12 play starts with Kansas traveling to West Virginia on Sept. 21, followed by a home game against TCU on Sept. 28.
Then Kansas travels to Arizona State on Oct. 5, hosts Houston on Oct. 19 and travels to Kansas State on Oct. 26.
The Jayhawks host Iowa State on Nov. 9, followed by a trip to BYU on Nov. 16 and a home game on Nov. 23 against Colorado. The regular season ends at Baylor on Nov. 30.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
