Kansas Jayhawks

Big 12Lawrence, KSMemorial Stadium

2026: 2–⁠4 (0–⁠3 Big 12). Last: lost at Kansas State 35–⁠24. Next: Baylor, Saturday, Oct 24.

  1. W 51–⁠6Long Island University
  2. L 21–⁠38No. 23 Missouri
  3. L 17–⁠24vs. Arizona State
  4. W 55–⁠0Middle Tennessee
  5. L 24–⁠41at No. 12 Utah
  6. L 24–⁠35at Kansas State
  7. Oct 24Baylor
  8. Oct 31at TCU
  9. Nov 7UCF
  10. Nov 14at West Virginia
  11. Nov 21BYU
  12. Nov 28at Oklahoma State
  • Outfitted by Adidas
  • Sudler Trophy, 1989

Kansas has played football since 1890 and is 560–⁠679–⁠54 in the 1,293 games on record here, which start in 1892. Their best finish in the final AP poll is No. 7, in 2007. They have won four Big Eight Conference titles (the last in 1968) and two Missouri Valley Conference titles, counting shared titles. Since 1944, the NFL Draft has taken 98 players from here in its first seven rounds, 9 of them in the first round. The AAFC and AFL drafts also took three players from here. The College Football Hall of Fame holds 5 players and 1 coach from Kansas. Doc Kennedy (1904–⁠1910) won more games here than any other coach: 53. The most-played rival is Kansas State: 124 meetings; officially, Kansas leads 65–⁠53–⁠5 by Kansas’s count and 64–⁠54–⁠5 by Kansas State’s (the 1980 game, which the Big Eight ordered Kansas to forfeit, is disputed) (65–⁠54–⁠5 as played). This season, under Lance Leipold, they’re 2–⁠4.

Résumé

All-time record
617–⁠695–⁠58 official; 560–⁠679–⁠54 on file; how we count
Postseason
7–⁠7 matches the official bowl record
AP No. 1 finishes
0
Weeks at No. 1
0 of 109 ranked
Elo now
1462 96th of 138 FBS
Computer rankings
Massey No. 69 · Composite No. 71 in FBS, Oct 17; down 7 since Oct 11. From Massey Ratings
Best season by Elo
2007 rated 1704
Conference titles
6 last in 1968
Seasons
131 since 1892, 1,293 games

Identity

Fight song
I’m a Jayhawk
Band
Marching Jayhawks since 1887, 350 members

2026 season 2–⁠4

RosterFull 2026 season

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

This season, game by game

Kansas’s Elo through 2026: 1493 going into the opener, 1462 after the latest game.1450147515001525Elo 1493 going in; beat Long Island University 51–6Elo 1505 going in; lost to Missouri 38–21Elo 1478 going in; lost to Arizona State 24–17Elo 1462 going in; beat Middle Tennessee 55–0Elo 1486 going in; lost to Utah 41–24Elo 1477 going in; lost to Kansas State 35–24Now: Elo 1462 after the latest game1462
Elo going into each game, then after the latest. Filled dots: wins; open: losses. Dashed line: 1500, an average FBS team.

Future schedule

2027–⁠32
20283 games: 2 home, 1 away, non-conference only
20293 games: 2 home, 1 away, non-conference only
20302 games: 1 home, 1 away, non-conference only
20312 games: 1 home, 1 away, non-conference only
20322 games: 2 home, non-conference only

Kansas’s announced games beyond the seasons on our schedule, as its Wikipedia article lists them (announced schedules as of August 13, 2026). Schedules change; a season shows only the games named so far, and many articles list non-conference games only. Future schedules: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

On the 2026 team

Program greats See all

Heisman finalists, College Football Hall of Famers, consensus All-Americans, national award winners and first-round picks, for what they did at Kansas.

Photos: Wikimedia Commons, free licenses; credits on each player’s page.

Around the program

Apparel
Adidas · Official source
Mascot
Big Jay and Baby Jay · Official source
Athletic director
Travis Goff · Official source
Defensive coordinator
D.K. McDonald · Official source
Radio flagship
KLWN · Single source

Found by several AI researchers searching the web, then kept only where the page loads and says so in words naming the program; every quote is checked again each time the data is rebuilt. Official source: the school’s own page. All of them.

The apparel deal

Adidas, through 2031. Extension through 2031. Extended in April 2019. Covers all 18 Jayhawks teams.

  • Kansas Athletics, Apr 24, 2019: adidas extension through 2031 covering all 18 teams
  • Sportcal, Aug 27, 2026: Adidas is the kit supplier for the Jayhawks; no term published

Apparel deals: Field Drip. Terms as the outlets reported them; checked Oct 3, 2026.

Program strength since 1892

Best seasons ever
Kansas end-of-season Elo from 1892 to 2026, best in 2007 at 1704.130015001700190019001920194019601980200020202007 peak: Elo 1704
End-of-season Elo. Dashed line: 1500, an average FBS team.

On Bluesky

  • David Hale

    Success Differential vs Explosive Differential through Week 5 (vs FBS only)... Duke is No. 1 in P4 in explosives differential. Stanford is... not. And Kansas? Skewed a bit w/a 55-0 win over MTSU.

    Read on Bluesky

From reporters and writers who cover college football, linked to their posts on Bluesky.

More coverage

Found through the GDELT Project, which indexes news sites worldwide. Each link opens the story on the outlet’s own site; each picture is that outlet’s own preview of its story, shown from its site and credited to it.

Podcasts

Found through Podcast Index, the open podcast directory. Each link opens the episode’s page.

Head coaches

CoachYearsRecord
Lance Leipold2021–⁠202629–⁠39
Les Miles2019–⁠20203–⁠18
David Beaty2015–⁠20186–⁠42
Clint Bowen20141–⁠7
Charlie Weis2012–⁠20146–⁠22
Turner Gill2010–⁠20115–⁠19
Mark Mangino2002–⁠200950–⁠48
Tom Hayes20011–⁠2
Terry Allen1997–⁠200120–⁠33
Glen Mason1988–⁠199647–⁠54–⁠1
Bob Valesente1986–⁠19874–⁠17–⁠1
Mike Gottfried1983–⁠198515–⁠18–⁠1
Don Fambrough1971–⁠198236–⁠49–⁠5
Bud Moore1975–⁠197817–⁠27–⁠1
Pepper Rodgers1967–⁠197020–⁠22
Jack Mitchell1958–⁠196644–⁠42–⁠5
Chuck Mather1954–⁠195711–⁠26–⁠3
Jules Sikes1948–⁠195335–⁠25
George Sauer1946–⁠194715–⁠3–⁠3
Henry Shenk1943–⁠194511–⁠16–⁠3
Gwinn Henry1939–⁠19429–⁠27
Adrian Lindsey1932–⁠193823–⁠30–⁠8
Bill Hargiss1928–⁠193218–⁠16–⁠2
Cappy Cappon1926–⁠19275–⁠10–⁠1
Potsy Clark1921–⁠192516–⁠17–⁠6
Phog Allen19205–⁠2–⁠1
Leon McCarty19193–⁠2–⁠3
Jay Bond19182–⁠2
Herman Olcott1915–⁠191716–⁠7–⁠1
H.M. Wheaton19145–⁠2–⁠1
Arthur Mosse1912–⁠19139–⁠7
Ralph Sherwin19114–⁠2–⁠2
Doc Kennedy1904–⁠191053–⁠9–⁠4
Harrison Weeks19036–⁠3
Arthur Curtis19026–⁠4
John Outland19013–⁠5–⁠2
L.W. Boynton19000–⁠1
Hector Cowan1894–⁠18960–⁠2
A.W. Shepard1892–⁠18931–⁠2

Most-played series

All rivalries
OpponentGamesKU record
Kansas State12465–⁠54–⁠5
Oklahoma11428–⁠80–⁠6
Missouri12255–⁠58–⁠9 ‡
Nebraska11723–⁠91–⁠3 ‡
Iowa State10452–⁠46–⁠6
Oklahoma State7531–⁠41–⁠3
Colorado7125–⁠43–⁠3 †
TCU409–⁠27–⁠4

Official records. † Without wins the NCAA vacated. ‡ The rivalry’s own count, where it differs from the games on file. Each series page gives both.

Rivals the program names: Missouri, Kansas State, Nebraska.

Every opponent (153)

Every program Kansas has played, A to Z, with Kansas’s record against it. Each links to the series, game by game.

Official records. † Without wins the NCAA vacated, or with forfeits counted. ‡ The rivalry’s own count, where it differs from the games on file.

Conference titles

6, counting shared titles
Big Eight Conference 4
1930, 1946 (shared), 1947 (shared), 1968 (shared)
Missouri Valley Conference 2
1908, 1923 (shared)
Big 12 North 1
2007 (tied)

As the program counts them in its Wikipedia article, shared titles included, and listed under each conference’s current name (a Western Conference title of the 1900s counts as a Big Ten title); season pages use the name the conference had that year. A title the article files under a conference the team wasn’t in that season is listed under the one it was. Division titles include years the team tied for its division.

Conferences

  1. Kansas Intercollegiate Athletic Conference 1890–⁠1891
  2. Western Interstate University Football Conference 1892–⁠1897
  3. Independent 1898–⁠1906
  4. Missouri Valley Conference 1907–⁠1927
  5. Big Six 1928–⁠1947
  6. Big Seven 1948–⁠1957
  7. Big Eight 1958–⁠1995
  8. Big 12 since 1996
  • 1928Joined the Big Six from the Missouri Valley Conference. Source
  • 1996Joined the Big 12 from the Big Eight. Source

Kansas’s football conferences by season, from CollegeFootballData.com’s memberships (renamed conferences keep the name of the time). The moves and their announcement dates from Wikipedia’s lists of NCAA Division I conference changes; the year is the first season in the new conference. Conference realignment: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

National award winners

All awards
2007Mark Mangino coachEddie Robinson, Walter Camp Coach, Bear Bryant Award

Consensus All-Americans 6

2007Anthony Collins OT
2007Aqib Talib CB
1973David Jaynes QB
1968John Zook DE
1964Gale Sayers RB
1963Gale Sayers RB

Led the nation 3

1987Willie Vaughn yards per catch (26.9)
1962Gale Sayers yards per carry (7.1)
1952Gil Reich punt return average (17.2)

The NCAA’s official national leaders since 1937, from Wikipedia’s yearly leader lists.

Heisman runners-up and finalists

The votes
1973David Jaynes QB4th

Second to fifth in the vote, from each season’s Wikipedia article.

In the Hall of Fame

Every inductee
Players
5
Coaches
1
2000John H. Outland OT/RB
1997Gale Sayers RB
1994John Hadl RB/QB
1964Ray Evans RB
1954Jim Bausch RB
1951Fielding H. Yost coach, career 1898–⁠1926

In the draft

By college
NFL picks, rounds 1–⁠7
98 since 1944
First-round picks
9
AAFC and AFL picks
3 1948–⁠49, 1962
2008Aqib Talib CBNo. 20, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
1993Dana Stubblefield DENo. 26, San Francisco 49ers
1981David Verser WRNo. 10, Cincinnati Bengals
1977Mike Butler DENo. 9, Green Bay Packers
1974Don Goode LBNo. 15, San Diego Chargers
1971John Riggins RBNo. 6, New York Jets
1965Gale Sayers RBNo. 4, Chicago Bears
1962John Hadl BNo. 10, Detroit Lions

Who came and went in the 2026 transfer portal, and every portal year.

The school

University of Kansas
Enrollment
29,792 22,085 undergraduates, fall 2024
Where
Lawrence, Kansas
Public or private
Public Research 1
Founded
1864
Graduates’ median earnings
$61,945 10 years after starting

Enrollment, place and Carnegie research tier from the National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS, public domain). Earnings from the US Department of Education’s College Scorecard (CC BY 4.0): the median for students who received federal aid and were working, not in school. Founding year from Wikidata. Every school’s in the data.

Official accounts

Football
X @KU_FootballInstagram @kufootballYouTube KUAthleticsFacebook KansasFootball
Athletics department
X @KUAthleticsInstagram @kuathleticsYouTube KUAthleticsFacebook KUAthletics

Official accounts: the schools’ athletics websites: the ones kuathletics.com lists for its football program and athletics department, as of Oct 12, 2026.

Voices

play-by-play
  1. 1953–⁠54Merle Harmon radio
  2. 1968–⁠84Bob Davis radio

From the announcers’ Wikipedia articles (CC BY-SA), with the years as each article gives them: those in Wikipedia’s Kansas football announcers category, and any whose article names them the program’s play-by-play voice. Television network crews and announcers whose articles give no years are left out.

On the newsreel

Universal Newsreel, National Archives (catalog record). Story titles and words as Universal’s release sheet gives them; the films themselves may still be under copyright, so we link to the record rather than show them.

Books

Books: Open Library (CC0), filed under the program’s Library of Congress subject heading; most-reissued first, each linked to its page there.

Season by season

National champions
SeasonRecordConf.AP preAP finalCoachEloSP+
20262–⁠40–⁠3Lance Leipold14627.2
20255–⁠73–⁠6Lance Leipold14904.1
20245–⁠74–⁠522Lance Leipold15804.9
20239–⁠45–⁠423Lance Leipold16129.9
20226–⁠73–⁠6Lance Leipold14352.9
20212–⁠101–⁠8Lance Leipold1262-19.7
20200–⁠90–⁠8Les Miles1277-16.3
20193–⁠91–⁠8Les Miles1357-9.8
20183–⁠91–⁠8David Beaty1329-10.0
20171–⁠110–⁠9David Beaty1232-14.8
20162–⁠101–⁠8David Beaty1280-15.9
20150–⁠120–⁠9David Beaty1254-21.3
20143–⁠91–⁠8Charlie Weis, Clint Bowen1360-9.8
20133–⁠91–⁠8Charlie Weis1330-9.7
20121–⁠110–⁠9Charlie Weis1307-12.6
20112–⁠100–⁠9Turner Gill1336-15.0
20103–⁠91–⁠7Turner Gill1368-17.0
20095–⁠71–⁠725Mark Mangino15058.0
20088–⁠54–⁠414Mark Mangino161416.0
200712–⁠17–⁠17Mark Mangino170424.9
20066–⁠63–⁠5Mark Mangino15336.9
20057–⁠53–⁠5Mark Mangino15628.5
20044–⁠72–⁠6Mark Mangino14769.8
20036–⁠73–⁠5Mark Mangino1408-5.4
20022–⁠100–⁠8Mark Mangino1286-20.9
Every season back to 1892 (106 more)
SeasonRecordConf.AP preAP finalCoachEloSP+
20013–⁠81–⁠7Terry Allen, Tom Hayes1369-6.8
20004–⁠72–⁠6Terry Allen14280.7
19995–⁠73–⁠5Terry Allen1442-7.7
19984–⁠71–⁠7Terry Allen1445-3.8
19975–⁠63–⁠5Terry Allen1452-10.0
19964–⁠72–⁠624Glen Mason14985.6
199510–⁠25–⁠29Glen Mason165114.5
19946–⁠53–⁠4Glen Mason15302.6
19935–⁠73–⁠4Glen Mason15147.5
19928–⁠44–⁠322Glen Mason158211.3
19916–⁠53–⁠4Glen Mason148911.3
19903–⁠7–⁠12–⁠4–⁠1Glen Mason1348-3.2
19894–⁠72–⁠5Glen Mason1320-17.3
19881–⁠101–⁠6Glen Mason1232-25.0
19871–⁠9–⁠10–⁠6–⁠1Bob Valesente1265-17.3
19863–⁠80–⁠7Bob Valesente1337-20.2
19856–⁠62–⁠5Mike Gottfried14853.5
19845–⁠64–⁠3Mike Gottfried1490-4.9
19834–⁠6–⁠12–⁠5Mike Gottfried14513.7
19822–⁠7–⁠21–⁠5–⁠1Don Fambrough1401-8.1
19818–⁠44–⁠3Don Fambrough15324.4
19804–⁠5–⁠23–⁠3–⁠1Don Fambrough14619.8
19793–⁠82–⁠5Don Fambrough1354-5.1
19781–⁠100–⁠7Bud Moore1326-9.7
19773–⁠7–⁠12–⁠4–⁠1Bud Moore1464-4.2
19766–⁠52–⁠519Bud Moore156511.6
19757–⁠54–⁠3Bud Moore159812.6
19744–⁠71–⁠6Don Fambrough14775.0
19737–⁠4–⁠14–⁠2–⁠118Don Fambrough156614.5
19724–⁠72–⁠5Don Fambrough14662.4
19714–⁠72–⁠5Don Fambrough14321.9
19705–⁠62–⁠5Pepper Rodgers14497.7
19691–⁠90–⁠7Pepper Rodgers1420
19689–⁠26–⁠17Pepper Rodgers1652
19675–⁠55–⁠2Pepper Rodgers1487
19662–⁠7–⁠10–⁠6–⁠1Jack Mitchell1367
19652–⁠82–⁠5Jack Mitchell1404
19646–⁠45–⁠2Jack Mitchell1549
19635–⁠53–⁠4Jack Mitchell1585
19626–⁠3–⁠14–⁠2–⁠1Jack Mitchell1622
19617–⁠3–⁠15–⁠28Jack Mitchell1697
19607–⁠2–⁠16–⁠0–⁠111Jack Mitchell1670
19595–⁠53–⁠3Jack Mitchell1517
19584–⁠5–⁠13–⁠2–⁠1Jack Mitchell1467
19575–⁠4–⁠14–⁠2Chuck Mather1448
19563–⁠6–⁠12–⁠4Chuck Mather1412
19553–⁠6–⁠11–⁠4–⁠1Chuck Mather1347
19540–⁠100–⁠6Chuck Mather1289
19532–⁠82–⁠4Jules Sikes1434
19527–⁠33–⁠317Jules Sikes1645
19518–⁠24–⁠2Jules Sikes1626
19506–⁠43–⁠3Jules Sikes1551
19495–⁠52–⁠4Jules Sikes1561
19487–⁠34–⁠2Jules Sikes1591
19478–⁠1–⁠24–⁠0–⁠112George Sauer1604
19467–⁠2–⁠14–⁠1George Sauer1496
19454–⁠5–⁠11–⁠3–⁠1Henry Shenk1355
19443–⁠6–⁠11–⁠4Henry Shenk1352
19434–⁠5–⁠12–⁠3Henry Shenk1366
19422–⁠81–⁠4Gwinn Henry1335
19413–⁠62–⁠3Gwinn Henry1379
19402–⁠70–⁠5Gwinn Henry1376
19392–⁠61–⁠4Gwinn Henry1386
19383–⁠61–⁠4Adrian Lindsey1418
19373–⁠4–⁠22–⁠1–⁠2Adrian Lindsey1413
19361–⁠6–⁠10–⁠5Adrian Lindsey1378
19354–⁠4–⁠12–⁠2–⁠1Adrian Lindsey1493
19343–⁠4–⁠31–⁠2–⁠2Adrian Lindsey1491
19335–⁠4–⁠12–⁠3Adrian Lindsey1511
19325–⁠33–⁠2Bill Hargiss, Adrian Lindsey1531
19315–⁠51–⁠3Bill Hargiss1491
19306–⁠24–⁠1Bill Hargiss1568
19294–⁠42–⁠3Bill Hargiss1477
19282–⁠4–⁠21–⁠3–⁠1Bill Hargiss1414
19273–⁠4–⁠13–⁠3–⁠1Cappy Cappon1426
19262–⁠61–⁠5Cappy Cappon1377
19252–⁠5–⁠12–⁠5–⁠1Potsy Clark1452
19242–⁠5–⁠12–⁠4–⁠1Potsy Clark1513
19235–⁠0–⁠33–⁠0–⁠3Potsy Clark1580
19223–⁠4–⁠11–⁠3–⁠1Potsy Clark1509
19214–⁠33–⁠3Potsy Clark1517
19205–⁠2–⁠13–⁠2Phog Allen1514
19193–⁠2–⁠31–⁠1–⁠1Leon McCarty1484
1918few games on file2–⁠21–⁠1Jay Bond1515
19176–⁠23–⁠1Herman Olcott1587
19164–⁠3–⁠11–⁠2–⁠1Herman Olcott1513
19156–⁠23–⁠1Herman Olcott1533
19145–⁠2–⁠12–⁠2H.M. Wheaton1528
19135–⁠33–⁠2Arthur Mosse1504
19124–⁠41–⁠2Arthur Mosse1484
19114–⁠2–⁠21–⁠1–⁠1Ralph Sherwin1530
19106–⁠1–⁠11–⁠1–⁠1Doc Kennedy1599
19098–⁠12–⁠1Doc Kennedy1638
19089–⁠03–⁠0Doc Kennedy1628
19075–⁠31–⁠1Doc Kennedy1516
19067–⁠2–⁠2Doc Kennedy1566
190510–⁠1Doc Kennedy1631
19048–⁠1–⁠1Doc Kennedy1587
19036–⁠3Harrison Weeks1472
19026–⁠4Arthur Curtis1427
19013–⁠5–⁠2John Outland1370
1900few games on file0–⁠1L.W. Boynton1441
1896few games on file0–⁠1Hector Cowan1447
1894few games on file0–⁠1Hector Cowan1452
1893few games on file0–⁠2A.W. Shepard1465
1892few games on file1–⁠0A.W. Shepard1525

Officially 617–⁠695–⁠58 since 1890 (per Wikipedia, rechecked weekly); game by game here, 560–⁠679–⁠54 (−57 wins, −16 losses, −4 ties). Our file starts in 1892; the program began in 1890. Some games are missing from our source.

No season on file for 1895, 1897–⁠99: the program may not have played, or our source may be missing them.

Records are computed from every game on file at CollegeFootballData.com, whose coverage of the earliest seasons can be incomplete. Elo is this site’s own rating; see how it works on the records page.