Kansas Jayhawks

Kansas Jayhawks
Logo
University	University of Kansas
Conference	Big 12
Division	Division I
Athletic director	Lew Perkins
Location	Lawrence, Kansas
Varsity teams	18
Football stadium	University of Kansas Memorial Stadium
Arena	Allen Fieldhouse
Baseball stadium	Hoglund Ballpark
Mascot	Big Jay, Baby Jay
Nickname	Jayhawks
Fight song	I'm a Jayhawk
Colors	Blue and Crimson
Website	www.kuathletics.com

The sports teams at the University of Kansas are known as the Jayhawks. They participate in the NCAA's Division I and in the Big 12 Conference. University of Kansas athletic teams have won ten total NCAA Division I championships, including three in men's basketball, one in men's cross country, three in men's indoor track and field, and three in men's outdoor track and field.

Men's sports

• Baseball
• Basketball
• Cross country
• Football
• Golf
• Track and field
• Bowling

Women's sports

• Basketball
• Cross country
• Golf
• Rowing
• Soccer
• Softball
• Swimming and diving
• Tennis
• Track and field
• Volleyball
• Bowling

Origins of "Jayhawk"

The Jayhawk is a mythical cross between two common birds -- the noisy blue jay and the quiet sparrow hawk. The word came to prominence just before the Civil War, in Bleeding Kansas, where it was adopted by militant abolitionist groups known as Jayhawkers. With the admission of Kansas as a free state in 1861, Jayhawker became synonymous with the people of Kansas. The Jayhawk appears in several Kansas cheers, most notably, the "Rock Chalk, Jayhawk" chant in unison before and during games. [4]

Championships

Conference championships & titles

Big 12 Conference champions have the best conference regular season record, and titles are awarded to the winner of the postseason championship tournament.

Men's Basketball

The Jayhawks have won 52 conference championships since their inception, an NCAA record. The Jayhawks have belonged to the Big 12 Conference since it formed before the 1996–97 season. Before that, the Jayhawks have belonged to the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association from the 1907–08 to 1927–28 seasons, the Big Six Conference from 1928–29 to 1946–47, the Big Seven Conference from 1947–48 to 1957–58, the Big Eight Conference from 1958–59 up until the end of the 1995–96 season. It should be noted that the Big Six and Big Seven conferences were actually the more often used names of the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association, which existed under that official name until 1964, when it was changed to the Big Eight.

Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association (13)

• 1908, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1912, 1914, 1915, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927

Big Six Conference (12)

• 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1946

Big Seven Conference (5)

• 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1957

Big Eight Conference (13)

• 1960, 1966, 1967, 1971, 1974, 1975, 1978, 1986, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996

Big 12 Conference (9)

1997 - Big 12 regular-season and tournament champion - coached by Roy Williams, won 87-60 over Missouri

1998 - Big 12 regular-season and tournament champion - coached by Roy Williams, won 72-58 over Oklahoma

1999 - Big 12 tournament champion - coached by Roy Williams, won 53-37 over Oklahoma State

2002 - Big 12 regular-season champion - coached by Roy Williams, was undefeated (16-0), lost the title game 64-55 to #2 seeded Oklahoma. Reached Final Four before losing to eventual National Champion Maryland.

2003 - Big 12 regular-season champion - coached by Roy Williams. Defeated in title game of the NCAA Tournament by Syracuse.

2005 - Big 12 regular-season co-champion with Oklahoma. Lost in Big 12 Tournament semi-final to 3 seed Oklahoma State. - coached by Bill Self

2006 - Big 12 regular-season co-champion with Texas and tournament champion - coached by Self, won 80-68 over #1 seeded Texas

2007 - Big 12 regular season champion and tournament champion - coached by Self, won 88-84 in OT over #3 seeded Texas

2008 - Big 12 regular season co-champion with Texas and tournament champion - coached by Self, won 84-74 over #1 seeded Texas

2009 - Big 12 regular season champions - coached by Bill Self

Women's Basketball

1979 - Big 8 tournament champion

1980 - Big 8 tournament champion

1981 - Big 8 tournament champion

1987 - Big 8 regular season and tournament champion

1988 - Big 8 tournament champion

1992 - Big 8 regular season champion

1993 - Big 8 tournament champion

1996 - Big 8 regular season champion

1997 - Big 12 champion - coached by Marian Washington

Football

1892 Western Interstate University Football Association champion

1893 Western Interstate University Football Association champion (tie)

1895 Western Interstate University Football Association champion (tie)

1908 - MVIAA champion - coached by A.R. Kennedy, was undefeated (4-0; 9-0 overall)

1930 - Big 6 champion - coached by Bill Hargiss

1946 - Big 6 champion (tie) - coached by George Sauer

1947 - Big 6 champion (tie) - coached by Sauer

1968 - Big 8 champion (tie) - coached by Pepper Rodgers

Baseball

1922 - MVIAA champion

1923 - MVIAA champion

1949 - Big 7 Conference champion

2006 - Big 12 tournament champion - defeated Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Missouri, and Nebraska in the Conference playoffs.

Soccer

2004 - Big 12 regular season co-champion - coached by Mark Francis

Softball

2006 - Big 12 tournament champion - won 4-2 over Oklahoma and outscored opponents 13-3 in four games

Men's Indoor Track & Field

1922, 1923, 1934, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983

Men's Outdoor Track & Field

1910, 1927, 1928, 1930, 1931, 1934, 1946, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1982

Men's Cross Country

1928, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1968, 1969

Men's Golf

1999

Tennis

1979, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996

National championships

Men's Basketball

1922 Helms Basketball Champion - coached by Phog Allen

1923 Helms Basketball Champion - coached by Phog Allen

1952 - coached by Phog Allen, won 80-63 over St. John's

1988 - coached by Larry Brown, won 83-79 over Oklahoma

2008 - coached by Bill Self, won 75-68 over Memphis in overtime

Men's Cross Country

1953

Men's Indoor Track

1966 - 1969 - 1970

Men's Outdoor Track

1959 - 1960 - 1970

Men's Tenpin Bowling

2004 Intercollegiate Bowling Champions

BCS Bowls

2008 - Orange Bowl Champions; defeated Virginia Tech 24-21 - coached by Mark Mangino

Basketball

Men's basketball

Main article: Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball

Kansas Jayhawks
2024–25 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team
University	University of Kansas
First season	1898–99
All-time record	2,370–885 (.728)
Athletic director	Travis Goff
Head coach	Bill Self (21st season)
Conference	Big 12
Location	Lawrence, Kansas
Arena	Allen Fieldhouse (Capacity: 16,300)
Nickname	Jayhawks
Colors	Crimson and blue
Uniforms
Home Away Alternate
Pre-tournament Helms champions
1922, 1923
NCAA tournament champions
1952, 1988, 2008, 2022
NCAA tournament runner-up
1940, 1953, 1957, 1991, 2003, 2012
NCAA tournament Final Four
1940, 1952, 1953, 1957, 1971, 1974, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1993, 2002, 2003, 2008, 2012, 2018*, 2022
NCAA tournament Elite Eight
1952, 1953, 1957, 1960, 1966, 1971, 1974, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1993, 1996, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017, 2018*, 2022
NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen
1953, 1957, 1960, 1966, 1967, 1971, 1974, 1981, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018*, 2022
NCAA tournament round of 32
1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018*, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
NCAA tournament appearances
1940, 1942, 1952, 1953, 1957, 1960, 1966, 1967, 1971, 1974, 1975, 1978, 1981, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018*, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
Conference tournament champions
1981, 1984, 1986, 1992, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2016, 2018*, 2022
Conference regular season champions
1908, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1912, 1914, 1915, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1946, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1957, 1960, 1966, 1967, 1971, 1974, 1975, 1978, 1986, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018*, 2020, 2022, 2023
Conference division season champions
1908, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1914, 1915
*Vacated by NCAA

The Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball program is the intercollegiate men's basketball program of the University of Kansas. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I and the team competes in the Big 12 Conference. Kansas is considered one of the most prestigious college basketball programs in the country with six overall national championships (4 NCAA Tournament National Championships and 2 Helms National Championships), as well being runner-up six times and having the most conference titles in the nation. The Jayhawks also own the NCAA record for most consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances with 28 consecutive appearances. Since the 1984 tournament, the Jayhawks have only missed the tournament twice and both times were due to disciplinary action from the NCAA; they were ruled ineligible for the 1989 tournament and had their 2018 appearance was vacated. They have not missed the tournament strictly due to on the court performance since the 1983 tournament. They were also, along with Dartmouth, the first team to appear in multiple NCAA Tournaments after making their second appearance in the 1942 tournament. The Jayhawks had been ranked in the AP poll for 231 consecutive polls, a streak that had stretched from the poll released on February 2, 2009, poll through the poll released on February 8, 2021, which is the longest streak in AP poll history. Of the 24 seasons the Big 12 conference has been in existence, Kansas has won at least a share of 19 regular-season conference titles.

The Jayhawks' first coach was the inventor of basketball, James Naismith. Naismith, ironically, is the only coach in Kansas basketball history with a losing record. The Kansas basketball program has produced many notable professional players, including Clyde Lovellette, Wilt Chamberlain, Jo Jo White, Danny Manning, Raef LaFrentz, Paul Pierce, Nick Collison, Kirk Hinrich, Mario Chalmers, Andrew Wiggins, and Joel Embiid. Politician Bob Dole also played basketball at Kansas. Former players that have gone on to be coaches include Phog Allen, Adolph Rupp, Dean Smith, Dutch Lonborg, and former assistants to go on to be notable coaches include John Calipari, Gregg Popovich, and Bill Self. Mark Turgeon, Jerod Haase, Danny Manning, and Tad Boyle are all former players and assistant coaches that became head coaches. Allen founded the National Association of Basketball Coaches and, with Lonborg, was an early proponent of the NCAA tournament. Four different Jayhawk head coaches are in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as coaches, Phog Allen, Larry Brown, Roy Williams, and current head coach Bill Self. Three different Division I basketball arenas have been named after former Kansas players, the Dean Smith Center named after Dean Smith at North Carolina, Rupp Arena named after Adolph Rupp at Kentucky, and the Jayhawks’ own arena Allen Fieldhouse named after Phog Allen.

In 2008, ESPN ranked Kansas second on a list of the most prestigious programs of the modern college basketball era. Kansas currently has the longest streak of consecutive NCAA tournament appearances of all-time (28), the longest current streak of consecutive NCAA winning seasons (39), the most winning seasons in Division I history (104), the most non-losing seasons (.500 or better) in NCAA history (106), the most conference championships in Division I history (63), tied with UCLA for the most consecutive regular-season conference titles in Division I (13), the most First-Team All-Americans in Division I history (24), and the most First-Team All-American selections in Division I history (31). As of the last complete season, the program ranks third in Division I all-time winning percentage (.723) and second in Division I all-time wins (2,370).

Since the opening of Allen Fieldhouse, the Jayhawks’ home arena, in 1955, the Jayhawks have earned a well established home court advantage. Allen Fieldhouse is often considered one of the best home court advantages in college basketball. As of 2024, the Jayhawks have won over 87 percent of their games in the 69-year history of Allen Fieldhouse, losing just 112 games. Under current head coach Bill Self, the Jayhawks have had three home court winning streaks over 30 games and two over 50 games. In addition to Allen Fieldhouse, the Jayhawks frequently play games at the nearby T-Mobile Center (formerly Sprint Center) in Kansas City, Missouri. These games, while technically a neutral site, are officially considered home games when not part of a tournament, the only exception being their games at the arena during their six-game series with rival Missouri.

History

Kansas ranks second all-time in NCAA Division I wins with 2,357 wins (as of the last complete season), against 877 losses (.729 all time winning %, third all-time). This record includes a 765–110 (.874) mark at historic Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks are first in NCAA history with 98 winning seasons, and tied for first in NCAA history with 101 non-losing (.500 or better) seasons with Kentucky. Kansas is tied for the fewest head coaches (8) of any program that has played since the 19th century, yet has reached the Final Four under more head coaches (6) than any other program in the nation. Every head coach at Kansas since the inception of the NCAA Tournament has led the program to the Final Four. Kansas has had four head coaches inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame, more than any other program in the nation. A perennial conference powerhouse, Kansas leads Division I all-time in regular season conference titles with 62 in 113 years of conference play (the MVIAA Conference was created in 1907) through the 2019–20 regular season. The Jayhawks have won a record 20 conference titles and a record 11 conference tournament titles in the 24 years of the Big 12's existence. The program also owns the best Big 12 records in both those areas with a 412–102 record in conference play and a 46–12 record in tournament play. The Jayhawks won their 2,000th game in school history when they defeated Texas Tech in the 2009–2010 season, joining the University of Kentucky and the University of North Carolina as the only schools to boast such an achievement at that time.

James Naismith era (1898–1907)

The 1899 University of Kansas basketball team, with Dr. James Naismith at the back right

The men's basketball program officially began in 1898, following the arrival of Dr. James Naismith to the school, just six years after Naismith had written the sport's first official rules. Naismith was initially hired to be a chapel director and physical education instructor, but became the head basketball coach.

The Jayhawks played their first game on February 3, 1899, against the Kansas City YMCA, a game they lost 5–16. They would win their first game a week later on February 10 in a 31–6 victory over the Topeka YMCA. Their first intercollegiate game was played on March 23 against Haskell, a school about two miles southeast of the southeastern edge of the University of Kansas. They would finish their first season 7–4.

During the programs early years, the majority of the university's basketball games were played against nearby YMCA teams, with YMCAs across the nation having played an integral part in the birth of basketball. Other common opponents were Haskell and William Jewell. Under Naismith, the team began their rivalries with Kansas State, later deemed the Sunflower Showdown and Missouri, later deemed the Border War (officially changed to Border Showdown in 2004). Naismith was, ironically, the only coach in the program's history to have a losing record (55–60).

Including his years as coach, Naismith served as the athletic director and a faculty member at Kansas for a total of almost 40 years before retiring in 1937. Naismith died in 1939, and his remains are buried in Lawrence, Kansas. The basketball court in Allen Fieldhouse is named James Naismith Court. Beyond inventing the game, his next greatest basketball legacy may be his coaching tree, whose two trunks are the well-known Phog Allen and Kansas native John McLendon. (McLendon attended KU in the 1930s when Allen was head coach. Although McLendon tried out for the team, he never played for Allen. Naismith mentored McLendon from his arrival at Kansas through degree completion and beyond.)

On December 10, 2010, the David Booth family purchased Dr. James Naismith's 13 Original Rules of the game at a Sotheby's auction in New York City for the sum of $4.3 million. They brought the founding document of basketball back to KU's Lawrence campus, where it is currently housed at the DeBruce Center.

Phog Allen/William O. Hamilton era (1907–1956)

In 1907, Kansas hired one of Naismith's players, Dr. Forrest C. "Phog" Allen as head coach. Naismith provided Allen with a now infamous piece of wisdom: "You can't coach basketball; you just play it." Allen would set out to prove the adage wrong and through success and an unrivaled coaching tree has become known as the "Father of Basketball Coaching", having passed on his knowledge of the game to some of the most well-respected names in the history of college basketball, including National Basketball Hall of Fame coaches Adolph Rupp, Dean Smith, Dutch Lonborg and Ralph Miller (all except Lonborg were born and raised in Kansas). Allen coached the team from 1907 to 1909, but William O. Hamilton coached from 1909 to 1919, with Allen taking over again in 1919. The team went 125–59 and won five conference championships under Hamilton's direction.

Allen coached KU for 39 seasons and amassed a record of 590–219, with two retroactively-awarded Helms Foundation national titles and one NCAA Tournament championship in 1952. Numerous basketball greats would play at Kansas during Allen's era, including Dean Smith, Adolph Rupp, Dutch Lonborg, and Ralph Miller (all future Hall of Fame coaches), Paul Endacott, Bill Johnson, and Clyde Lovellette (Hall of Fame players), two-time Olympic Gold Medalist Bill Hougland, and even former United States Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole.

In 1952, the Jayhawks won the national title with an 80–63 victory in the final game over St. John's, coached by Frank McGuire. Clyde Lovellette of Kansas was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, and is still the only player to lead the nation in scoring and lead his team to a national title in the same year. This tournament was the first to have a true "Final Four" format. Seven members of the championship team represented the United States in the 1952 Summer Olympics and brought home a gold medal for the national basketball team. This was especially poignant for Allen, as he had been the driving force for having basketball added to the Olympics in 1936. Allen was forced to retire when he turned 70 in 1956, because of a university policy requiring school employees to retire at 70. Allen had recruited legendary Wilt Chamberlain to Kansas, but would not get to coach him because freshmen were not eligible to play varsity basketball in 1956.

Dick Harp era (1956–1964)

Wilt Chamberlain was one of the top centers to ever play for the Jayhawks.

Following Allen's retirement, the Jayhawks hired former KU player and assistant, Dick Harp. Under Harp the Jayhawks went 121–82 with two conference titles and two NCAA tournament berths.

Wilt Chamberlain played his varsity years under Harp, making his job a rather easy one for the first two seasons. In his first varsity game, Chamberlain scored 52 points and grabbed 31 rebounds, breaking both all-time college records in an 87–69 win against Northwestern. In 1957, he led the Jayhawks to the championship game against North Carolina, coached by Frank McGuire, whom they had defeated in the 1952 title game when McGuire was at St. John's. McGuire triple-teamed Chamberlain and, as a result, KU was defeated 54–53 in triple overtime. The game is considered one of the greatest in NCAA history. Chamberlain continued to average 30+ points per game until leaving KU early to play professionally with the Harlem Globetrotters.

Ted Owens era (1964–1983)

Ted Owens took over for Harp in 1964, and would go 348–128 during his tenure, eventually winning six Big Eight Conference titles.

The team advanced to NCAA postseason play seven times under Owens. The 1971 team went 27–3 and advanced to the Final Four before losing to UCLA. In 1974 the team went 23–7 and again advanced to the Final Four before losing to Marquette.

During this era the program produced All-Americans such as Jo Jo White, Walt Wesley, Bud Stallworth, Darnell Valentine, and Dave Robisch.

After 19 years of coaching at University of Kansas, Owens was fired following the 1982–83 season after the Jayhawks posted back-to-back losing seasons.

Larry Brown era (1983–1988)

Brown helped lead Kansas to the school's second-ever NCAA Tournament championship in 1988.

In 1983, Larry Brown headed to the University of Kansas, after coaching in the NBA. Under Brown, Kansas finished first in the Big Eight in 1986, and second in 1984, 1985, and 1987. In 1988, Kansas got off to a 12–8 start, including 1–4 in the Big 8. The Jayhawks' 55-game homecourt winning streak in Allen Fieldhouse was snapped with a loss to rival Kansas State, and they would also lose two more home games to Duke and Oklahoma. Behind the high-scoring of Danny Manning, KU finished 21–11 at the end of the season and entered the NCAA tournament as a #6 seed. Two early upsets allowed them to face lower seeds, gain momentum, and advance. The Jayhawks would ultimately go on to face the three teams who had given them their three home losses that season. They defeated rival Kansas State in the Elite 8, then defeated Duke in the Final 4, and won the national championship, defeating favored conference rival Oklahoma 83–79 in the final. The 11 losses Kansas accrued in 1988 are more than any other national champion have before or since. The win garnered the team the nickname "Danny and the Miracles". Earlier, near the start of the tournament, Dick Vitale had been asked about Kansas's chances and commented "If Kansas wins, I'll kiss the Jayhawk on the floor of Allen Fieldhouse." Eventually, he did make good on his promise.

During Brown's tenure, Kansas had five NCAA Tournament appearances, which included two second round appearances, one Sweet 16 appearance, two trips to the Final Four and the national championship. He also compiled a 135–44 (.754) overall record. Brown left under a cloud, as NCAA sanctions and a postseason probation were levied against Kansas following Brown's departure in the 1988–1989 season as a result of recruiting violations that took place during Brown's tenure. The major violation was a plane ticket home for potential transfer Vincent Askew to see his sick grandmother. Prior to the investigation, Askew had already decided not to transfer to Kansas.

Roy Williams era (1988–2003)

Shortly following Brown's departure, Kansas hired then North Carolina assistant Roy Williams as head coach.

From 1988 to 2003, under the direction of Williams, the Jayhawks had a record of 418–101, a .805 winning percentage. Williams' Kansas teams averaged 27.8 wins per season. Except for his first season at Kansas (when the team was on probation), all of Williams' teams made the NCAA tournament. On Roy's first KU team Patrick Richey, Adonis Jordan and Richard Scott could not visit campus because of recruiting violations by Larry Brown, so they committed sight unseen. From 1990 to 1999 Kansas compiled a 286–60 record, giving them both the most wins and best winning percentage of any team in that decade. From 1994 to 1998, the Jayhawks won 62 consecutive home games at Allen Fieldhouse, which was the longest such streak in the NCAA at the time. The seniors of 1998 (Raef LaFrentz, Billy Thomas, and C.B. McGrath) went 58–0 at home during their KU careers.

Kansas won nine regular-season conference championships over Williams' last 13 years. In seven years of Big 12 Conference play, his teams went 94–18, capturing the regular-season title in 1997, 1998, 2002 and 2003 and the postseason tournament crown in 1997, 1998 and 1999. In 2001–02, KU became the first, and so far only, team to go undefeated (16–0) in Big 12 play. From 1995 to 1998, Kansas was a combined 123–17 – an average of 30.8 wins per season. Williams' teams went 201–17 (.922) in Allen Fieldhouse, and won 62 consecutive games in Allen from February 1994 to December 1998. Kansas was a regular in the Associated Press Top 25 from 1991 to 1999, placing in the poll for 145 consecutive weeks. Williams' teams were ranked in the Top 10 in 194 AP polls from 1990.

Kansas led the nation in field goal percentage and scoring in 2002 and in scoring margin in 2003, held opponents to the lowest field goal percentage in the country in 2001 (37.8 percent), and led the nation in winning percentage in 1997 and 2002. The team shot better than 50 percent from the floor for seven different seasons under Williams, and led the country in field goal percentage in 1990 (53.3) and 2002 (50.6). Williams' teams shot a combined 49.4 percent from the floor during his tenure. Williams-coached teams led the nation in assists in 2001 and 2002 and were seventh in the nation in 2003; scored 100 or more points 71 times (once every 13 games); averaged 82.7 points per game over his 15 seasons as coach; and averaged 90 or more points per game in two seasons (92.1 in 1990 and 90.9 in 2002).

The Jayhawks were in the AP Top 25 in 242 of 268 weekly polls, reached the No. 1 ranking in the country in six different seasons, and reached at least No. 2 in the nation in 11 of William's 15 seasons as head coach at Kansas.

Under Williams, the team had several deep runs in the NCAA Tournament, making it to four Final Fours and appearing in the national championship game in both 1991 and 2003, losing both, to Duke and Syracuse respectively. Amidst the tournament successes, there were plenty of woes. The 1996–97 team was said by many to be one of the greatest teams in history, featuring future NBA players such as Paul Pierce, Jacque Vaughn, Raef LaFrentz, Greg Orstertag, and Scot Pollard. The team was upset in the Sweet Sixteen by the eventual champion, Arizona Wildcats.

The Jayhawks advanced to the Final Four in 2002 & 2003. Following the national championship loss in 2003, Williams left Kansas and returned to coach at his alma mater, North Carolina.

Bill Self era (2003–present)

Bill Self was introduced as the new head coach for the 2003–04 season and in his first season at Kansas, Self inherited Williams' players and recruits, which often caused turmoil as the style of play differed between the two coaches. Nevertheless, Self led his new Kansas team to the Elite Eight at the NCAA tournament his first year.

KU in 2004–05 was led by seniors Wayne Simien, Keith Langford, Michael Lee, and Aaron Miles. They began the season ranked #1 and started off 20–1, but then they slumped and lost six of their final nine games, including a loss to Bucknell in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The team finished 23–7 and settled for a Big 12 co-championship with Oklahoma.

Coach Bill Self (third from left) with his national champion 2007–08 squad

In 2005–06, little was expected of the freshman/sophomore-dominated Jayhawks, and they began the season 10–6, including 1–2 in the Big 12. Although they did post a 73–46 win over Kentucky, they also saw the end of their 31-game winning streak over rival Kansas State with a 59–55 loss at Allen Fieldhouse, and two nights later blew a seven-point lead in the final 45 seconds of regulation en route to an 89–86 overtime loss at Missouri. But afterward, the Jayhawks matured rapidly, winning 15 of their final 17 games and avenging the losses to both Kansas State and Missouri. KU played as the #2 seed in the Big 12 Tournament in Dallas, and avenged an earlier loss to Texas with an 80–68 victory over the Longhorns in the final to clinch the tournament championship and the highlight win of the season. KU was handed a #4 seed for the NCAA Tournament but stumbled again in the first round with a loss to the Bradley Braves.

In the 2006–07 season, Self led Kansas to the 2007 Big 12 regular-season championship with a 14–2 record, highlighted by beating the Kevin Durant-led Texas Longhorns in come-from-behind victories in the last game of the regular season and in the Big 12 Championship game. At the end of the regular season, Kansas stood at 27–4 and ranked #2 in the nation in both the AP and coaches' polls. Kansas received a number 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, but their tournament run ended in the Elite Eight with a loss to 2-seed UCLA.

In the 2007–08 season, Self's Kansas team began the season 20–0 until they suffered their first loss at rival Kansas State, their first loss at Kansas State since 1983. The 2008 Jayhawks won the Big 12 regular-season title and the Big 12 conference tourney. They received a number-one seeding in the NCAA tournament in the Midwest region. On March 30, 2008, Self led Kansas to a win in an Elite Eight game over upstart Davidson College. KU won by two, 59–57. The Jayhawks played overall number 1 tournament seed North Carolina in the semifinals, a team coached by former KU head man Roy Williams. The Jayhawks opened the game with a 40–12 run over the first 12½ minutes before finally defeating them 84–66. On April 7, 2008, the Jayhawks triumphed over a one-loss Memphis team to claim the national title. With only seconds on the clock, Sherron Collins drove the ball the length of the court and threaded a pass to Mario Chalmers, who connected on a deep three-pointer to force overtime. This shot would later come to be known as "Mario's Miracle" in a nod to 1988 championship nickname "Danny and the Miracles". Kansas then outplayed Memphis in the overtime to win the NCAA Championship game, 75–68. The Jayhawks finished the season with a 37–3 record, the winningest season in Kansas history.

Kansas fans celebrate in Downtown Lawrence, Kansas after the Jayhawks win the 2008 National Championship

In the 2008–09 season, despite losing seven of their top nine scorers and the entire starting line-up, the Jayhawks earned their 20th consecutive NCAA tournament bid after going 25–7 (14–2), winning the conference regular season title and extending their home winning streak to 41 straight at Allen Fieldhouse. On March 22, 2009, Kansas defeated Dayton, advancing to their 3rd consecutive Sweet 16 appearance. But the Jayhawks' season ended on March 27 when Michigan State came from behind in the final minute to defeat Kansas 67–62, ending their year at 27–8. Coach Self's record, after 6 seasons with the Jayhawks, was 169–40, an .809 percentage. After the season, Self was named National Coach of the Year by the Associated Press, CBS Sports' Chevrolet Award, USBWA (Henry Iba Award), and Sporting News.

On April 13, Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich announced their intent to return for the 2009–10 season. On April 23, top high school recruit Xavier Henry made his commitment to play at Kansas in the fall, prompting ESPN to name the Jayhawks as "the team to beat in 2009–10." By the time the fall of 2009 arrived, Kansas was the unanimous preseason #1 team in all major publications. The Jayhawks finished the regular season with a 29–2 record and continue to hold the Division I record for the current consecutive home winning streak at 59 straight games in Allen Fieldhouse. Kansas passed 2,000 all-time wins in the 2009–10 season, only the third school to do so (finishing the season with a total of 2,003 all-time victories). They won the Big 12 tournament on March 13, clinching their 21st consecutive NCAA tournament appearance, an active NCAA record. However, despite being named the overall #1 seed in the tournament, the Jayhawks fell in the second round to #9-seeded Northern Iowa, finishing the season at 33–3.

Recruiting began immediately for the 2010–11 season, as Kansas landed the nation's top recruit Josh Selby in April. By September 2010, both The Sporting News and Athlon Sports had ranked Kansas in their pre-season outlook as #4 overall and, along with ESPN's Joe Lunardi, were projected to become a #1 seed again in the 2011 NCAA Tournament, which they would again earn. Blue Ribbon and the USA Today/ESPN coaches polls both placed Kansas at #7 in the pre-season poll. Josh Selby, became eligible and joined the Jayhawk line-up on December 18. On March 5, the Jayhawks beat Missouri 70–66 to clinch the Big 12 regular-season title for the 7th consecutive time and later went on to finish 29–2 during the regular season, ranked #2 in both the AP Poll and the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll. Bill Self was named Big 12 Coach of the Year and Marcus Morris was named Big 12 Player of the Year. The Jayhawks defeated 16 seed Boston University, 9 seed Illinois and 12 seed Richmond to reach their 3rd Elite Eight in the past 5 seasons before falling to 11 seed Virginia Commonwealth University in the quarterfinal game. During the season, Kansas moved past North Carolina as the 2nd winningest basketball program in history.

After being considered the top team but falling short in both of the previous two seasons, Kansas lost six of their top 8 scorers for the 2011–12 season. The Jayhawks had to rebuild after winning seven straight Big 12 titles. Prior to the season, the NCAA declared that three of the Jayhawks top recruits were ineligible for the season, which included games against perennial powerhouse programs such as Kentucky, Duke, Ohio State, and Georgetown. Despite 7 games against top 10 ranked opponents, Kansas finished the regular season 26–5, earned their 8th consecutive Big 12 title, and advanced to their 14th Final Four in school history. The Jayhawks faced another 2 seed, the Ohio State Buckeyes, in the National Semifinals, and came back from a 13-point first-half deficit to win the game, 64–62. They then faced the Kentucky Wildcats, who had beaten the Louisville Cardinals on the other side of the bracket, in the championship game. Kansas lost to the Wildcats, 67–59.

Kansas entered the 2012–13 season with eight straight Big 12 titles in tow. They ended the season having won 107 of their last 109 games at home. After scoring their ninth consecutive title and winning the Big 12 tournament championship by defeating rival Kansas State for the third time that season, KU set its sights on a sixth national title. They were seeded #1 in the South bracket, defeating Western Kentucky and North Carolina before losing in overtime to Michigan 87–85 in the Sweet 16.

With star freshmen Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid on the roster, Kansas entered the 2013–14 season as the #5 team in the country. They started off well with five straight wins, including a victory over Duke in the Champions' Classic. However, the team went 4–4 over its next eight games, including back-to-back losses to Colorado and Florida and an ugly home loss to San Diego State. The team recovered from this rough stretch and began Big 12 play with seven straight wins, ultimately finishing 14–4 to win its 10th consecutive Big 12 title. A back injury to Joel Embiid, however, left the Jayhawks vulnerable on their interior defense, and they fizzled out at season's end with four losses in their final seven games, including a loss to Iowa State in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals in Kansas City and an NCAA Tournament Round of 32 loss to Stanford to end the year. Kansas concluded the year 25–10, the first ten-loss season for Kansas since Roy Williams' 1999–2000 Jayhawks went 24–10.

After the exodus of Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid to the NBA draft, the Jayhawks reloaded with freshmen Kelly Oubre Jr. and Cliff Alexander, the Jayhawks looked poised for another Big 12 season title, which would be their 11th straight. After a loss in the Champions Classic to Kentucky, the Jayhawks finished 11–2 in the non-conference. In what many regarded as the toughest conference in the nation (Big 12) the Jayhawks won their 11th straight title outright with a record of 13–5, having lost a strong post presence in Cliff Alexander due to an investigation by the NCAA of improper benefits being given to Alexander. Evidence never clearly materialized, but Alexander was held out and played his last game as a Jayhawk at Kansas State, where they lost by 7. They then lost in the Big 12 Championship game to Iowa State 70–66, and had a final record going into the tournament of 26–8. The Jayhawks were given a 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, where they ousted 15 seed New Mexico State by 19 points, but exited the tournament early at the hands of Wichita State by 13 points. Both Oubre Jr. and Alexander declared for the draft shortly after the conclusion of the NCAA tournament.

The 2015–16 Jayhawks, led by Perry Ellis and Frank Mason, won a 12th consecutive Big 12 title and won the Big 12 Tournament. Seeded #1 in the NCAA South Region, the Jayhawks reached the Elite Eight, where they stumbled against #2 seed Villanova, the eventual national champions.

In 2016–17, behind the leadership of national player of the year Frank Mason, the Jayhawks won a 13th consecutive Big 12 title, tying UCLA's record for most consecutive conference titles. Although the team made an early exit from the Big 12 Tournament with a quarterfinal loss to TCU, the Jayhawks got the #1 seed in the NCAA Midwest Region. They dominated UC-Davis, Michigan State, and Purdue in their first three games, but ran into a buzzsaw against Oregon in the Elite Eight.

The 2017–18 Jayhawks lost a number of players to graduation, the NBA Draft, and transfer; but appeared to be poised for another spectacular season. Star freshman Billy Preston was sidelined by an NCAA inquiry into the financial picture surrounding his car, and ultimately left the team to play professional basketball in Europe. Kansas won its first seven games before losing in Kansas City to Washington and at home to Arizona State. Kansas would lose a total of three home games during the season, the most for any Bill Self-coached Kansas team, and the most since losing three home games in the 1998–99 season. The season bottomed out in early February with a home loss to Oklahoma State and a 16-point loss at Baylor. But Kansas rallied to win a 14th straight Big 12 title, breaking UCLA's record. Then they defeated West Virginia to win the Big 12 Tournament. Seeded #1 in the NCAA Midwest Region, the Jayhawks defeated Penn, Seton Hall, Clemson, and Duke to reach Bill Self's third Final Four appearance and the program's 15th overall. However, they stumbled against Villanova for the second time in three years. As with their last outing, Villanova wound up as the college champions. On October 11, 2023, the NCAA would rule that Kansas would vacate the 15 wins in which Silvio De Souza played during that season, Big 12 Tournament title, NCAA appearance and their Final Four appearance due NCAA violations.

Kansas played in the 2015 World University Games in South Korea as the United States representatives in July 2015. The Jayhawks went undefeated in the World University Games, winning the championship to give the United States its first gold medal in World University Games men's basketball since 2005. In August 2017, Self and the Jayhawks traveled to Italy to play four exhibition matches against local professional Italian teams.

Shortly before the 2019–20 season began the NCAA announced they had major NCAA violations stemming from their involvement in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball corruption scandal putting their NCAA record consecutive tournament appearance streak in jeopardy.

The Jayhawks finished the 2019–20 regular season 28–3 and were unanimously ranked number one in the final regular season AP poll. The Jayhawks went undefeated against unranked teams, and their three losses came to ranked teams. The Jayhawks were a favorite to win the NCAA Tournament, but the tournament was cancelled on March 12, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The following season, the Jayhawks struggled early in the conference schedule. After eight games, they had a 4–4 conference record. At one point during conference play, they lost five of seven games which included a 3-game losing streak, a rarity under Self. They would finish the regular season the season winning seven of their last eight games, including a 71–58 defeat of number 2 ranked Baylor, who was undefeated going into the game. Kansas withdrew from the Big 12 tournament after a player tested positive for COVID-19. They qualified for the tournament, extending their NCAA record to 31 consecutive tournaments. They defeated Eastern Washington in the first round. The following round, they were beaten by USC 51–85, their worst NCAA Tournament loss in school history and one of the worst defeats in program history.

On April 2, 2021, Kansas signed Self to a lifetime contract. The contract will automatically add an extra year to every year he coaches until he retires or dies.

The 2021–22 team earned a number 1 seed in the 2022 NCAA tournament. They defeated Providence in the tournament to become the winningest program in the nation. They defeated Villanova in the Final Four. The Jayhawks defeated North Carolina 72–69 in the national championship game to win Self's second championship, and the team's fourth NCAA championship. In the championship game, they completed a 16-point comeback, including being down 40–25 at halftime, the largest in NCAA championship history.

Conference affiliations

Kansas has been affiliated with the following conferences:

Conference	Years	Reason left
Independent	1898–1907	Joined MVIAA
Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association*	1907–1928	Conference dissolved
Big Six/Seven/Eight Conference	1929–1995	Conference dissolved
Big 12 Conference	1996–present	N/A

*While there is an active conference with the name Missouri Valley, it is officially and legally a separate entity from the MVIAA.

Rank in notable areas

Category	Rank	Stat
All-Time Wins	2nd	2,370
All-Time Win %	3rd	.729
Regular Season Conference championships	1st	63
Consecutive Reg. season Conf. Championships	T-1st	13
NCAA Tournament Titles	7th	4
NCAA Title Game Appearances	5th	10
NCAA Final Four Appearances	5th	15
NCAA Elite Eight Appearances	3rd	24
NCAA Sweet 16 Appearances	4th	31
NCAA Tournament Appearances	3rd	50
Consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances	1st	28
NCAA Tournament No. 1 Seeds	2nd	16
NCAA Tournament Games played	3rd	165
NCAA Tournament Wins	4th	116
NCAA Tournament Win %	T-6th	.662
Weeks Ranked as AP No. 1	5th	65
Weeks Ranked as AP No. 2	2nd	102
Weeks Ranked in AP Top 5	4th	359
Weeks Ranked in AP Top 10	4th	558
Weeks Ranked in AP Poll	4th	764
Appearances in Final AP Poll	4th	44
Consecutive Weeks Ranked in AP Poll	1st	231
Seasons with 35 Wins or More	3rd	4
Seasons with 30 Wins or More	T–2nd	14
Seasons with 25 Wins or More	3rd	34
Seasons with 20 Wins or More	5th	49
Seasons with a Winning Record	1st	99
Seasons with a Non-Losing Record	1st	102
Consecutive seasons with 30 Wins	1st	4
Consecutive seasons with 25 Wins	1st	13
Consecutive seasons with 20 Wins	1st	27
Consensus First Team All-American Selections	1st	30
Consensus First Team All-American Players	1st	23
Academic All-American Selections	2nd	15
Academic All-American Players	1st	11

Ranks and records listed in table do not include wins, championships, and appearances vacated by the NCAA in 2023.
Current Official NCAA Records and Awards data.

Notable games

• On February 3, 1899, the Jayhawks, coached by James Naismith played their first game in program history. They played the Kansas City YMCA in a game the Jayhawks lost 5–16.
• The first victory in program history came on February 10, 1899. The Jayhawks defeated the Topeka YMCA 31–6.
• On January 25, 1907, the Jayhawks played Kansas State for the first time beginning the rivalry that would become known as the Sunflower Showdown, a nod to the state flower of Kansas and one of the state's nicknames, the Sunflower State. The Jayhawks won 54–49.
• The Jayhawks bitter rivalry with Missouri began on March 11, 1907, a game the Jayhawks lost 31–34. The rivalry would eventually become known as the Border War.
• On March 22, 1940, the Jayhawks played their first ever NCAA Tournament game. They defeated Rice 50–44 in Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The Jayhawks would defeat USC the following day to make their first national championship game appearance, but lost to Indiana 42–60.
• On March 26, 1952, the Jayhawks defeated St. John's (NY) 80–63 to win their first NCAA Tournament National Championship Championship in program history.
• On March 1, 1955, Kansas played their first ever game at Allen Fieldhouse. The arena was named after Phog Allen, who was still their coach at the time. They won the game against rival Kansas State, 77–67.
• In the NCAA title game in 1957, Wilt Chamberlain and Kansas were defeated by the North Carolina Tar Heels 54–53 in triple overtime in what many consider to be the greatest NCAA Championship game ever played. Chamberlain was later named the NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player, the second to win the award and be a part of the losing team (Kansas's B.H. Born won the award in 1953).
• In the 1966 Midwest Regional Finals, Kansas, the favored team to face Kentucky, played Texas Western. Texas Western got a controversial double overtime victory, 81–80. The would-be winning shot, a 35-footer, at the buzzer was made by All-American Jo Jo White at the end of the first overtime, but White was called for stepping on the sideline. The game was featuredin the 2006 film Glory Road which is based on that season's Texas Western National Championship team.
• On April 4, 1988, in the 50th NCAA Tournament National Championship game, Kansas defeated the heavily favored Oklahoma Sooners 83–79 to win its second NCAA Men's Basketball championship. Led by senior forward and Player of the Year Danny Manning, Kevin Pritchard, Milt Newton, Chris Piper and a roster of players who came to be known as "The Miracles" raced the Sooners to a 50–50 halftime tie that had the referees shaking their heads and smiling as they left the court. Upon their return for the second half, Larry Brown convinced his Jayhawks that now that they proved they could run with the Sooners, they needed to slow the game down and take the Sooners out of their fast break offense. The Sooners built a 5-point second half lead until the Kansas defense finally clamped down. The Jayhawks, led by Manning (31 points, 18 rebounds, 5 steals, 2 blocked shots), caught up with them around the 11 minute mark. The rest of the game was neck and neck, until Manning finally sealed the victory from the free throw line.
• On December 9, 1989, AP #2 Kansas beat Kentucky 150–95 in Allen Fieldhouse. The 150 points scored by the Jayhawks set the school record for most points scored in a game, and the team's 80 first-half points set the record for most points scored in a half.
• On January 27, 2003, Kansas defeated Texas 90–87 at Allen Fieldhouse behind a 24-point, 23-rebound performance by Nick Collison. Upon Collison fouling out of the game, his effort moved longtime ESPN college basketball analyst Dick Vitale to give him a standing ovation, only the second time Vitale had ever done so. (the first being for David Robinson) Both Kansas and Texas would make the Final Four that year.
• On April 7, 2008, in the 2008 National Championship game, the Kansas Jayhawks defeated the Memphis Tigers 75–68 in a come from behind overtime victory to become the 2008 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Champions. Mario Chalmers made a three-point shot with 2.1 seconds remaining, bringing the Jayhawks all the way back from a 60–51 deficit with two minutes remaining. The Jayhawks went 4–4 from the field, including 2–2 from 3-point range, and also went 2–2 from the line in the final 2 minutes. The Jayhawks then continued their hot flurry by going 4–6 from the field in OT and 4–4 from the line, outscoring the Tigers 12–5 in overtime to capture their third NCAA title, and fifth overall, including the retroactively awarded Helms Foundation Championships for the 1922 and 1923 seasons. Chalmers finished with 18 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 4 steals, and was chosen the Most Outstanding Player at the Final Four, the fifth Jayhawk all-time to be selected Final Four MOP.
• On January 15, 2011, Kansas celebrated its 69th consecutive home win (over Nebraska), the longest such Division I record since 1992 and the longest home winning streak in KU's history. (The streak ended on January 22, 2011, with a loss at home to the Texas Longhorns.)
• On February 25, 2012, the Jayhawks played their final conference game against their longtime rival, the Missouri Tigers. The Kansas Jayhawks came back from a 19-point deficit in the second half to take the team to an 87–86 overtime win against the Tigers. The volume level inside the arena was a sustained 120 dB, with a high point of 127 dB when Thomas Robinson blocked Phil Pressey's shot at the end of regulation to preserve the tie.
• On January 4, 2016, the Jayhawks, who were ranked 1st in the AP poll and 2nd in the coaches poll, played Oklahoma, who was ranked 2nd in the AP poll and 1st in the coaches poll. The game was back and forth the last few minutes of regulation. The game eventually went to 3 overtimes, and KU won 109–106. Kansas forward Perry Ellis scored 27 points and got 13 rebounds while Oklahoma guard Buddy Hield scored 46 points. The game was the first time in Big 12 history that a conference game featured the number 1 ranked team and the number 2 ranked team.
• On February 27, 2016, the Jayhawks won their 12th consecutive Big 12 regular season championship with a 67–58 win at home against Texas Tech. Kansas is one regular season conference championship behind UCLA's record of 13 straight.
• On March 25, 2018, the Jayhawks played Duke in the 2018 NCAA tournament in the Elite Eight. The game featured two of the top college basketball programs in the nation with a Hall of Fame coach on both sidelines with Bill Self and Mike Krzyzewski. The game was a back and forth game that had 18 lead changes and 11 ties. Senior guard Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk made a 3 pointer with 25.7 seconds left to tie the game at 72. Duke guard Grayson Allen missed the potential game winning shot as time expired and the game went into overtime. Kansas guard Malik Newman scored all 13 of the Jayhawks points in overtime to help them win 85–81 earning KU their first Final Four trip since 2012. The win was later officially vacated by the NCAA.
• When the Jayhawks defeated North Carolina in the 2022 National Championship game, they completed the largest comeback in National Championship game history. They were down by as much as 16 points in the first half and were down 25–40 at halftime and won 72–69.

Coaches

Despite having a program for over 120 years, the Jayhawks have only had 8 head coaches. Four of their coaches have been inducted to the Hall of Fame as a coach. The longest tenured coach was Phog Allen at 39 seasons, while the shortest tenured coach was Larry Brown, who coached for 5 seasons. Allen also has the most wins in Kansas basketball history with 590. The next closest coach is current head coach Bill Self, who has won over 500 games. Ted Owens is the only coach in program history to have been fired. Allen and Harp are the only Jayhawk coaches to have also played at the school. Self had his first coaching job as an assistant under Brown at Kansas.

Of programs who have been around for at least 100 years, Kansas has had the fewest coaches, yet they have been led to the Final Four by more coaches than any other program. Every coach that has coached Kansas since the inception of the NCAA Tournament in 1939 has led the team to a Final Four. Phog Allen, Dick Harp, Ted Owens, Larry Brown, Roy Williams, and Bill Self have all led Kansas to NCAA Final Four appearances. Of those coaches, Allen, Brown, and Bill Self have led the Jayhawks to NCAA Championships (in 1952, 1988, 2008, and 2022 respectively). In addition to an NCAA Tournament National Championship, Allen won two retroactively awarded Helms Athletic Foundation National Championships for the 1922 and 1923 seasons. Allen and Self are the only coaches to win multiple National Championships of any kind, while Self is the only one to win multiple NCAA Tournament National Championships.

While officially only having had eight coaches in program history, the Jayhawks also had three interim coaches who are not considered an official part of the coaching history. In 1919, Karl Schlademan coached, and won, the first game of the season before relinquishing the coaching position to Allen in order to concentrate on his duties as head track coach. In 1947, Howard Engleman coached 14 games (going 8–6) after Allen was ordered to take a rest following the 13th game of the season. Engleman's record is not listed in this table as he was never officially a head coach at the university. Assistant coach Norm Roberts served as acting head coach for the beginning of the 2022–23 season while Bill Self served a 4-game suspension for alleged recruiting violations. He served as the acting head coach again for Kansas in the Big 12 and NCAA Tournaments while Bill Self was away from the team following a heart procedure. Each of these coaches have every one of their wins counted in their career records in the NCAA record books. The only exception is Roberts, who only has 4 wins early in the season counted, instead the 4 wins and 2 losses in the postseason; those 4 wins and 2 losses are counted in Self's career coaching record.

Years	Duration of head coaching career at Kansas
Record	Number of career games won-lost at Kansas
Percent	Percentage of games won at Kansas
	Inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach

Number	Years	Coach	Record	Percent	Reason left	Notes
1	1898–1907	James Naismith†	55–60	.478	Retired	• Inventor of the game of Basketball • Only Coach in Kansas Basketball history with a losing record
2	1907–1909, 1919–1956	Phog Allen	590–219	.729	Retired*	• Known as the "Father Of Basketball Coaching" for his innovations of the modern game and for the legendary coaches who played under him • Created the NABC (National Association of Basketball Coaches) • Successfully lobbied to make the game of basketball an Olympic sport • Helped to create the modern NCAA tournament, which began in 1939 • 1 NCAA Championship, 2 Helms Championships • 3 National Championship game appearances • 3 Final Fours • 24 Conference regular season Championships
3	1909–1919	W. O. Hamilton	125–59	.679	Resigned	• 5 Conference regular season Championships
–	1919	Karl Schlademan	1–0	1.000	Interim	Coached a single game before resigning and allowing Phog Allen to take over.
–	1946–1947	Howard Engleman	8–6	.571	Interim	Coached 14 games while Phog Allen was on a medical leave.
4	1956–1964	Dick Harp	121–82	.596	Resigned	• 1 National Championship game appearance • 1 Final Four • 2 Conference regular season Championships
5	1964–1983	Ted Owens	348–182	.657	Fired	• 2 Final Fours • 6 Conference regular season Championships • 1 Conference tournament Championship • 1978 Basketball Weekly Coach of the Year
6	1983–1988	Larry Brown	135–44	.754	Accepted position with the San Antonio Spurs	• 1 NCAA Championship • 2 Final Fours • 1 Conference regular season Championship • 2 Conference tournament Championships • 1988 Naismith College Coach of the Year
7	1988–2003	Roy Williams	418–101	.805	Accepted position at North Carolina	• 2 National Championship game appearances • 4 Final Fours • 9 Conference regular season Championships • 4 Conference tournament Championships • 1990 Henry Iba Award Coach of the Year • 1992 AP Coach of the Year • 1997 Naismith College Coach of the Year
8	2003–present	Bill Self	565–132‡	.806‡	Still active	• 2 NCAA Championships • 3 National Championship game appearances • 3 Final Fours‡ • 14 Consecutive Conference regular season Championships • 16 Conference regular season Championships‡ • 8 Conference tournament Championships‡ • 2009 Henry Iba Award Coach of the Year, AP Coach of the Year, CBS/Chevrolet Coach of the Year, Sporting News Coach of the Year • 2012 Naismith College Coach of the Year, Sporting News Coach of the Year, Adolph Rupp Cup • 2006, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2017, 2018 Big 12 Conference Men's Basketball Coach of the Year • 2016 AP Coach of the Year
–	2022–2023	Norm Roberts	4–0	1.000	Acting	Coached first 4 games of 2022–2023 season while Bill Self served a suspension for recruiting violations. Also coached Kansas in the Big 12 Tournament and NCAA Tournament following a heart procedure on Self, however, Self received credit for those six games in the NCAA record books.
Total		thru 2022–23	2,370–885	.727	N/A

*Allen was forced to retire prior to the 1956–57 season due to a University of Kansas policy that required university employees to retire at the age of 70; he turned 70 in November of 1955.
†Naismith is inducted in the Hall of Fame as the inventor of the game, not as a coach.
‡Does not include 15 wins, 1 regular season Conference Championship, 1 Conference Tournament Championship, and 1 Final Four appearance vacated by the NCAA.

Updated March 20, 2023

Facilities

Since first fielding a program, the Jayhawks have had three official home arenas. Kansas also occasionally will play regular season games at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.

Early venues (1898–1907)

Before 1907 the Jayhawks played in various venues, ranging from the basement of the original Snow Hall (even though the ceiling was only 14 feet high) to the skating rink at the local YMCA. Although a current campus building bears the same name, the original Snow Hall was demolished in 1934.

Robinson Gymnasium (1907–1927)

Main article: Robinson Gymnasium

Robinson Gym was the first athletic building on the KU campus and featured a 2,500-seat auditorium used for basketball purposes. The building was demolished in 1967.

Hoch Auditorium (1927–1955)

Main article: Budig Hall § Hoch Auditorium

Hoch Auditorium was a 3,500 seat multi-purpose arena in Lawrence, Kansas. It opened in 1927. It was home to the University of Kansas Jayhawks basketball teams until Allen Fieldhouse opened in 1955.

Many of Hoch's nicknames during the basketball years were "Horrible Hoch" and "The House of Horrors." Such nicknames were in reference to the difficulty opposing teams had in dealing with the tight area surrounding the court and the curved walls and decorative lattice work directly behind the backboards. The curvature of the walls made the backboards appear to be moving causing opponents to miss free throws.

On June 15, 1991, Hoch Auditorium was struck by lightning. The auditorium and stage area were completely destroyed. Only the limestone facade and lobby area were spared. When reconstruction of the building was complete, the rear half of the building was named Budig Hall, for then KU Chancellor Gene Budig. The name on the facade was altered to reflect the presence of three large auditorium-style lecture halls within the building: Hoch Auditoria.

Former KU Basketball Facilities

Snow Hall

Robinson Gymnasium

The remaining facade of what was Hoch Auditorium

Allen Fieldhouse (1955–present)

Main article: Allen Fieldhouse

The 2006–07 men's basketball team plays against OSU at Allen Fieldhouse.

Allen Fieldhouse was dedicated on March 1, 1955, when the Jayhawks defeated in-state rival, Kansas State 77–67.

Since February 20, 1994, the Jayhawks have lost only 14 regular season games in Allen Fieldhouse, a 263–14 record (.951). Since February 3, 2007, the Jayhawks have gone 227–9 (.962) at Allen Fieldhouse, as of April 17, 2021, one of the best home record in all of basketball.

Allen Fieldhouse is also notorious for its noise level as well. On November 4, 2010, ESPN The Magazine named Allen Fieldhouse the loudest college basketball arena in the country, reaching sustained decibel levels over 120. On February 13, 2017, in a game against Big 12 opponent West Virginia, fans at Allen Fieldhouse broke the Guinness World Record for loudest crowd roar at an indoor sporting event with a roar of 130.4 decibels, which had been set by Kentucky on January 28 against Kansas.

In the DeBruce Center at the northeast corner of the building is the original document of the Dr. Naismith's Original 13 Rules Of Basketball, purchased at auction by the Booth family for $4.3 million on December 10, 2010.

Kansas won 69 consecutive games at the Fieldhouse between February 3, 2007, and January 17, 2011, until Texas ended the longest streak in NCAA Division I since 1992 with a 74–63 win against Kansas on January 22, 2011. This streak broke Kansas's previous school record of 62, which lasted from February 26, 1994, through December 18, 1998 (during which time, the Jayhawks, along with the remaining members of the Big Eight Conference merged with the remaining members of the Southwest Conference to become charter members of the Big 12 Conference). The Jayhawks also completed a 55-game streak between February 22, 1984, through January 30, 1988, which is a Big 8 record.

Home game traditions

Before the start of every Jayhawks home game, after the singing of "The Star-Spangled Banner", it is a tradition to sing the alma mater, "Crimson and the Blue". While singing the alma mater, it is tradition for the students in attendance to put an arm over the shoulders of their neighbors and slowly sway side to side, lifting their arms over their heads as the last line of the song is sung. The song is concluded by the Rock Chalk Chant.

Post-game, the band will play a rendition of the Kansas state song "Home on the Range", which the crowd will stand up for similar to the national anthem.

After singing The Star-Spangled Banner, while the opposing team is being introduced, members of the student section take out a copy of the student-run newspaper, The University Daily Kansan, and wave the paper in front of their faces, pretending to be reading it in an effort to show lack of interest in the opposing team. After the opponents are introduced, a short video is shown, detailing the history and the accomplishments of Kansas basketball. As the Jayhawks are introduced, the students rip up their newspapers and throw the confetti pieces of paper in the air as celebration. Whatever confetti remains is typically thrown in the air after the first basket made by the Jayhawks.

If an opposing player fouls out of the game, the fans will "wave the wheat", waving their arms back and forth, as a sarcastic good-bye to the disqualified player, to the tune of "You Didn't Have Your Wheaties", from a series of 1970s television commercials promoting Wheaties breakfast cereal. The same waving motion to the tune of "A Hot Time in the Old Town" follows a Jayhawk victory.

If the Jayhawks are leading comfortably near the end of the game, the crowd begins a slow version of the Rock Chalk Chant, which has become the signature tradition of Allen Fieldhouse. The chant can also occasionally be heard at neutral sites, such as arenas for the NCAA tournament and the nearby T-Mobile Center on the Missouri side of Kansas City which during the regular season serves as an alternate home arena.

Fans and students will also line up early for Late Night In The Phog, which is the first practice of the season. The practice is viewable to the public and includes skits with past players as the hosts.

Year-by-year Results

Main article: Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball seasons

Rivalries

Kansas State

Main article: Sunflower Showdown

The Jayhawks longest played rivalry is with cross-state rival Kansas State. The Jayhawks lead the series 203–94. The Jayhawks have dominated the series since 1984 holding a record of 86–12 in that time frame. K-State has not led the all-time series since 1922. The schools have met annually since 1912 and first played in 1907. Kansas leads in Lawrence 93–35, in Manhattan 81–48, and on neutral courts 29–11. The Largest K-State victory was by 27 points, 96–69, on January 20, 1979. The largest Kansas win was 45 points, 90–45, on March 10, 1955. K-State longest win streak was 5 games, which they achieved twice, from 1972 to 1974 and 1982–83. The longest winning streak from Kansas was 31 games from 1994 to 2005.

Missouri

Main article: Border War (Kansas–Missouri rivalry)

The Jayhawks main rival has been Missouri for many years. The two teams first played in 1907. The two teams played every year until Missouri left the Big 12 for the SEC. The schools renewed the rivalry beginning in the 2021–22 season. The Jayhawks won the first game in the renewal of the rivalry 102–65. KU leads the all-time series 174–94. The Jayhawks largest victory was 47 points, 96–49, on December 28, 1977. Missouri's largest victory was 30 points, 99–69, on January 17, 1976. The Jayhawks longest winning streak was 14 games from 1910 to 1913. Missouri's longest winning streak was 9 from 1920 to 1922.

Wichita State

While not officially a rivalry, the Jayhawks have played cross-state opponent Wichita State 16 times. The teams most recently met in the 2023–24 season with KU winning 86–67. Kansas leads the all-time series 13–3. The Jayhawks' largest victory was a 49-point win in 1993. The Shockers' largest victory was a 14-point win in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament. Wichita State has never won consecutive games against Kansas. The Jayhawks won five times in a row from 1989 to 1993. Wichita State won both games between the schools in the NCAA Tournament.

Post-season results

Regular season conference championships

The Jayhawks have won 62 conference championships since their inception, including an NCAA record 13 consecutive from 2005 through 2017. The Jayhawks have belonged to the Big 12 Conference since it formed before the 1996–97 season. Before that, the Jayhawks have belonged to the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association from the 1907–08 to 1927–28 seasons, the Big Six Conference from 1928–29 to 1946–47, the Big Seven Conference from 1947–48 to 1957–58, the Big Eight Conference from 1958 to 1959 up until the end of the 1995–96 season. The Big Six and Big Seven conferences were actually the more often used names of the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association, which existed under that official name until 1964, when it was changed to the Big Eight.

Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association (13)

• 1908, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1912, 1914, 1915, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927

Big 6/7/8 Conference (30)

• 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1946, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1957, 1960, 1966, 1967, 1971, 1974, 1975, 1978, 1986, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996

Big 12 Conference (20)

• 1997, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2020, 2022, 2023

*Vacated by the NCAA and not included in the count.

Conference tournament championships

The Big Eight Conference did not regularly have a post-season tournament until after the 1977 season. Prior to that teams usually played in the Big Eight (before that, Big Seven) Holiday Tournament in December. The Holiday tournament ended after the 1979 season.

Big Seven/Big Eight Holiday Tournament (13)

• 1951, 1953, 1956, 1957, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1970, 1974, 1977, 1978

Big Eight Conference (4)

• 1981, 1984, 1986, 1992

Big 12 Conference (11)

• 1997, 1998, 1999, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2016, 2018*, 2022

*Vacated by the NCAA and not included in the count.

NCAA Tournament seeding history

The NCAA started seeding teams with the 1978 tournament, with the seeding format used today beginning in 1979. The Jayhawks were seeded for the first time in their 1981 tournament appearance. There was no tournament in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Years →	'81	'84	'85	'86	'87	'88	'90	'91	'92	'93	'94	'95	'96	'97	'98	'99	'00	'01	'02	'03
Seeds→	7	5	3	1	5	6	2	3	1	2	4	1	2	1*	1	6	8	4	1	2

Years →	'04	'05	'06	'07	'08	'09	'10	'11	'12	'13	'14	'15	'16	'17	'18†	'19	'21	'22	'23	'24
Seeds→	4	3	4	1	1	3	1*	1	2	1	2	2	1*	1	1	4	3	1	1	4

* Indicates overall number one seed.

#

Indicates NCAA championship.

†Vacated by the NCAA

Final Four history

• 1940-Runner-up
• 1952-Champion
• 1953-Runner-up
• 1957-Runner-up
• 1971-Semifinalist
• 1974-Semifinalist
• 1986-Semifinalist
• 1988-Champion
• 1991-Runner-up
• 1993-Semifinalist
• 2002-Semifinalist
• 2003-Runner-up
• 2008-Champion
• 2012-Runner-up
• 2018-Semifinalist*
• 2022-Champion

*Vacated by the NCAA.

Men's NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player

• 1952 – Clyde Lovellette
• 1953 – B. H. Born*
• 1957 – Wilt Chamberlain*
• 1988 – Danny Manning
• 2008 – Mario Chalmers
• 2022 – Ochai Agbaji

*Did not play on a championship team

National Championships

The Jayhawks have been awarded a combined 6 Championships, two Helms Championships and four NCAA Tournament National Championships. The Helms titles were awarded retroactively by the Helms Athletic Foundation in 1943. Some schools do not claim Helms championships, Kansas, however, does claim them and has a banner hanging for both in Allen Fieldhouse, along with their NCAA Tournament championships.

Helms Athletic Foundation Championships

• 1921-22

Head Coach: Phog Allen

Record: 16-2

• 1922-23

Head Coach: Phog Allen

Record: 17-1

NCAA Tournament National Championships

1952

Main article: 1951–52 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team

The Jayhawks 1951–52 team won the schools first NCAA Tournament Championship. They were coached by Phog Allen and finished the season with a 28–3 record.

1952 NCAA Tournament Results

Round	Opponent	Score
First Round	TCU	68–64
Second Round	St. Louis	74–55
Final Four	Santa Clara	74–55
Championship	St. John's	80–63

1988

Main article: 1987–88 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team

The 1987–88 team won the Jayhawks second NCAA Tournament championship. The Jayhawks were coached by Larry Brown. They finished the season 27–11, which is the lowest winning percentage (.710) and most losses of any team to win the national championship. The team remains the only championship team of the Jayhawks that did not win the regular season conference championship or the conference tournament championship.

1988 NCAA Tournament Results

Round	Opponent	Score
First Round	No. 11 Xavier	85–72
Second Round	No. 14 Murray State	61–58
Sweet Sixteen	No. 7 Vanderbilt	77–64
Elite Eight	No. 4 Kansas State	71–58
Final Four	No. 2 Duke	66–59
Championship	No. 1 Oklahoma	83–79

2008

Main article: 2007–08 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team

The banner in Allen Fieldhouse for the 2008 National Championship

The 2007–08 team won the Jayhawks third NCAA Tournament Championship. They were coached by Bill Self and finished the season with a 37–3 record, which is a school record for wins in a season.

2008 NCAA Tournament Results

Round	Opponent	Score
First Round	No. 16 Portland State	85–61
Second Round	No. 8 UNLV	75–56
Sweet Sixteen	No. 12 Villanova	72–57
Elite Eight	No. 10 Davidson	59–57
Final Four	No. 1 North Carolina	84–66
Championship	No. 1 Memphis	75–68OT

2022

Main article: 2021–22 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team

The 2021–22 team won the Jayhawks fourth NCAA Tournament Championship, which is their most recent championship. They were coached by Bill Self and finished the season with a 34–6 record. The Jayhawks tournament run in 2022 is the only one since teams began being seeded that they did not play a single number 1 seed in the Final Four and National Championship game.

2022 NCAA Tournament Results

Round	Opponent	Score
First Round	No. 16 Texas Southern	83–56
Second Round	No. 9 Creighton	79–72
Sweet Sixteen	No. 4 Providence	66–61
Elite Eight	No. 10 Miami (FL)	76–50
Final Four	No. 2 Villanova	81–65
Championship	No. 8 North Carolina	72–69

Complete NCAA tournament results

The Jayhawks have appeared in the NCAA tournament 52 times. Their combined record is 117–50. Their largest victory in a tournament game was a 58-point (110–52) victory over Prairie View A&M in 1998, which is also the Jayhawks tournament record for most points scored in a tournament game. Their largest defeat in a tournament game was a 34-point defeat (51–85) against USC in 2021, which was also their lowest point total in the NCAA tournament total since the introduction of the shot clock in the 1985–86 season. They have been eliminated in the first round only six times since the beginning of the tournament, only two of those times have been since the tournament expanded to 64 teams. The Jayhawks have played in 11 overtime games in the NCAA Tournament and have a 6–5 record. Two of their overtime games went into multiple overtimes, both of which have been depicted in a film. Their 3 overtime game against North Carolina in the 1957 National Championship game was depicted in the film Jayhawkers and their double overtime loss to Texas Western in the 1966 Elite Eight, which was featured in the 2006 film Glory Road.

Only four times in program history has Kansas failed to win a single game in the tournament and only twice since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985.

Like most schools, Kansas rarely plays conference opponents in the tournament. The 1988 tournament was the only time they've ever played conference opponents. In that tournament they defeated rival Kansas State in the Elite 8 and Oklahoma in the national championship game.

Appearances are grouped by the number of teams in the bracket. Round names are based on what round names were at the time of the tournament, not the present names. The term "Elite eight" began in 1956, "Final four" began in 1975, and "Sweet Sixteen" began in 1988.

Eight team tournament

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1940	First round Semifinals National Championship	Rice USC Indiana	W 50–44 W 43–42 L 42–60
1942	First roundt Regional 3rd Place Game	Colorado Rice	L 44–46 W 55–53

Sixteen to Thirty-two team tournament

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1952	First round Quarterfinals Semifinals National Championship	TCU Saint Louis Santa Clara St. John's	W 68–64 W 74–55 W 74–55 W 80–63
1953	First round Quarterfinals Semifinals National Championship	Oklahoma City Oklahoma A&M Washington Indiana	W 73–65 W 61–55 W 79–53 L 68–69
1957	First round Elite eight Semifinals National Championship	SMU Oklahoma City San Francisco North Carolina	W 73–65OT W 81–61 W 80–56 L 53–543OT
1960	First round Elite eight	Texas Cincinnati	W 90–81 L 71–82
1966	First round Elite eight	SMU Texas Western	W 76–70 L 80–812OT
1967	First round Regional 3rd Place	Houston Louisville	L 53–66 W 70–68
1971	First round Elite eight Semifinals National 3rd Place Game	Houston Drake UCLA Western Kentucky	W 78–77 W 73–71 L 60–68 L 75–77
1974	First round Elite eight Semifinals National 3rd Place Game	Creighton Oral Roberts Marquette UCLA	W 55–54 W 93–90OT L 51–64 L 61–78
1975	First Round	Notre Dame	L 71–77
1978	First Round	UCLA	L 76–83

Forty to Fifty-three teams

Year	Seed	Round	Opponent	Result
1981	No. 7	First Round Second Round Regional semifinal	No. 10 Ole Miss No. 2 Arizona State No. 6 Wichita State	W 69–66 W 88–71 L 65–66
1984	No. 5	First Round Second Round	No. 12 Alcorn State No. 4 Wake Forest	W 57–56 L 59–69

Sixty-four teams

Year	Seed	Round	Opponent	Result
1985	No. 3	First Round Second Round	No. 14 Ohio No. 11 Auburn	W 49–38 L 64–66
1986	No. 1	First Round Second Round Regional semifinal Elite Eight Final Four	No. 16 North Carolina A&T No. 9 Temple No. 5 Michigan State No. 6 NC State No. 1 Duke	W 71–46 W 65–43 W 96–86OT W 75–67 L 67–71
1987	No. 5	First Round Second Round Regional semifinal	No. 12 Houston No. 13 SW Missouri State No. 1 Georgetown	W 66–55 W 67–63 L 57–70
1988	No. 6	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four National Championship	No. 11 Xavier No. 14 Murray State No. 7 Vanderbilt No. 4 Kansas State No. 2 Duke No. 1 Oklahoma	W 85–72 W 61–58 W 77–64 W 71–58 W 66–59 W 83–79
1990	No. 2	First Round Second Round	No. 15 Robert Morris No. 7 UCLA	W 79–71 L 70–71
1991	No. 3	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four National Championship	No. 14 New Orleans No. 6 Pittsburgh No. 2 Indiana No. 1 Arkansas No. 1 North Carolina No. 2 Duke	W 55–49 W 77–66 W 83–65 W 93–81 W 79–73 L 65–72
1992	No. 1	First Round Second Round	No. 16 Howard No. 9 UTEP	W 100–67 L 60–66
1993	No. 2	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four	No. 15 Ball State No. 7 BYU No. 6 California No. 1 Indiana No. 1 North Carolina	W 94–72 W 90–76 W 93–76 W 83–77 L 68–78
1994	No. 4	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen	No. 13 UT Chattanooga No. 5 Wake Forest No. 1 Purdue	W 102–73 W 69–58 L 78–83
1995	No. 1	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen	No. 16 Colgate No. 8 Western Kentucky No. 4 Virginia	W 82–68 W 75–70 L 58–67
1996	No. 2	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight	No. 15 South Carolina State No. 10 Santa Clara No. 3 Arizona No. 4 Syracuse	W 92–54 W 76–51 W 83–80 L 57–60
1997	No. 1	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen	No. 16 Jackson State No. 8 Purdue No. 4 Arizona	W 78–64 W 75–61 L 82–85
1998	No. 1	First Round Second Round	No. 16 Prairie View A&M No. 8 Rhode Island	W 110–52 L 75–80

Sixty-five teams

Year	Seed	Round	Opponent	Result
1999	No. 6	First Round Second Round	No. 11 Evansville No. 3 Kentucky	W 95–74 L 88–92OT
2000	No. 8	First Round Second Round	No. 9 DePaul No. 1 Duke	W 81–77OT L 64–69
2001	No. 4	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen	No. 13 Cal State Northridge No. 5 Syracuse No. 1 Illinois	W 99–75 W 87–58 L 64–80
2002	No. 1	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four	No. 16 Holy Cross No. 8 Stanford No. 4 Illinois No. 2 Oregon No. 1 Maryland	W 70–59 W 86–63 W 73–69 W 104–86 L 88–97
2003	No. 2	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four National Championship	No. 15 Utah State No. 10 Arizona State No. 3 Duke No. 1 Arizona No. 3 Marquette No. 3 Syracuse	W 64–61 W 108–76 W 69–65 W 78–75 W 94–61 L 78–81
2004	No. 4	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight	No. 13 UIC No. 12 Pacific No. 9 UAB No. 3 Georgia Tech	W 78–44 W 78–63 W 100–74 L 71–79OT
2005	No. 3	First Round	No. 14 Bucknell	L 63–64
2006	No. 4	First Round	No. 13 Bradley	L 73–77
2007	No. 1	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight	No. 16 Niagara No. 8 Kentucky No. 4 Southern Illinois No. 2 UCLA	W 107–67 W 88–76 W 61–58 L 55–68
2008	No. 1	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four National Championship	No. 16 Portland State No. 8 UNLV No. 12 Villanova No. 10 Davidson No. 1 North Carolina No. 1 Memphis	W 85–61 W 75–56 W 72–57 W 59–57 W 84–66 W 75–68OT
2009	No. 3	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen	No. 14 North Dakota State No. 11 Dayton No. 2 Michigan State	W 84–74 W 60–43 L 62–67
2010	No. 1	First Round Second Round	No. 16 Lehigh No. 9 Northern Iowa	W 90–74 L 67–69

First four era

Year	Seed	Round	Opponent	Result
2011*	No. 1	Second Round Third Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight	No. 16 Boston University No. 9 Illinois No. 12 Richmond No. 11 VCU	W 72–53 W 73–59 W 77–57 L 61–71
2012*	No. 2	Second Round Third Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four National Championship	No. 15 Detroit No. 10 Purdue No. 11 NC State No. 1 North Carolina No. 2 Ohio State No. 1 Kentucky	W 65–50 W 63–60 W 60–57 W 80–67 W 64–62 L 59–67
2013*	No. 1	Second Round Third Round Sweet Sixteen	No. 16 Western Kentucky No. 8 North Carolina No. 4 Michigan	W 64–57 W 70–58 L 85–87OT
2014*	No. 2	Second Round Third Round	No. 15 Eastern Kentucky No. 10 Stanford	W 80–69 L 57–60
2015*	No. 2	Second Round Third Round	No. 15 New Mexico State No. 7 Wichita State	W 75–56 L 65–78
2016	No. 1	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight	No. 16 Austin Peay No. 9 Connecticut No. 5 Maryland No. 2 Villanova	W 105–79 W 73–61 W 79–63 L 59–64
2017	No. 1	First Round Second round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight	No. 16 UC Davis No. 9 Michigan State No. 4 Purdue No. 3 Oregon	W 100–62 W 90–70 W 98–66 L 60–74
2018†	No. 1	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four	No. 16 Penn No. 8 Seton Hall No. 5 Clemson No. 2 Duke No. 1 Villanova	W 76–60 W 83–79 W 80–76 W 85–81 OT L 79–95
2019	No. 4	First Round Second Round	No. 13 Northeastern No. 5 Auburn	W 87–53 L 75–89
2020	No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021	No. 3	First Round Second Round	No. 14 Eastern Washington No. 6 USC	W 93–84 L 51–85
2022	No. 1	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four National Championship	No. 16 Texas Southern No. 9 Creighton No. 4 Providence No. 10 Miami (FL) No. 2 Villanova No. 8 North Carolina	W 83–56 W 79–72 W 66–61 W 76–50 W 81–65 W 72–69
2023	No. 1	First Round Second Round	No. 16 Howard No. 8 Arkansas	W 96–68 L 71–72
2024	No. 4	First round Second round	No. 13 Samford No. 5 Gonzaga	W 93–89 L 68–89

*Following the introduction of the First Four round in 2011, the Round of 64 and Round of 32 were referred to as the Second Round and Third Round, respectively, from 2011 to 2015, then from 2016 moving forward, the Round 64 and Round of 32 will be called the First and Second rounds.
†NCAA vacated all NCAA Tournament wins from the 2018 tournament, which included their Final Four appearance.

Record by round

Round	Record
First Four	N/A*
Round of 64	35–2‡
Round of 32	23–14‡
Sweet 16	25–7‡
Elite 8	16–9‡
Final Four	10–6
Regional 3rd place game†	2–0
3rd place game†	0–2
National Championship	4–6

*Since its inception in 2011, Kansas has not participated in the First Four
†Round no longer played
‡Round does not include a win vacated by the NCAA in 2023.

NIT results

The Jayhawks have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) two times. Their combined record is 3–2.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1968	First Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Final	Temple Villanova Saint Peter's Dayton	W 82–76 W 55–49 W 58–46 L 48–61
1969	First Round	Boston College	L 62–78

Jayhawks of note

All-time leaders

No players appear in all three lists. Five players make two appearances. Due to them being the two most recent coaches, Bill Self and Roy Williams coached the most players on the list. However, three players from the 50s make appearances, including Wilt Chamberlain, despite only playing 48 games for the Jayhawks. Dajuan Harris Jr. is the only active player on these lists. Harris is, as of the end of the 2023–24 season, 4th in assists.

Scoring

Rank	Player	Points	Per game	Years
1	Danny Manning	2,951	20.1	1985–88
2	Nick Collison	2,097	14.8	2000–03
3	Raef LaFrentz	2,066	15.8	1995–98
4	Clyde Lovellette	1,979	24.7	1950–52
5	Sherron Collins	1,888	13.2	2007–10
6	Frank Mason III	1,885	13.0	2014–17
7	Darnell Valentine	1,821	15.4	1978–81
8	Keith Langford	1,812	13.3	2002–05
9	Perry Ellis	1,798	12.5	2012–16
10	Paul Pierce	1,768	16.4	1996–98

Rebounds

Rank	Player	Rebounds	Per game	Years
1	Danny Manning	1,187	8.1	1985–88
2	Raef LaFrentz	1,186	9.1	1995–98
3	Nick Collison	1,143	8.0	2000–03
4	Bill Bridges	1,081	13.9	1959–61
5	Eric Chenowith	933	6.7	1998–2001
6	Drew Gooden	905	9.2	2000–02
7	Wayne Simien	884	8.3	2002–05
8	Wilt Chamberlain	877	18.3	1957–58
9	Cole Aldrich	860	7.7	2008–10
10	Scot Pollard	850	6.6	1994–97

Assists

Rank	Player	Assists	Per game	Years
1	Aaron Miles	954	6.9	2002–05
2	Jacque Vaughn	804	6.4	1994–97
3	Cedric Hunter	684	5.8	1984–87
4	Dajuan Harris Jr.	676	4.9	2020–present
5	Kirk Hinrich	668	4.7	2000–03
6	Devonte' Graham	632	4.5	2015–18
7	Darnell Valentine	609	5.2	1978–81
8	Frank Mason III	576	4.0	2014–17
9	Tyshawn Taylor	575	3.9	2009–12
10	Adonis Jordan	568	4.1	1990–93

All-Americans

Consensus first team

Kansas leads all NCAA teams with 32 consensus First Team All-American selections, 25 different players have received the honor.

• 1909– Tommy Johnson, forward
• 1915– Ralph Sproull, forward
• 1919– Dutch Lonborg, guard
• 1922– Paul Endacott, guard
• 1923– Paul Endacott, guard
• 1923– Charlie T. Black, guard
• 1924– Charlie T. Black, guard
• 1924– Tusten Ackerman, center
• 1925– Tusten Ackerman, center
• 1926– Gale Gordon, guard
• 1926– Al Peterson, center
• 1938– Fred Pralle, guard
• 1941– Howard Engleman, forward
• 1943– Charles B. Black, forward
• 1951– Clyde Lovellette, center
• 1952– Clyde Lovellette, center
• 1957– Wilt Chamberlain, center
• 1958– Wilt Chamberlain, center
• 1987– Danny Manning, forward
• 1988– Danny Manning, forward‡
• 1997– Raef LaFrentz, forward
• 1998– Raef LaFrentz, forward‡
• 1998– Paul Pierce, forward
• 2002– Drew Gooden, forward
• 2003– Nick Collison, forward‡
• 2005– Wayne Simien, forward
• 2010– Sherron Collins, guard
• 2012– Thomas Robinson, forward
• 2017– Frank Mason III, guard
• 2018– Devonte' Graham, guard
• 2022– Ochai Agbaji, guard
• 2023– Jalen Wilson, guard

‡ indicates player has made at least 2000 points and 1000 rebounds in his college career.

Other first team selections

• 1925– Gale Gordon, guard
• 1925– Al Peterson, center
• 1930– Forrest Cox, guard
• 1932– Ted O'Leary, forward
• 1933– Bill Johnson, center
• 1936– Ray Ebling- forward
• 1937– Fred Pralle, guard
• 1942– Charles B. Black, forward
• 1942– Ray Evans, guard
• 1943– Ray Evans, guard
• 1946– Charles B. Black, forward
• 1947– Charles B. Black, forward
• 1950– Clyde Lovellette, center
• 1953– B. H. Born, center
• 1961– Bill Bridges, forward
• 1962– Jerry Gardner, guard
• 1965– Walt Wesley, center
• 1966– Walt Wesley, center
• 1968– Jo Jo White, guard
• 1969– Jo Jo White, guard
• 1970– Dave Robisch, forward
• 1971– Dave Robisch, forward
• 1972– Bud Stallworth, forward
• 1981– Darnell Valentine, guard
• 1986– Danny Manning, forward
• 2020– Udoka Azubuike, center

Academic All-Americans

• 1971 – Bud Stallworth
• 1974 – Tom Kivisto
• 1977 – Cris Barnthouse & Ken Koenigs
• 1978 – Ken Koenigs
• 1979 – Darnell Valentine
• 1980 – Darnell Valentine
• 1981 – Darnell Valentine
• 1982 – David Magley
• 1996 – Jacque Vaughn
• 1997 – Jacque Vaughn† & Jerod Haase
• 1999 – Ryan Robertson
• 2010 – Cole Aldrich†
• 2011 – Tyrel Reed

† indicates Academic All-American of the Year

National Player of the Year awards

• 1923 – Paul Endacott (Helms Foundation)
• 1924 – Charlie T. Black (Helms Foundation)
• 1952 – Clyde Lovellette (Helms Foundation)
• 1988 – Danny Manning (Wooden, NABC, Naismith)
• 2002 – Drew Gooden (NABC)
• 2003 – Nick Collison (NABC)
• 2017 – Frank Mason III (Consensus)

McDonald's All-Americans

The 50 McDonald's All-Americans listed below have played for Kansas. An asterisk, "*", Indicates player did not finish his college career at Kansas. A cross, "†", indicates player did not begin his college career at Kansas. The 2015 game had the most future Jayhawks playing in the game with four, however, two players transferred to Kansas and one transferred out of Kansas. The 2022 game also had 4 players but one transferred to Kansas and one transferred out of Kansas.

1970–1999

• 1977 – Darnell Valentine
• 1978 – Tony Guy
• 1979 – Ricky Ross*
• 1981 – Greg Dreiling†
• 1982 – Kerry Boagni*
• 1984 – Danny Manning
• 1985 – Rick Calloway†
• 1986 – Mark Randall
• 1987 – Mike Maddox
• 1990 – Darrin Hancock†
• 1991 – Calvin Rayford & Ben Davis*
• 1993 – Jacque Vaughn
• 1994 – Raef LaFrentz
• 1995 – Ryan Robertson & Paul Pierce
• 1996 – Lester Earl†
• 1997 – Kenny Gregory & Eric Chenowith
• 1998 – Jeff Boschee
• 1999 – Nick Collison

2000–2019

• 2001 – Wayne Simien & Aaron Miles
• 2003 – J. R. Giddens* & David Padgett*
• 2005 – Micah Downs*, Mario Chalmers & Julian Wright
• 2006 – Sherron Collins & Darrell Arthur
• 2007 – Cole Aldrich
• 2009 – Xavier Henry
• 2010 – Josh Selby
• 2012 – Perry Ellis
• 2013 – Wayne Selden, Jr. & Andrew Wiggins
• 2014 – Cliff Alexander & Kelly Oubre
• 2015 – Carlton Bragg*, Cheick Diallo, Malik Newman† & Dedric Lawson†
• 2016 – Udoka Azubuike & Josh Jackson
• 2018 – David McCormack, Quentin Grimes* & Devon Dotson

2020–present

• 2020 – Bryce Thompson*
• 2022 – Gradey Dick, M. J. Rice*, Ernest Udeh, Arterio Morris†*
• 2023 – Elmarko Jackson
• 2024 – Flory Bidunga

Jayhawk basketball players notable in other fields

Below are any former Jayhawks who are notable in other fields. Included are the years they played basketball at Kansas and what they are notable for.

• Jim Bausch – Olympic decathlete – 1929–1931 – also a member of the College Football Hall of Fame
• Bob Dole – Politician – 1941–1944 – also played football while at Kansas
• Walter Sutton – Geneticist – 1898–1899

Retired jerseys

KU only retires the jerseys, and not the numbers, of past basketball players. Eight players honored played on one of KU's 5 championship teams. Thirty-three players have had their jersey retired by Kansas. One former announcer, Max Falkenstien, is honored with the retired jerseys as well. His number 60 was chosen because that was the number of years he was the radio announcer for the Jayhawks. Charlie T. Black and Paul Endacott are the only two players with their jerseys retired to play on two championship teams. Four players from the 2008 Championship have their jersey retired, which is the most players honored to be on a roster in any single season in Kansas basketball history.

Kansas Jayhawks retired jerseys
No.	Player	Position	Career
0	Drew Gooden	F	2000–02
	Thomas Robinson	F	2009–12
4	Nick Collison	F	2000–03
	Sherron Collins 5	G	2006–10
5	Fred Pralle	G	1936–38
	Howard Engleman	F	1939–41
7	Tusten Ackerman 2	C	1923–25
8	Charlie T. Black 1 2	G	1922–24
10	Charles B. Black	F	1942–43, 1946–47
	Kirk Hinrich	G	2000–03
11	Jacque Vaughn	G	1994–97
12	Paul Endacott 1 2	G	1921–23
13	Wilt Chamberlain	C	1957–58
	Walt Wesley	C	1964–66
14	Darnell Valentine	G	1978–81
15	Ray Evans	G	1942–43, 1946–47
	Jo Jo White	G	1966–69
	Bud Stallworth	F	1970–72
	Mario Chalmers 5	G	2006–08
16	Clyde Lovellette 3	C	1950–52
22	Marcus Morris	F	2008–11
23	B.H. Born 3	C	1952–54
	Wayne Simien	F	2002–05
25	Danny Manning 4	F	1985–88
	Brandon Rush 5	F	2005–08
26	Gale Gordon	G	1925–27
32	Bill Bridges	F	1959–61
33	Bill "Skinny" Johnson	C	1930–33
34	Paul Pierce	F	1995–98
36	Al Peterson	C	1925–27
40	Dave Robisch	F	1969–71
45	Raef LaFrentz	F	1994–98
	Cole Aldrich 5	C	2007–2010
60	Max Falkenstien	Announcer	1945–2006

Notes

• ¹ Member of 1922 National Championship team
• ² Member of 1923 National Championship team
• ³ Member of 1952 National Championship team
• ⁴ Member of 1988 National Championship team
• ⁵ Member of 2008 National Championship team

Jayhawks in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame

Twenty members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame have been associated with the Kansas men's basketball team. This includes several players, Kansas head coaches, former Jayhawk players who have been inducted in other roles, and former assistant coaches.

Players

• Wilt Chamberlain
• Paul Endacott
• Bill Johnson
• Allen Kelley (enshrined as member of 1960 Olympic gold medal team)
• Clyde Lovellette
• Paul Pierce
• Jo Jo White

Jayhawk coaches

Below are Jayhawk head coaches in the Hall of Fame.

• Phog Allen (also a former player and former head coach of football team)
• Larry Brown
• Roy Williams
• Bill Self (also a former assistant coach)

Former players not enshrined as a player or Kansas coach

The following former players are enshrined in the Hall of Fame but not as a player or as a coach at Kansas.

• John Bunn, also freshmen team coach, enshrined as a contributor
• Dutch Lonborg, former athletic director, enshrined as a coach
• Ralph Miller, also a Kansas football player, enshrined as a coach
• Ernie Quigley, enshrined as a referee
• Adolph Rupp, enshrined as a coach
• Dean Smith, enshrined as a coach

Others

The following are people associated with Kansas basketball in some way that are in the Hall of Fame for a reason not already mentioned.

• James Naismith, head coach from 1898 to 1907, enshrined as inventor of the game, namesake for Hall of Fame
• John Calipari, assistant at Kansas from 1982 to 1985, enshrined as a head coach, primarily a college coach but had a brief stint in the NBA.
• Gregg Popovich, assistant at Kansas for 1986–87 season, enshrined as head coach in NBA.

Jayhawks in the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame

There are multiple former Kansas players that have been enshrined in the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. Some former players have been enshrined as players, while some former players have been enshrined as coaches.

Coaches

• Phog Allen, also a former player
• Larry Brown
• Roy Williams

Players

• Wilt Chamberlain
• Paul Endacott
• Bill Johnson
• Clyde Lovellette
• Danny Manning
• Paul Pierce

Former players inducted as coaches

• Dean Smith, coached at North Carolina
• Adolph Rupp, coached at Kentucky
• Ralph Miller, coached at Wichita (now known as Wichita State), Iowa, and Oregon State
• Dutch Lonborg, coached at McPherson, Washburn, and Northwestern

Contributors

• James Naismith, former coach, inducted as inventor of basketball
• John Bunn, former basketball and football player, inducted as chairman of Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame

Olympians

Below are Jayhawks who represented their country in the Olympic Games as a player or coach. Thirteen Jayhawks have been chosen to represent their home country in the Olympics. Only Sasha Kaun represented a country other than the United States when he represented Russia in 2012. Former Jayhawk Joel Embiid is the most recent Jayhawk to participate in the Olympics and represent the US, he will participate in the 2024 Summer Olympics. Eleven have played in the Olympics, two coached, and one was selected but didn't play due to a boycott, Darnell Valentine. The 1952 Olympic team featured 7 Jayhawk players and a coach. Two former Jayhawk basketball players have coached in the Olympics. Current Jayhawk Johnny Furphy is on the final list for Australia for the 2024 Olympics.

Year	Player	Medal
1952	Phog Allen (assistant coach)
1952	Charlie Hoag
1952	Bill Hougland
1952	John Keller
1952	Dean Kelley
1952	Bob Kenney
1952	Bill Lienhard
1952	Clyde Lovellette
1956	Bill Hougland
1960	Allen Kelley
1968	Jo Jo White
1976	Dean Smith (head coach)
1980	Darnell Valentine	DNP
1988	Danny Manning
2012	Sasha Kaun (Russia)
2024	Joel Embiid	TBD

Presidential Medal of Freedom

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian honor in the United States and is awarded by the president. The award has been given to two former Kansas basketball players for contributions outside of the University of Kansas.

Player	Years at Kansas	Year given	President	Reason
Bob Dole	1941–1942	1997	Bill Clinton	Lengthy political career
Dean Smith	1949–1953	2013	Barack Obama	Charity work and accomplishments as North Carolina's men's basketball coach

Jayhawks in the NBA

The Jayhawks have multiple connections to the NBA. Below is a list of former players and coaches. People that are currently coaches or in management will show their current job, as well as how they are associated with Kansas basketball.

Current management

• R. C. Buford – General Manager San Antonio Spurs, assistant coach 1983–1988
• Kevin Pritchard – President of basketball operations Indiana Pacers, player 1986–1990
• Nick Collison – Special assistant to general manager Oklahoma City Thunder, player 1999–2003
• Alvin Gentry - Vice President of Basketball Engagement Sacramento Kings, assistant coach, 1986–89

Coaches

• Greg Dreiling – Scout, Dallas Mavericks, player 1983–86
• Gregg Popovich – Head Coach, San Antonio Spurs, volunteer assistant 1986–87 season
• Michael Lee – Scout, Golden State Warriors, played at Kansas 2001–05
• Aaron Miles – Assistant coach, New Orleans Pelicans, played at Kansas 2001–05
• Rex Walters – Assistant coach, Charlotte Hornets, played at Kansas 1991–93

Current players

Below is a list of former Jayhawk basketball on NBA rosters. Free agents should not be included on the list. Players with an asterisk are players that have been assigned to the G-League. In the offseason, players who were signed to a team's summer league roster should not be included.

• Ochai Agbaji – Toronto Raptors
• Udoka Azubuike – Phoenix Suns
• Christian Braun – Denver Nuggets
• Gradey Dick – Toronto Raptors
• Joel Embiid – Philadelphia 76ers
• Devonte' Graham – San Antonio Spurs
• Quentin Grimes – Detroit Pistons
• Marcus Morris – San Antonio Spurs
• Markieff Morris – Dallas Mavericks
• Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk – Boston Celtics
• Kelly Oubre Jr. – Philadelphia 76ers
• Jalen Wilson – Brooklyn Nets
• Andrew Wiggins – Golden State Warriors

Recently became a Free agent

This section is former Jayhawks that were on an NBA roster during the 2019-2020 NBA season but are not on an NBA roster. Any players on this list that are not on a roster by the start of the season should be moved to former players. Players listed below may be under contract in an international league, but are not under contract in the NBA or the G-League.

• Wayne Selden, most recently played for the New York Knicks
• Josh Jackson, most recently played for the Sacramento Kings

Former players

Below are former Jayhawks who spent three or more seasons in the NBA.

• Cole Aldrich (2010–18)
• Darrell Arthur (2008–18)
• Charles B. Black (1948–51)
• Tarik Black (2014–18)
• Bill Bridges (1962–74)
• Walter Roger Brown (1972–79)
• Wilt Chamberlain (1959–72)
• Nick Collison (2003–18)
• Cheick Diallo (2016–22)

• Greg Dreiling (1986–96)
• Drew Gooden (2002–16)
• Xavier Henry (2010–14)
• Wayne Hightower (1962–71)
• Kirk Hinrich (2003–16)
• Maury King (1959–62)
• Raef LaFrentz (1998–09)
• Clyde Lovellette (1953–63)

• Danny Manning (1988–02)
• Frank Mason III (2017–21)
• Paul Mokeski (1979–90)
• Greg Ostertag (1995–05)
• Paul Pierce (1998–17)
• Scot Pollard (1997–08)
• Kevin Pritchard (1990–95)
• Mark Randall (1991–94)

• Dave Robisch (1971–83)
• Thomas Robinson (2012–17)
• Brandon Rush (2008–17)
• Isaac Stallworth (1972–76)
• Billy Thomas (1999–08)
• Calvin Thompson (1983–86)
• Darnell Valentine (1981–90)
• Jacque Vaughn (1997–09)

• Rex Walters (1993–99)
• Walt Wesley (1966–75)
• Jo Jo White (1969–80)
• Jeff Withey (2013–17)
• Julian Wright (2007–11)

Draft history

• 91 total NBA draft picks.
• 39 players drafted 30th or better. 38 if including territorial pick Wilt Chamberlain. (Equivalent to 1st round picks by modern draft standards.)
• 23 players drafted 31–60th. (Equivalent to 2nd round picks by modern draft standards.)

Territorial Picks
From 1947 to 1965 the draft allowed teams not drawing fans to select a local player, in place of their first round pick.

Year	Player	Team
1959	Wilt Chamberlain	Philadelphia Warriors

Regular Draft

Year	Round	Pick	Overall	Player	Team
1947	–	–	–	Ray Evans	New York Knicks
1948	–	–	–	Otto Schnellbacher	Providence Steamrollers
1952	1	9	9	Clyde Lovellette	Minneapolis Lakers
1953	8	–	–	Dean Kelley	Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons
1953	11	–	32	Gil Reich	Boston Celtics
1954	3	4	22	B. H. Born	Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons
1954	7	2	56	Allen Kelley	Milwaukee Hawks
1957	6	8	48	Maury King	Boston Celtics
1959	10	6	71	Ron Loneski	St. Louis Hawks
1961	3	9	32	Bill Bridges	Chicago Packers
1962	1	5	5	Wayne Hightower	San Francisco Warriors
1963	4	2	28	Nolen Ellison	Baltimore Bullets
1965	8	7	68	George Unseld	Los Angeles Lakers
1966	1	6	6	Walt Wesley	Cincinnati Royals
1966	13	3	103	Al Lopes	Baltimore Bullets
1967	4	2	33	Ronald Franz	Detroit Pistons
1968	9	8	114	Roger Bohnenstiel	New York Knicks
1969	1	9	9	Jo Jo White	Boston Celtics
1969	4	5	48	Dave Nash	Chicago Bulls
1969	11	13	154	Bruce Sloan	Philadelphia 76ers
1971	3	9	44	Dave Robisch	Boston Celtics
1971	4	13	64	Walter Roger Brown	Los Angeles Lakers
1971	13	12	207	Pierre Russell	Milwaukee Bucks
1972	1	7	7	Bud Stallworth	Seattle SuperSonics
1972	14	4	184	Aubrey Nash	Baltimore Bullets
1975	7	2	110	Rick Suttle	Los Angeles Lakers
1975	8	18	144	Roger Morningstar	Boston Celtics
1976	1	16	16	Norm Cook	Boston Celtics
1977	7	14	124	Herb Nobles	Detroit Pistons
1978	5	11	99	Ken Koenigs	Cleveland Cavaliers
1978	6	8	118	John Douglas	New Orleans Jazz
1979	2	20	42	Paul Mokeski	Houston Rockets
1980	10	12	211	Randy Carroll	Phoenix Suns
1981	1	16	16	Darnell Valentine	Portland Trail Blazers
1981	3	1	47	Art Housey	Dallas Mavericks
1981	7	22	160	John Crawford	Philadelphia 76ers
1982	2	5	28	Dave Magley	Cleveland Cavaliers
1982	2	23	46	Tony Guy	Boston Celtics
1984	4	10	80	Carl Henry	Kansas City Kings
1984	9	1	185	Brian Martin	Indiana Pacers
1984	9	15	199	Kelly Knight	Utah Jazz
1986	2	2	26	Greg Dreiling	Indiana Pacers
1986	2	18	42	Ron Kellogg	Atlanta Hawks
1986	4	1	71	Calvin Thompson	New York Knicks
1988	1	1	1	Danny Manning	Los Angeles Clippers
1988	3	25	75	Archie Marshall	San Antonio Spurs
1990	2	7	34	Kevin Pritchard	Golden State Warriors
1991	1	26	26	Mark Randall	Chicago Bulls
1993	1	16	16	Rex Walters	New Jersey Nets
1993	2	15	42	Adonis Jordan	Seattle SuperSonics
1994	2	11	38	Darrin Hancock	Charlotte Hornets
1995	1	28	28	Greg Ostertag	Utah Jazz
1997	1	19	19	Scot Pollard	Detroit Pistons
1997	1	27	27	Jacque Vaughn	Utah Jazz
1998	1	3	3	Raef LaFrentz	Denver Nuggets
1998	1	10	10	Paul Pierce	Boston Celtics
1999	2	16	45	Ryan Robertson	Sacramento Kings
2001	2	14	45	Eric Chenowith	New York Knicks
2002	1	4	4	Drew Gooden	Memphis Grizzlies
2003	1	7	7	Kirk Hinrich	Chicago Bulls
2003	1	12	12	Nick Collison	Seattle SuperSonics
2005	1	29	29	Wayne Simien	Miami Heat
2007	1	13	13	Julian Wright	New Orleans Hornets
2008	1	13	13	Brandon Rush	Portland Trail Blazers
2008	1	27	27	Darrell Arthur	New Orleans Hornets
2008	2	4	34	Mario Chalmers	Minnesota Timberwolves
2008	2	22	52	Darnell Jackson	Miami Heat
2008	2	29	59	Sasha Kaun	Seattle SuperSonics
2010	1	11	11	Cole Aldrich	New Orleans Hornets
2010	1	12	12	Xavier Henry	Memphis Grizzlies
2011	1	13	13	Markieff Morris	Phoenix Suns
2011	1	14	14	Marcus Morris	Houston Rockets
2011	2	19	49	Josh Selby	Memphis Grizzlies
2012	1	5	5	Thomas Robinson	Sacramento Kings
2012	2	11	41	Tyshawn Taylor	Brooklyn Nets
2013	1	7	7	Ben McLemore	Sacramento Kings
2013	2	9	39	Jeff Withey	Portland Trail Blazers
2014	1	1	1	Andrew Wiggins	Cleveland Cavaliers
2014	1	3	3	Joel Embiid	Philadelphia 76ers
2015	1	15	15	Kelly Oubre	Atlanta Hawks
2016	2	3	33	Cheick Diallo	Los Angeles Clippers
2017	1	4	4	Josh Jackson	Phoenix Suns
2017	2	4	34	Frank Mason III	Sacramento Kings
2018	2	4	34	Devonte' Graham	Atlanta Hawks
2018	2	17	47	Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk	Los Angeles Lakers
2020	1	27	27	Udoka Azubuike	Utah Jazz
2022	1	14	14	Ochai Agbaji	Cleveland Cavaliers
2022	1	21	21	Christian Braun	Denver Nuggets
2023	1	13	13	Gradey Dick	Toronto Raptors
2023	2	21	51	Jalen Wilson	Brooklyn Nets
2024	2	5	35	Johnny Furphy	Indiana Pacers
2024	2	26	56	Kevin McCullar Jr.	New York Knicks

NBA Award winners

Below are Jayhawks that have won an award in the NBA such as MVP, Rookie of the Year, etc. Not included are Jayhawks who made All-Star or All-NBA teams, or Jayhawks that have won All-Star game MVP, the dunk contest, or 3 point contest. Eleven times a Jayhawk has won a major award, six different Jayhawks have won awards. The only major award a Jayhawk has never won is Defensive Player of the Year. Wilt Chamberlain won an award six times during his career including four MVP Awards. Joel Embiid is the most recent winner of an award-winning league MVP for the 2022–23, the second Jayhawk to win that award along with Chamberlain who also won the award with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Season	Player	Team	Award
1959–60	Wilt Chamberlain	Philadelphia Warriors	MVP Rookie of the Year
1965–66	Wilt Chamberlain	Philadelphia 76ers	MVP
1966–67	Wilt Chamberlain	Philadelphia 76ers	MVP
1967–68	Wilt Chamberlain	Philadelphia 76ers	MVP
1971–72	Wilt Chamberlain	Los Angeles Lakers	NBA Finals MVP
1975–76	Jo Jo White	Boston Celtics	NBA Finals MVP
1997–98	Danny Manning	Phoenix Suns	Sixth Man of the Year
2007–08	Paul Pierce	Boston Celtics	NBA Finals MVP
2014–15	Andrew Wiggins	Minnesota Timberwolves	Rookie of the Year
2022–23	Joel Embiid	Philadelphia 76ers	MVP

Current Jayhawk college coaches

Division I Head Coaches – former players

• Tad Boyle, Colorado

Division I Head Coaches – former players and assistant coaches

• Jerod Haase, Stanford

Women's Division I Head Coaches

• Terry Nooner, Wichita State

Division I assistants – former players

• Jeremy Case, Kansas
• Danny Manning, Louisville
• Evan Manning, Gonzaga

Jayhawks in the NBA G-League

Below are former Jayhawks under contract with a G-League team but are not on a two-way contract with an NBA team.

• Tarik Black – Grand Rapids Gold
• Mario Chalmers – Sioux Falls Skyforce
• Cheick Diallo – Motor City Cruise
• Devon Dotson – Windy City Bulls
• Marcus Garrett – Sioux Falls Skyforce
• Frank Mason III – South Bay Lakers
• Malik Newman – Cleveland Charge

NCAA records

Active streak

• Most consecutive coaches leading team to Final Four: 6

Team

• Largest unranked-to-ranked jump: From unranked to No. 4 after beating No. 1 (UNLV), No. 2 (LSU), and No. 25 (SJU) in the 1989 preseason NIT.
• Most wins over an opponent in a single calendar year: 5 (Over Nebraska in 1909 and Kansas State in 1935)
• Consecutive regular season conference championships: 13, 2005 to 2017 (tied)
• Consecutive weeks ranked in AP poll: 231, February 2, 2009, to February 8, 2021
• 25+ win seasons: 15, 2005–06 season to 2019–20 season
• 20+ win seasons: 28, 1989–90 season to 2016–17*
• Consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances: 27, 1990–2017*

*Streak has officially ended, however it was ended due to the NCAA vacating wins. The streak would be active if their wins were not vacated.

Individual

• Career games scoring in double figures: 132, Danny Manning
• Rebounds in first career game: 31, Wilt Chamberlain, vs. Northwestern, December 5, 1956
• Most blocks in a single NCAA tournament: 31, Jeff Withey

Other

• Most winning seasons: 101
• Most non-losing seasons (.500 or better): 104
• Most regular season conference championships: 61
• Most Consensus first-team All-Americans: 23
• Most Consensus first-team All-American selections: 30

See also

• NCAA Men's Division I Final Four appearances by coaches
• NCAA Men's Division I Final Four appearances by school
• List of teams with the most victories in NCAA Division I men's college basketball
• NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament Consecutive Appearances

External links

• Official website

In Street & Smith's Annual list of 100 greatest college basketball programs of all time in 2005, KU ranked 4th. With the regular season finale victory in 2007 over the University of Texas, Kansas won its 1900th game. Only Kentucky and North Carolina have won more basketball games. On November 8th, 1988, KU became the first NCAA basketball champion to be barred from defending its title. This probation from the NCAA was the result of major violations largely involving illegal benefits provided to Vincent Askew, a potential transfer recruit. The primary violation was the provision of a plane ticket home to see his sick grandmother.

Women's basketball

Main article: Kansas Jayhawks women's basketball

Kansas first fielded a women's team during the 1968-1969 season. For thirty-one seasons (1973-2004) the women's team was coached by Marian Washington, who led the team to three Big Eight championships, eleven NCAA Tournament appearances and four AIAW Tournament appearances. The team's best post-season result was a Sweet Sixteen appearance in 1998. Kansas is currently coached by Bonnie Henrickson who is in her 5th season.

Football

Main article: Kansas Jayhawks football

Kansas Jayhawks football
2024 Kansas Jayhawks football team
First season	1890; 134 years ago
Athletic director	Travis Goff
Head coach	Lance Leipold 3rd season, 17–21 (.447)
Stadium	David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium (capacity: 47,233)
Field surface	FieldTurf
Location	Lawrence, Kansas
NCAA division	Division I FBS
Conference	Big 12 Conference
Past conferences	Kansas Intercollegiate Athletic Association (1890–1891) Western Interstate University Football Association (1892–1897) Independent (1898–1906) Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association (1907–1928) Big 6/7/8 Conference (1929–1995)
All-time record	605–679–58 (.472)
Bowl record	7–7 (.500)
Conference titles	9 (1892, 1893, 1895, 1908, 1923, 1930, 1946, 1947, 1968)
Division titles	1 (2007 Co-Big 12 North Division)
Rivalries	Missouri (rivalry) Kansas State (rivalry) Nebraska (rivalry)
Consensus All-Americans	13
Colors	Crimson and blue
Fight song	"I'm a Jayhawk"
Mascot	Big Jay, Baby Jay
Marching band	Marching Jayhawks
Website	kuathletics.com

The Kansas Jayhawks football program is the intercollegiate football program of the University of Kansas. The program is classified in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Bowl Subdivision (FBS), and the team competes in the Big 12 Conference. The Jayhawks are led by head coach Lance Leipold.

The program's first season was 1890, making it one of the oldest college football programs, and the oldest team in the state of Kansas. The team's home field is David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, which opened in 1921 and is one of the oldest college football stadiums in the nation. Until 2014, Memorial Stadium was one of the few football stadiums in Division I that had a track encircling the field. The track was removed in 2014, as the university's newly built Rock Chalk Park sports complex opened for use by the school's outdoor track and field team. In 2019, immediately adjacent to the west of the stadium, the University of Kansas Football Indoor Practice Facility was completed. The facility was built using only private donations from University of Kansas alumni, most notably David Booth. KU's all-time record was 605–679–58 as of the conclusion of the 2023 season. The program saw a re-emergence under head coach Mark Mangino who won 50 games in eight seasons. From the departure of Mangino to 2021, the Jayhawks struggled to meet the same success as under Mangino. The program's overall record in that time frame was 22–111 (.165 win percentage). They also never won more than 3 games and never more than a single conference win during that time frame. They also had two winless seasons and five losing streaks of 10 or more games. The Jayhawks also lost 46 straight road games from the final year under Mangino to 2018 and 56 straight road conference games which spanned from 2009 to 2021. The Jayhawks had an active streak of 44 consecutive losses to teams ranked in the AP poll that has stood since a loss to 24th ranked Oklahoma in 2009. This lasted until the 2022 Season when they beat 18th Oklahoma State 37–16. Kansas became bowl eligible for the first time since the 2008 season.

While Kansas has yet to have a Heisman Trophy winner, they have had one Heisman finalist and 2 other players receive votes. John Hadl, Bobby Douglass, and David Jaynes all received votes, Jaynes being the only finalist. Other notable former Kansas players include Pro Football Hall of Famers Gale Sayers, John Riggins, and Mike McCormack, as well as All-Americans Nolan Cromwell, Dana Stubblefield, Aqib Talib, and Anthony Collins. Former line coach Mike Getto is the only coach to have gone on to become a head coach in the NFL. Additionally, two members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame have been associated with Kansas Football: Phog Allen, who coached football at Kansas for a season in 1920, and Ralph Miller, who was a quarterback on the team from 1937 to 1940. Jim Bausch, who won gold in the decathlon at the 1932 Summer Olympics, was a running back at Kansas and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Kansas has appeared in twelve bowl games, including three trips to the Orange Bowl (1948, 1969, and 2008). Kansas has also won six conference championships, most recently winning one in 1968. Kansas played in the first NCAA-contracted nationally televised regular season college football game on September 20, 1952, against TCU.

Along with Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, and Washington University in St. Louis, Kansas was a charter member of the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association in 1907, which evolved into the Big Eight Conference. The Big Eight was folded into the Big 12 in 1996, and Kansas is the only original member of the MVIAA that is still part of the Big 12.

History

See also: List of Kansas Jayhawks football seasons

Kansas's home stadium, David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, was completed in 1921 and is one of the oldest football stadiums in the nation.

The Jayhawks are one of the oldest football programs in the country, being founded in 1890. The most successful era for Kansas football was 1890 to 1952, when the program recorded four undefeated seasons and posted an overall .603 winning percentage, over 300 wins, several conference championships, and made major bowl appearances. From 1953 to 1968, the Jayhawks continued to find success on the football field, sharing three conference titles and attending more bowl games, but the team's overall winning percentage during that era slipped. From 1969 through the 2009 season KU's winning percentage dipped to .427 (195–263–9), but the team continued to find some success during this era, twice finishing in the top 10 of the AP Poll, including a 12–1 season in 2007 that ended with an Orange Bowl victory.

The losing accelerated during the years 2010 to 2021, during which the team posted a 23–118 record (.163 winning percentage), including two of the three winless seasons in the program's history. During the 2012 season, the program's all-time winning percentage fell below .500 for the first time since KU finished 1–2 in 1890. But 2021 also saw the hiring of current coach Lance Leipold, who has dramatically improved the team's records in his three seasons.

Early history (1890–1947)

Will Coleman was player-coach for the first Kansas Jayhawks football team in 1890.

The University of Kansas fielded its first football team in 1890, led by player-coach Will Coleman. Kansas traveled to nearby Baker University to play the first college football game in Kansas to start that season. After playing an abbreviated three-game season in 1890, KU played its first full schedule in 1891 and immediately found success, posting a 7–0–1 record under head coach E. M. Hopkins. The 1891 season also featured the school's first football game against the University of Missouri, the first game in what would become the long-running Border War rivalry, a 22–8 KU victory in Kansas City.

In 1899, Hall-of-Famer Fielding H. Yost served one season as KU's football coach, posting the first perfect season in school history (10–0). After the turn of the century, Hall-of-Famer John Outland, who played at KU in 1895–1896, returned to Kansas to serve as head coach, but struggled to a 3–5–2 record in his only season in 1901. The 1902 season featured the program's first game of its rivalry against Kansas State, a 16–0 Jayhawk win.

The program had ten head coaches in its first 14 seasons, but A. R. Kennedy took the position in 1904 and held it for the next seven highly successful seasons, through 1910. Kennedy's overall coaching record at Kansas was 52–9–4. This still ranks as the most wins for any Kansas head coach, and puts him fourth at the school in terms of winning percentage (.831). Kennedy's best season was 1908, when the Jayhawks posted the school's second ever undefeated season (9–0) and won the school's first major conference championship, in the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association. KU has not had another perfect season since 1908. Kennedy was also one of the best performing coaches for Kansas in the Border War (as of 2007 called "Border Showdown") between Kansas and Missouri, going 4–1–2 (.714) against MU as a coach and 7–1–2 (.800) against MU cumulatively as a coach and player.

A. R. Kennedy is the winningest coach in KU history.

Kennedy's long tenure was followed by another period of rapid turnover in coaches, with seven head coaches for KU in the next ten seasons. The most successful of these was Herman Olcott, who had a three-year tenure as head coach from 1915 to 1917, posting a record of 16–7–1 (.688). Basketball coach Phog Allen also served one year as head football coach during this era, with a record of 5–2–1 in 1920. Potsy Clark finally returned some stability to the position, serving as KU's head football coach for five seasons, from 1921 to 1925. Although Clark would later go on to find success as an NFL head coach, at KU he amassed a 16–17–6 record in his five seasons and left the school as the first coach with an overall losing record since John Outland in 1901. Football innovator Bill Hargiss – one of the first in the sport to use the huddle and forward pass – was hired as KU head coach in 1928. Hargiss coached the team to a Big Six championship in 1930, but could not sustain success and was fired only two games into the 1932 season, after the Jayhawks lost at home to Oklahoma, 21–6. Hargiss recorded an overall mark of 18–16–2 (.528) as KU head coach. Through the end of Hargiss's tenure in 1932 the Jayhawks football program had registered a great deal of success, with only four of the first twenty coaches at KU suffering losing records. Beginning with Hargiss's successor Adrian Lindsey's 23–30–8 mark at KU, four of the next seven coaches at KU would post losing records.

KU alum Adrian Lindsey was hired by his alma mater as head football coach in the middle of the 1932 season, taking over after the mid-season firing of Bill Hargiss. Lindsey led the Jayhawks to a 4–2 record during his first partial season. Lindsey's teams thereafter struggled to find success on the football field, posting an overall record of 23–30–8 during Lindsey's time as head coach. Lindsey was replaced after the 1938 season. In 1939, Gwinn Henry, formerly head coach of the rival Missouri Tigers from 1923 to 1931, was hired to take over the struggling Jayhawks football program. In four seasons at KU, Henry failed to find much success on the field, going a dismal 9–27 – the worst record of any KU head coach to that time. Because of the struggles, Henry was fired after the 1942 season. Henry Shenk was hired to replace Gwinn Henry but failed to turn around the Jayhawks football program, which by this time had fallen to the bottom of the Big Six Conference. Shenk's teams fared better than his predecessors, but failed to post a winning record in any of his three seasons. Shenk's final record at KU was 11–16–3.

Though he was KU's head coach for only two years, George Sauer had an immediate impact on the program and was the most successful Jayhawks coach since A. R. Kennedy. Both of his KU teams won a share of the Big Six Conference, posting records of 7–2–1 and 8–1–2. His 1947 team was invited to KU's first bowl game, the Orange Bowl. Despite falling 20–14 to Georgia Tech in the bowl game, KU finished the 1947 season ranked No. 12 in the AP Poll – the program's first appearance in a final poll. Sauer departed after his successful 1947 season to accept the head football coach position at Navy. His final record at KU was 15–3–3, giving him the highest winning percentage of any KU coach since A. R. Kennedy. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1954.

Jules Sikes came to Kansas from his post as defensive line coach at Georgia. Sikes had success at KU, in particular 7–3 seasons in 1948 and 1952, 6–4 in 1950 and 8–2 in 1951 that included a No. 20 ranking in the final Coaches' Poll. Despite several winning years, a 2–8 season in 1953 sealed his fate as head coach. He was fired after the dismal season. His final record with the Jayhawks was 35–25.

Mid-century

Chuck Mather was hired in 1954 as the 27th head football coach for the Kansas Jayhawks. He started his tenure with an 0–10 season in 1954, the first winless season in KU history. Mather continued to struggle at KU, leaving after the 1957 season with an overall coaching record at Kansas of 11–26–3, ranking him 18th at Kansas in terms of total wins and 34th in terms of winning percentage.

Gale Sayers (1962–64), Hall of Fame RB

Jack Mitchell left Arkansas and came to the Jayhawks to replace Mather in 1958. His overall coaching record at Kansas was 44–42–5 in nine seasons. This ranks him fourth at Kansas in terms of total wins and 20th at Kansas in terms of winning percentage. Mitchell's teams made one bowl appearance at KU, the 1961 Bluebonnet Bowl, a game KU won. That year, the Jayhawks finished the season with a 7–3–1 record and a No. 15 ranking in the final Coaches' poll. Mitchell's 1960 team also was successful. That year, the Jayhawks finished 7–2–1 and had a final ranking of No. 9 and No. 11 in the final Coaches' and AP polls, respectively. When Mitchell retired from coaching after the 1966 season he was viewed by many as the savior of the Jayhawk football program.

UCLA assistant coach Pepper Rodgers was chosen as the head football coach after Mitchell's retirement. Rodgers led the Jayhawks to the Big Eight Conference title in 1968, the Jayhawks' most recent conference championship. That year, the Jayhawks finished the season with a 9–2 record, an Orange Bowl appearance (a 15–14 loss to Penn State) and final rankings of No. 6 and No. 7 in the final Coaches' and AP polls, respectively. Rodgers finished his tenure as KU head football coach with a 20–22 overall record in four seasons. He resigned after the 1970 season to accept the head football coach position at the school from which he came to KU, UCLA.

1970-1989

Hall of Fame RB John Riggins played for Kansas from 1967 to 1970. During his NFL career he was named MVP of Super Bowl XVII

A longtime Kansas assistant coach, Don Fambrough was elevated to head coach after the departure of Pepper Rodgers. During his first stint as head coach, Fambrough's only winning season was in 1973, when the Jayhawks finished the season 7–4–1 and made an appearance in the Liberty Bowl, a game they lost. That year, Kansas finished the season ranked No. 15 and No. 18 in the Coaches' and AP polls, respectively. However, when Kansas regressed to 4–7 in 1974 and the administration refused to renew his contract, Fambrough resigned.

Fambrough returned as head coach in 1979, and his second tenure as head coach is best known for the Jayhawks' 1981 season, that ended with an 8–4 record and an appearance in the All-American Bowl which, like many bowl games before it, resulted in a loss for the Jayhawks. Fambrough was fired after the 1982 season. His second tenure produced an 18–23–4 record, giving him an overall record of 37–48–5 in eight seasons at KU. In 1983, Kansas was found guilty of numerous recruiting violations, principally involving one of Fambrough's assistants. As a result, Kansas was banned from postseason play and live television in 1983. Fambrough was cleared of wrongdoing, but the assistant was slapped with a three-year show-cause penalty, which effectively blackballed him from the collegiate ranks until 1986.

Kansas hired Bud Moore, previously Alabama offensive coordinator under Bear Bryant, to replace Fambrough after his first exit from the Jayhawks. In his first season in 1975, Moore was named Big Eight Coach of the Year and was runner up to Woody Hayes as the Football Writers Association of America National Coach of the Year. Moore led his team to a 23–3 upset over eventual national champion Oklahoma, breaking the Sooners' 37-game winning streak. After thrashing Missouri the Jayhawks received a bid to the Sun Bowl, losing to Pitt (who would win the national championship in 1976), giving the Hawks a final record of 7–5.

In 1976, the Jayhawks started 4-0 and were ranked 8th in the AP poll (the last time they would be ranked in 17 years), but after QB Nolan Cromwell suffered a season-ending knee injury against Oklahoma, KU finished 6–5. Moore was the first KU coach with back-to-back winning seasons since Jack Mitchell in 1961–62, but this success was followed by 4–6–1 in 1977 and then 1–10 in 1978. In spite of dominating rivals Missouri and Kansas State, these struggles, failure to improve facilities, plus lagging attendance, led to Moore's firing as head coach after four seasons. In 1983, KU hired Mike Gottfried away from Cincinnati to replace the Fambrough. Gottfried had a mediocre tenure as the Jayhawks head coach, making modest improvement each season, with records of 4–6–1, 5–6 and 6–6. His final record at KU was 15–18–1.

Gottfried departed Kansas after three seasons to accept the head football coach position at Pittsburgh. He was succeeded by offensive coordinator Bob Valesente. During Valesente's two seasons as head coach, the Jayhawks compiled a record of 4–17–1 overall, and 0–13–1 against Big Eight opponents – finishing with a winning percentage of .205, the worst in school history to that time (since surpassed by Charlie Weis, David Beaty, and Clint Bowen). The Jayhawks went 1–9–1 in 1987 with their only win being a 16–15 game against Southern Illinois. Valesente was fired at the end of the season. At the time of his firing, Valesente was in the second year of a four-year contract, which athletic director Bob Frederick said would be honored. Valesente told reporters, "I don't believe two years is enough to build a program. I just don't feel we've been given enough time." Valesente had undertaken efforts to improve the team's academic standing and noted, "I feel proud of the fact that we have begun to overcome some of the immense academic problems that have plagued us. We needed to first stop the academic attrition." Anthony Redwood, the chairman of the Kansas Athletic Corporation board and a business professor, resigned from the board in protest of the firing. Redwood noted, "Apparently we lack the courage at this institution to plan a course of action and stick with it. Certainly to the outside world this decision must call into question our commitment to the academic dimension of intercollegiate athletics."

Glen Mason

Glen Mason era (1988–1995)

KU hired Glen Mason away from Kent State to take over the Jayhawks football program in late 1987. Mason restored promise into KU's football program, with four winning seasons in his nine seasons and two bowl victories, the 1992 and 1995 Aloha Bowl, defeating BYU and UCLA, respectively. These were the first KU bowl victories since the 1961 Bluebonnet Bowl. Those years, the Jayhawks finished 8–4 and 10–2, the latter of which tied a school record for victories in a single season, previously set in 1899.

In 1995, as Kansas prepared for the Aloha Bowl against UCLA, Mason accepted the head coaching position at Georgia. Mason had a change of heart and stayed with the Jayhawks, but left for the Minnesota one season later. His final record at Kansas was 47–54–1.

First Decline

Coach Terry Allen came to KU from Northern Iowa after the departure of Glen Mason. Despite increased optimism from the fans and administration due to the successes of the previous coaching staff, Allen's teams continued the KU football tradition of struggling on the playing field, failing to compile a winning season in five years and finishing 21–35 in that span of time.

Allen was fired with two games left in his fifth season at Kansas. His best season was a 5–6 record his first year.

Mark Mangino era (2002–2009)

Mark Mangino

The Jayhawks hired Mark Mangino, previously offensive coordinator at Oklahoma, as the new KU head coach in late 2001. The program had not posted a winning season in any of the 6 seasons prior to his arrival. While an intense, foul-mouthed and fiery coach, Mangino was able to enjoy success at that previous KU coaches hadn't. In 2003, his second season at KU, Mangino led the Jayhawks to an appearance in the 2003 Tangerine Bowl (now known as the Russell Athletic Bowl). This was the first bowl appearance for Kansas since 1995. In 2005, his fourth season at KU, the team finished the regular season 6–5, to post its first winning record under Mangino, and went on to the Fort Worth Bowl, its second bowl game in three seasons. Among the Jayhawks' wins was a 40–15 victory over Nebraska, breaking a losing streak that had begun in 1969, which was the second-longest streak of consecutive losses to one team in NCAA history. The same year Mangino also built a defense that ranked 11th nationally in yards allowed per game and featured third-team All-American and Big 12 Conference Defensive Player of the Year linebacker Nick Reid as well as a pair of talented cornerbacks in Charles Gordon and Aqib Talib. In 2007, Mangino coached the Jayhawks to a 12–1 record and the 2008 Orange Bowl. The Jayhawks defeated Virginia Tech 24–21 in that game, which gave the Jayhawks their first and only BCS Bowl Game appearance and victory. Mangino's Jayhawk defense was ranked 12th in the nation, and 4th in scoring defense. On the other side of the ball, the Jayhawks finished 2nd in scoring offense led by Quarterback Todd Reesing

Following a win against rival Iowa State, Mark Mangino became the first KU football coach with a winning career record since Jack Mitchell in 1966. While at Kansas, Mangino led the Jayhawks to 19 consecutive weeks ranked in the AP and/or USA Today polls (2007–08), 20 wins in a 2-year period for the first time in school history, set home attendance average records in each of the last 4 seasons (2004–2008), led KU to its first appearance in national polls since 1996 and to the school's highest ranking ever at No. 2, and produced the top 3 total offense seasons in school history, the top two passing seasons and two of the top three scoring seasons and won three Bowl games—the same number they had won in their 102-year history combined prior to his arrival. Mangino also led the Jayhawks to victories in the 2005 Fort Worth Bowl and the 2008 Insight Bowl.

Mangino led KU to a victory in the prestigious BCS affiliated 2008 Orange Bowl over Virginia Tech

With 50 victories, Mangino has the second-most victories in Kansas coaching history. Mangino was named AFCA Coach of the Year, AP Coach of the Year, Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year, George Munger Award winner, Home Depot Coach of the Year, Paul "Bear" Bryant Coach of the Year, Sporting News College Football Coach of the Year, Walter Camp Coach of the Year, Woody Hayes Coach of the Year and Big 12 Coach of the Year in 2007.

In 2009, the Jayhawks started the season with a 5–0 record (No. 16 in AP poll at the time), but lost their final 7 games to finish at 5–7. In November 2009, the recurring issue of Mangino's alleged misconduct towards his players became the subject of an internal investigation by the University of Kansas Athletic Department. National sports media coverage of this increased already-mounting public pressure on the university to terminate Mangino's employment. After a prolonged period of negotiations, the university and Mangino's attorneys agreed on the buy-out amount that was large enough to secure his quiet resignation as head football coach in December 2009.

Mangino's final record at KU was 50–48. He was the first head football coach to leave the Jayhawks with an overall winning record since Jack Mitchell in 1966.

Second Decline

On December 13, 2009, Turner Gill was hired away from Buffalo and announced as the new head coach of the Kansas football team. He was the first African American head football coach in KU history. Gill inherited a team that had lost its final 7 games under Mangino.

On September 4, 2010, Gill lost his Kansas home debut to an FCS school (North Dakota State) 6–3. The Jayhawks bounced back the following week to upset No. 15 Georgia Tech 28–25. The upset was a high point in an otherwise difficult 3–9 season. The Jayhawks had one conference win in 2010, a 52–45 comeback win over Colorado after trailing 45–17 in the 4th quarter, with Colorado coach Dan Hawkins calling mostly passing plays to pad stats. It was the final meeting between the teams before Colorado exited the Big 12 for the Pac-12 Conference.

The 2011 Jayhawks started the season at 2–0, but finished on a 10-game losing streak. This included lopsided losses to Georgia Tech (66–24), Oklahoma State (70–28), Oklahoma (47–17), Kansas State (59–21), Texas (43–0), and Texas A&M (61–7). Of 120 teams, the Jayhawks ranked 101st in passing yards, 95th in points scored, 120th in points allowed, 106th in total offense, and were outscored 525–238.

Then-KU athletics director Sheahon Zenger fired Gill after just two seasons with a 5–19 overall record., a 1–16 record against the Big 12, and a 4–18 record against FBS opponents. The university owed Gill nearly $6 million, money that was due in just 120 days. To pay this, the university relied upon donations from Jayhawks boosters.

Charlie Weis

Zenger then hired former Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis, who at the time was serving as offensive coordinator at Florida, as the new Jayhawks head football coach in December 2011. A big-name coach, Weis was popular among KU fans and was expected to lure recruits to KU and rebuild the football program.

Weis' 2012 Jayhawks team struggled to a 1–11 record in what was dubbed as a rebuilding year. During that season, the Jayhawks' all-time record dipped below .500 for the first time since the Jayhawks finished 1–2 in their inaugural season. In 2013, the 3–9 Jayhawks ended a 27-game Big 12 Conference losing streak, which had spanned three years, with a 31–19 home victory over West Virginia in November 2013. Weis was fired on September 28, 2014, for "lack of on-field progress" four games into the 2014 season. Weis' teams had an overall record of 6–22, a 1–17 record vs. the Big 12, and a 3–22 record against FBS opponents. Defensive coordinator Clint Bowen was named interim head coach. Bowen posted a 1–7 record as interim coach, the lone victory a conference win over Iowa State.

On December 5, 2014, KU announced the hiring of Texas A&M wide receivers coach David Beaty as the Jayhawks head coach. Former interim head coach Clint Bowen remained at KU on the coaching staff as a co-defensive coordinator and assistant head coach. Beaty concluded his first season (2015) with an 0–12 record, the first winless season for KU football since 1954. Out of 128 teams, Kansas ranked 124th in scoring, 128th in points allowed, 115th in total offense, and 128th in total defense, and was outscored 554–183.

In the 2016 season opener, Kansas beat FCS school Rhode Island 55–6, securing their first win since November 2014. On November 19, 2016, Kansas beat the Texas Longhorns in Lawrence 24–21 in overtime – the Jayhawks’ first win over Texas in more than 75 years.

The 2018 season began with a home loss to an FCS opponent in Nicholls State. However, the Jayhawks bounced back to rout Central Michigan 31–7 in week 2, and Rutgers 55–14 in week 3. Central Michigan was KU's first road win since September 12, 2009 (Mangino's final season), and snapped a 46-game road losing streak. Kansas got their first Big 12 win of the season against TCU, winning by a score of 27–26.

On November 4, after a home loss to Iowa State, it was announced that Beaty would coach the final three games but would be fired at the end of the season. Beaty's record was 6–42 over four seasons, with a 2–34 record against the Big 12, and a 4–40 record against FBS opponents.

On November 18, 2018, former Oklahoma State and LSU head coach Les Miles was hired as the new head coach. Miles arrived in Lawrence with credentials including a turnaround in five seasons at Oklahoma State, seven ten-win seasons in 11 years as LSU head coach, including winning the 2007 national championship, and an appearance in the 2012 BCS National Championship Game and many players drafted into the National Football League. Miles signed a five-year contract worth $13.8 million in base salary. His first season ended with a 3–9 record and 1–8 conference record; however, they ended a 48-game losing streak in road games against power five conference opponents with a 48–24 win at Boston College. His second season, which was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ended with a 0–9 record. Miles was put on administrative leave on March 5, 2021, for allegations of misconduct with female students from his time at LSU. Miles and Kansas would mutually agree to part ways on March 8. Wide receivers coach Emmett Jones was named interim coach three days later.

2021–present

Lance Leipold was hired to replace Miles on April 30, 2021. The circumstances of the hiring being at the end of Spring caused Leipold to only have one full month of practice with the team before Kansas's first game in September against South Dakota. The Jayhawks would win their first game under Leipold by defeating South Dakota 17–14 on September 4. The win would also be Kansas's first since 2019. On November 13, the Jayhawks ended a 56-game road losing streak in Big 12 play when they earned a 57–56 overtime victory over the Texas Longhorns. Kansas fell to TCU and West Virginia the final two weeks of the season, but each by less than a touchdown. Earlier in the season, the Jayhawks also nearly beat Oklahoma who was 2nd in the AP rankings. They held Oklahoma to zero points in the 1st half, but ultimately lost after a controversial second half handoff play that would seal the win for the Sooners.

At the beginning of Leipold's second season at Kansas, the Jayhawks beat Tennessee Tech 56–10. In week 2 the Jayhawks beat West Virginia 55–42 in Morgantown, winning their first conference opener since 2009, and their first conference road opener since 2008, and becoming the first NCAA team since 1996 to win an overtime game by two touchdowns. After their 3–0 start to the 2022 season, Kansas received votes to be ranked for the first time since 2009. The Jayhawks would enter the polls the following week at 19 after starting 5–0, but would fall out of the rankings after back-to-back losses. The Jayhawks would finish the regular season 6-6 and were selected to play Arkansas in the 2022 Liberty Bowl, KU's first bowl appearance since 2009. Arkansas would go on to beat KU in 3 overtimes, 55–53.

In 2023, Kansas began the season 4–0, its second consecutive season starting 4–0. It was the first time the Jayhawks started 4–0 back to seasons starting they had the start 3 consecutive seasons from 1913 to 1915. Four weeks later, the Jayhawks defeated Oklahoma. The win over Oklahoma accomplished several feats: It was the first home win for Kansas over a top 10 ranked team since 1984, the first win over Oklahoma since 1997, and first win over a top 10 opponent since the 2008 Orange Bowl. The victory also made Kansas bowl eligible for the 2nd consecutive season for only the 3rd time in program history. On December 26, 2023, Kansas defeated the UNLV Rebels, 49-36, for the team's first bowl victory since 2008. Quarterback Jason Bean threw for six touchdowns and 449 yards, three touchdowns each to receivers Luke Grimm and Lawrence Arnold. Bean set records for the most passing touchdowns in Kansas bowl history, which was set the previous year by quarterback Jalon Daniels, and the record for most passing touchdowns by a Big 12 player in bowl game. Bean also moved up to second place on the Kansas all-time passing touchdowns list with his 38th, surpassing Carter Stanley.

Notable games

• November 22, 1890: Kansas played their first game in program history against Baker. The game was also the first college football game played in Kansas. Kansas lost 22–9.
• December 8, 1890: Kansas won their first game in program history, defeating Baker 14–12.
• October 31, 1891: Kansas played Missouri for the first time beginning the Border War rivalry between programs which eventually became one of the longest continuously played rivalries in the nation before Missouri left for the SEC. Kansas won 22–8.
• December 22, 1891: Kansas tied Washington University 6–6 clinching their first undefeated season in program history, finishing the season 7–0–1.
• November 26, 1892: After defeating rival Missouri 12–4, Kansas clinched their first Conference Championship in program history finishing 3–0 in the WIFUA.
• November 30, 1899: Kansas defeated rival Missouri 34–6 to finish the season 10–0, their first undefeated and untied season in program history.
• October 7, 1902: Kansas played their first game in the Sunflower Showdown against Kansas State. The rivalry would eventually become one of the top 10 rivalries in the country in terms of games played. Kansas won 16–0.
• October 29, 1921: Kansas played rival Kansas State in Memorial Stadium, later renamed David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, in their first game in the stadium since it opened. The stadium was named in honor of students of the school who died in World War I. It remains one of the oldest stadiums in the nation. Kansas won the game 21–7.
• October 11, 1947: The Jayhawks defeated South Dakota 86–6. The 86 points set a program record for points in a game, which (as of the 2023 season) still stands.
• January 1, 1948: Kansas played in Georgia Tech in the 1948 Orange Bowl, their first bowl game in program history. They lost the game 20–14.
• December 17, 1961: Kansas defeated Rice 33–7 in the 1961 Bluebonnet Bowl to earn their first Bowl Game victory in program history.
• September 8, 1984: Kansas defeated Wichita State 31–7 in their final game against Wichita State before the school eliminated their football program in 1987.
• October 9, 2004: Kansas defeated rival Kansas State 31–28 ending an 11-game losing streak to the team.
• November 5, 2005: Kansas defeated Nebraska 40–15 ending a 36-game losing streak to the team.
• November 3, 2007: An 8th ranked Kansas defeated Nebraska 76–39, their second victory over Nebraska in 3 years and the most points they had scored in a game since 1947. It is also the most points ever allowed by Nebraska in a game and the most points scored by either team in their 117 games against each other.
• November 17, 2007: The 4th ranked Jayhawks defeated Iowa State 45–7 to begin their season 11–0, their first time ever having a record of 11–0. In the poll following the game, Kansas was ranked No. 2 in every major poll, their highest ranking in program history. They also received No. 1 votes in the AP and coaches polls.
• November 24, 2007: Kansas and Missouri played in Arrowhead Stadium. The Jayhawks were ranked 2nd and Missouri was ranked 3rd, the first time both teams were ranked in the top 5. Following number 1 LSU's loss the previous night, the winner would presumably be ranked number 1 which would have been a first for either program. The Jayhawks would lose the game 36–28.
• January 3, 2008: Kansas defeated Virginia Tech 24–21 in the 2008 Orange Bowl. The game was the Jayhawks first, and eventually only appearance, in a BCS Bowl game before the BCS was discontinued. It was the only BCS Bowl game victory for Kansas in the BCS's existence.
• December 31, 2008: Kansas defeated Minnesota 42–21 in the 2008 Insight Bowl. It was the first time (and to date only time) Kansas made a bowl game in back-to-back seasons.
• November 26, 2011: Kansas played rival Missouri in the last game of the rivalry as conference opponents. Missouri won 10–24. The teams aren't scheduled to play another regular season game until 2025.
• November 19, 2016: Kansas defeated Texas 24–21 in overtime to beat Texas for the first time since they became conference opponents and the first time overall since 1938.
• September 8, 2018: Kansas defeated Central Michigan on the road to earn their first road victory since 2009, ending a 46-game losing streak.

Conference affiliations

Kansas has been affiliated with the following conferences:

Conference	Years	Reason left
Kansas Intercollegiate Athletic Association	1890–1891	Joined WIUFA
Western Interstate University Football Association	1892–1897	Conference dissolved
Independent	1898–1906	Joined MVIAA
Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association*	1907–1928	Conference dissolved
Big Six/Seven/Eight Conference	1929–1995	Conference dissolved
Big 12 Conference	1996–present	N/A

*While there is an active FCS conference with the name Missouri Valley, it is officially and legally a separate entity from the MVIAA. Both previously mentioned Missouri Valley Conferences are also separate entities from the Missouri Valley Conference.

Championships

Conference championships

Kansas has won nine conference championships.

Year	Conference	Coach	Conference record
1892	WIUFA	A. W. Shepard	3–0
1893†			2–1
1895†		Hector Cowan	2–1
1908	MVIAA	A. R. Kennedy	4–0
1923		Potsy Clark	3–0–3
1930	Big Eight Conference	Homer Woodson Hargiss	4–1
1946†		George Sauer	4–1
1947†			4–0–1
1968†		Pepper Rodgers	6–1

† Co-championship

Division championships

The Big 12 had a North and South division from its inaugural season through the 2010 season when Nebraska and Colorado left the conference. In that time frame, the Jayhawks won 1 division title..

Year	Conference	Coach	Conference record
2007†	Big 12 North	Mark Mangino	7–1

† Co-championship

Bowl games

The Jayhawks have participated in 14 bowl games, compiling a 7–7 record through the 2023 season. During the BCS’ 16 seasons of existence, the Jayhawks appeared in one BCS Bowl game, the 2008 Orange Bowl, which they won. The Jayhawks longest amount of time in between bowl games is 12 years, which they've done twice, from 1948 to 1960 and 2009 to 2021.

Year	Coach	Bowl	Opponent	Result
1947	George Sauer	Orange Bowl	Georgia Tech	L 14–20
1961	Jack Mitchell	Bluebonnet Bowl	Rice	W 33–7
1968	Pepper Rodgers	Orange Bowl	Penn State	L 14–15
1973	Don Fambrough	Liberty Bowl	NC State	L 18–31
1975	Bud Moore	Sun Bowl	Pittsburgh	L 19–33
1981	Don Fambrough	Hall of Fame Classic	Mississippi State	L 0–10
1992	Glen Mason	Aloha Bowl	BYU	W 23–20
1995		Aloha Bowl	UCLA	W 51–31
2003	Mark Mangino	Tangerine Bowl	NC State	L 26–56
2005		Fort Worth Bowl	Houston	W 42–13
2007		Orange Bowl	Virginia Tech	W 24–21
2008		Insight Bowl	Minnesota	W 42–21
2022	Lance Leipold	Liberty Bowl	Arkansas	L 53–553OT
2023		Guaranteed Rate Bowl	UNLV	W 49–36

Rivalries

Missouri

Main article: Border War (Kansas–Missouri rivalry)

Kansas on offense against Missouri on November 29, 2008. KU defeated Mizzou 40–37.

The University of Kansas has a rivalry with the Missouri Tigers. The rivalry has been dormant since Missouri moved to the Southeastern Conference in 2012. Missouri leads the series 56-55-9

Before being inactive from 2012 to 2019, it was known as the oldest rivalry west of the Mississippi River. First played in 1891, the Jayhawks and Tigers met on the gridiron every year after through 2011, with the lone exception being 1918 (flu epidemic). The annual game was known as the "Border War," which derived its name from actual warfare that occurred during the Civil War between free-state "Jayhawkers" and pro-slavery "Bushwhackers" from Missouri. Six towns, including Osceola, Missouri, were pillaged and raided by the Jayhawkers. In retaliation, William Quantrill and his band of Bushwhackers burned Lawrence to the ground in what became known as the Lawrence Massacre. Ironically, Columbia, Missouri, the location of the University of Missouri was also nearly raided by Quantrill's band. The name of the rivalry was officially rebranded as the "Border Showdown" in 2004 out of deference to those serving in the Iraq War, but the historical name continued to prevail in usage. Each year the winner of the game was awarded a traveling trophy, the Indian War Drum. Kansas lost the 120th and most recent Border War game to Missouri in 2011, 24–10.

In 1911, more than 1,000 people gathered in downtown Lawrence, Kansas to watch a mechanical reproduction of the game while it was being played. A Western Union telegraph wire was set up direct from Columbia, Missouri. A group of people then would announce the results of the previous play and used a large model of a football playing field to show the results. Those in attendance cheered as though they were watching the game live, including the school's Rock Chalk, Jayhawk cheer.

Kansas State

Main article: Kansas–Kansas State football rivalry

Kansas has a rivalry with the Kansas State Wildcats called the Sunflower Showdown. When the two teams compete in football, the winner is awarded the Governor's Cup by the governor of Kansas. Despite Kansas State holding a 27–8 record since 1988 in the series, Kansas leads the series 64-52-5. As of 2023, Kansas is on a 15-game losing streak to Kansas State. In the last 20 years KU has only beaten the Wildcats four times.

The two teams first met in 1902 and have played every year since 1911. It is the fifth-longest continuous series in NCAA college football history – 112 consecutive seasons after the 2022 game.

Nebraska

Main article: Kansas–Nebraska football rivalry

The Kansas-Nebraska series was the longest uninterrupted rivalry in college football until Nebraska's departure for the Big Ten Conference in 2011. Kansas and Nebraska met for the first time in 1892, and faced off annually from 1906 until 2010. Along with the Missouri rivalry, this gave Kansas the second- and third-most played Division I FBS college football series (Minnesota and Wisconsin have played one more game than KU-MU and two more than KU-NU). KU is only 23–90–3 all-time against the Cornhuskers (as of the last game in 2010), and from 1969 to 2004 the Huskers rang up 36 consecutive victories, second-longest in NCAA Division I (only Notre Dame's 43-game streak over Navy was longer). That streak ended on November 5, 2005, when Kansas defeated Nebraska 40–15 in Lawrence. They again beat Nebraska 76–39 in Lawrence on November 3, 2007. This was the largest number of points ever surrendered by a Nebraska team; the Jayhawks also set records for most points against Nebraska in a half (1st half, 48 points) and quarter (2nd quarter, 27 points). The 95 points scored by the Jayhawks in 2006 and 2007 combined is the largest consecutive two-year total in the series. Also, the 32 points scored in an overtime loss at Nebraska on September 30, 2006, was the most by any Jayhawk team in Lincoln since 1899, when KU won 36–20 in the two teams' eighth all-time meeting.

Team records and statistics

Main article: Kansas Jayhawks football statistical leaders

In the polls

The Jayhawks have finished ranked in the AP poll eight times, and appeared in the poll at some point in 19 different seasons. They have only been ranked in a preseason poll 6 times. In the 2007 season the Jayhawks achieved a No. 2 ranking in the AP poll and the BCS rankings, which is the highest the team has ever been ranked. The highest postseason ranking the Jayhawks have ever received was 7th for the 2007 season. In the final poll of the 2007 season, the Jayhawks received one 1st place vote. The Jayhawks were ranked in the poll released on October 2, 2022. It was the first time they had been ranked since October 18, 2009. The most consecutive weeks the Jayhawks have been ranked in the AP poll is 16 consecutive polls dating from October 7, 2007, through October 19, 2008. The most consecutive games the Jayhawks have been unranked is 175 spanning from October 23, 1976, to September 22, 1992. In 2023, Kansas became ranked in the College Football Playoff poll for the first time since its inception in 2014.

AP Poll

Season	Preseason	Highest Rank	Final Ranking	Games played while ranked
1947	–	12	12	3
1950	–	19	–	1
1951	–	20	–	1
1952	17	7	–	10
1960	–	5	11	6
1961	8	8	–	2
1968	–	3	7	10
1973	–	17	18	7
1974	–	13	–	2
1975	–	17	–	2
1976	19	8	–	6
1992	–	13	22	7
1995	–	6	9	8
1996	24	20	–	3
2007	–	2	7	8
2008	14	13	–	8
2009	25	16	–	7
2022	–	19	–	2
2023	–	16	23	4

BCS rankings (1998–2013)

Season	Highest BCS Rank	Final Ranking	Games played while ranked
2007	2	8	7
2008	23	–	1
2009	25	–	1

College Football Playoff poll

Season	Highest Rank	Games played while ranked
2023	16	3

Players of note

See also: Kansas Jayhawks football statistical leaders

Innovators to the game

• Don 'Red Dog' Ettinger – Inventor of the blitz

First-Team AP All-Americans

Cornerback Aqib Talib was All-American in 2007

• 1947– Ray Evans, RB
• 1947– Otto Schnellbacher, WR
• 1951– George Mrkonic, G
• 1952– Ollie Spencer, T
• 1960– John Hadl, RB
• 1961– John Hadl, QB
• 1963– Gale Sayers, RB
• 1964– Gale Sayers, RB
• 1968– Bobby Douglass, QB
• 1968– John Zook, DE
• 1973– David Jaynes, QB
• 2007– Anthony Collins, T
• 2007– Aqib Talib, CB

Heisman voting

The Jayhawks have never had a Heisman Trophy winner. Three players, however, have received votes. Quarterback David Jaynes is the only Heisman finalist in program history, losing to Penn State running back John Cappelletti.

Year	Player	Position	Place	1st place votes	Points
1961	John Hadl	QB	7th	33	172
1968	Bobby Douglass	QB	7th	9	132
1973	David Jaynes*	QB	4th	65	394

*Indicates a finalist

Ring of Honor members

The Ring of Honor is located atop the northern bowl at Memorial Stadium and is intended to honor Kansas All-Americans and others who have made a significant on-field contribution to the football program. They are listed in the order in which they were inducted.

Player	Career	Position
Ray Evans	1941–42, 1946–47	DB / RB
Otto Schnellbacher	1942, 1946–47	End
Mike McCormack	1948–50	OT
George Mrkonic	1950–52	G
Ollie Spencer	1950–52	T
Gil Reich	1952	DB
John Hadl	1959–61	QB / RB
Curtis McClinton	1959–61	RB
Gale Sayers	1962–64	RB
Bobby Douglass	1966–68	QB
John Zook	1966–68	DE
John Riggins	1968–70	RB
David Jaynes	1971–73	QB
Nolan Cromwell	1973–76	QB / S
Bruce Kallmeyer	1980–83	K
Willie Pless	1982–85	LB
Aqib Talib	2005–07	CB
Anthony Collins	2004–07	T
Gilbert Brown	1989–92	DT
Chris Harris	2007–10	CB
Todd Reesing	2006–09	QB
Larry Brown	1967–70	T
Darrell Stuckey	2006–09	S
Nick Reid	2002–05	LB
Tony Sands	1988–91	RB

Source:

Coaches in University of Kansas Athletics Hall of Fame

Former coaches for Kansas football are honored by being inducted into the Kansas Athletics Hall of Fame instead of the Ring of Honor. The following coaches are in the Kansas Hall of Fame.

Coach	Tenure
Phog Allen*	1920
Don Fambrough	1971–1974 1979–1982
Mark Mangino	2002–2009
Glen Mason	1988–1996
Bud Moore	1975–1978
John Outland	1901
Pepper Rodgers	1967–1970
George Sauer	1946–1947

*Inducted as men's basketball coach

Retired numbers

No.	Player	Position	Career
21	John Hadl	QB/RB	1959–61
42	Ray Evans	RB/DB	1941–42, 1946–47
48	Gale Sayers	RB	1962–64

College Football Hall of Fame inductees

Year	Player	Position
1951	Fielding H. Yost	Coach
1954	Jim Bausch	HB
1964	Ray Evans	HB
1977	Gale Sayers	HB
1994	John Hadl	QB
2001	John H. Outland	T/HB

Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees

Year	Player	Position
1977	Gale Sayers	HB
1984	Mike McCormack	OT
1992	John Riggins	RB

Canadian Football League Hall of Fame inductees

Year	Player	Position
2005	Willie Pless	LB
2019	Jon Cornish	RB

Former players notable in other fields

Longtime U.S. senator Bob Dole (of Kansas, left) and former NFL owner Bud Adams (right) were teammates for the Jayhawks in 1942, the only year Adams played at Kansas. Dole played for the Jayhawks as an end from 1941 to 1944 and also played basketball at Kansas.

Player	Position	Career	Occupation
Bob Dole	End	1941–44	Politician
Bud Adams	QB	1942	Businessman
Keith Loneker	G	1989–92	Actor
Micah Brown	WR	2005–08	Filmmaker

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famers

Two members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame have been associated with Kansas football

Name	Reason associated with Kansas football
Phog Allen	Head coach 1920 season
Ralph Miller	Quarterback on team 1937–1941

Jayhawks in the pros

NFL

Players listed below are former Kansas football players on an active NFL roster.

• Hakeem Adeniji, T, Cleveland Browns
• Dorance Armstrong, DE, Washington Commanders
• Earl Bostick, T, Dallas Cowboys
• Kyron Johnson, LB, Pittsburgh Steelers
• Lonnie Phelps, DE, Cleveland Browns
• Dominick Puni, G, San Francisco 49ers

UFL

• Logan Klusman, LS, Houston Roughnecks
• Bruce Torneden, S, Michigan Panthers
• Daniel Wise, DT, Michigan Panthers
• Pooka Williams Jr., RB, DC Defenders

Jayhawks as coaches

• Connor Embree (RB, 2011–13), Kansas City Chiefs wide receivers coach
• Kevin Kane (LB, 2002–05), Purdue assistant head coach and outside linebackers coach
• Darrin Simmons, (P, 1993–95), Cincinnati Bengals assistant head coach/special teams coordinator
• A.J. Steward (WR, 2007–11), Baylor assistant head coach and running backs coach

Head coaches

Main article: List of Kansas Jayhawks head football coaches

The Jayhawks have had 38 official head coaches, while one unofficial player-coach, Will Coleman, coached the team in their first year of existence in 1890. The Jayhawks head coach since 2021 has been Lance Leipold. They have played in more than 1200 games in their 123 seasons. During that time, seven head coaches have led the Jayhawks to postseason bowl games: George Sauer, Jack Mitchell, Pepper Rodgers, Don Fambrough, Bud Moore, Glen Mason, and Mark Mangino. Six coaches have also won conference championships: A. W. Shepard, Hector Cowan, A. R. Kennedy, Homer Woodson "Bill" Hargiss, George Sauer, and Pepper Rodgers. Mason is the all-time leader in games coached at 101, while Mitchell and Mason are tied for the most years coached at nine. Kennedy is the leader in all-time wins at 52, and Wylie G. Woodruff leads in winning percentage among coaches who coached more than 1 year with a winning percentage of .833 with Kennedy just behind with a winning percentage of .831. As of the end of the 2017 season, David Beaty has the worst percentage among coaches who coached more than one season with a winning percentage of .083. Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and long time Kansas men's basketball coach Phog Allen coached the Jayhawk football team in 1920. In his lone season as the football coach, the Jayhawks had a 5–2–1 record.

Of the 37 different head coaches who have led the Jayhawks, only Cowan, and Yost have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Mark Mangino received 9 different coach of the year awards in 2007.

Future opponents

Conference

Home

2024	2025	2026	2027
Colorado	Utah	Arizona State	Arizona
TCU	Oklahoma State	BYU	Texas Tech
Houston	Kansas State	Baylor	Oklahoma State
Iowa State	Cincinnati	UCF	Kansas State
	West Virginia		Iowa State

Away

2024	2025	2026	2027
Arizona State	Arizona	Utah	BYU
BYU	Texas Tech	TCU	Colorado
Baylor	Iowa State	Oklahoma State	Houston
Kansas State	UCF	Kansas State	Cincinnati
West Virginia		West Virginia

Non-conference

Future schedules are based on official announcements from Kansas and the schedule taken from future schedules on their website.

2024	2025	2026	2027	2028	2029	2030	2031	2032
Lindenwood	Fresno State	Middle Tennessee	Missouri State	Lindenwood	Colgate	Virginia	at Missouri	Missouri
at Illinois	Stephen F. Austin	Missouri	at Washington State	at Hawaii	at Virginia	at Fresno State	Fresno State	Hawaii
UNLV	at Missouri		Louisiana Tech	Washington State	Nevada
				at Louisiana Tech

External links

• Official website

2008 Football and Basketball Record

In the 2007-2008 football and basketball seasons, KU amassed a combined 49-4 record (12-1 football, 37-3 basketball), which is the most combined wins ever by a NCAA Division I program.

Baseball

Main article: Kansas Jayhawks baseball

Kansas Jayhawks baseball
2024 Kansas Jayhawks baseball team
Founded	1880
Overall record	2,026-1,972-18
University	University of Kansas
Head coach	Dan Fitzgerald (2nd season)
Conference	Big 12
Location	Lawrence, Kansas
Home stadium	Hoglund Ballpark (Capacity: 3,000)
Nickname	Jayhawks
Colors	Crimson and blue
College World Series appearances
1993
NCAA regional champions
1993
NCAA Tournament appearances
1993, 1994, 2006, 2009, 2014
Conference tournament champions
Big 12: 2006
Regular season conference champions
Big Eight: 1922, 1923, 1949

The Kansas Jayhawks baseball team represents the University of Kansas and competes in the Big 12 Conference of NCAA Division I. The Kansas Jayhawks are coached by Dan Fitzgerald.

History

Baseball has been played at the University of Kansas since 1880.

In 1993, the Jayhawks went to the 1993 College World Series in Omaha, NE. This was their first, and so far, only CWS appearance. The Jayhawks were led by All-Americans Jeff Berblinger, Jeff Neimeier and Jimmy Walker into the Mideast Regional in Knoxville, Tenn. After losing their first game to Fresno State, 7–4, the Jayhawks rebounded against host Tennessee for a 3–2 win. Jayhawk Freshman Jamie Splittorff, son of former Kansas City Royal Paul Splittorff, got the win for KU going 81⁄3 innings. KU then trounced Rutgers, 8–2, and Clemson, 9–1, to set up the all important re-match with Fresno State. Jayhawk coach Dave Bingham turned to Walker, who had been a reliever all season for KU, to start the Regional Final. Walker didn't disappoint as he pitched a complete game and the Jayhawks won in 10 innings, with some late game magic. Down 2–1 in the bottom of the ninth with one out, Berblinger tripled. One out later, Berblinger scored on Josh Igou's infield hit to force extra innings. In the tenth, Brent Wilhelm scored on Darryl Monroe's hot shot to short stop. Once in Omaha the joy was short-lived, as the Jayhawks lost to Texas A&M, and then Long Beach State for an early exit.

The Jayhawks returned to the Regionals in 1994, earning a bid to the Atlantic II Regional in Tallahassee, Fla.

The Jayhawks would once again find themselves in a regional in the 2006 NCAA Division I baseball tournament after winning the 2006 Big 12 Conference baseball tournament. That year KU traveled to Corvallis, Oregon for the Corvallis Regional. KU went 1–2 and did not advance.

The Jayhawks made the 2009 NCAA Division I baseball tournament as a 3 seed in the Chapel Hill Regional and went 2–2. They went 1–1 against 2-seed Coastal Carolina, defeated 4-seed Dartmouth, and were finally knocked out by 1-seed and regional winner North Carolina in the last game of the regional.

In 2014, the Jayhawks made their 5th NCAA tournament appearance, but were eliminated after finishing 1–2 in the Louisville Regional.

Kansas in the NCAA tournament

Year	Record	Pct	Notes
1993	4–3	.571	College World Series 7th place, Mideast Regional
1994	1–2	.333	Atlantic II Regional
2006	1–2	.333	Corvallis Regional
2009	2–2	.500	Chapel Hill Regional
2014	1–2	.333	Louisville Regional
TOTALS	9–11	.450

First team All-Americans

• 1954 – John Trombold, OF (ABCA)
• 1980 – Matt Gundelfinger, DH (ABCA)
• 1993 – Jeff Berblinger, 2B (NCBWA)
• 1996 – Josh Kliner, 2B (ABCA, Baseball America)
• 2006 – Don Czyz, P (NCBWA)

MLB players

Current

Kansas has no active players in MLB, but Rob Thomson, Manager of the Philadelphia Phillies played for Kansas from 1983 to 1985.

Former

Player	Year(s)	Team(s)	Awards
Bob Allison	1958–70	Washington Senators, Minnesota Twins	1959 AL Rookie of the Year, 3-time All-Star
Ferrell Anderson	1946,1953	Brooklyn Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals
Jeff Berblinger	1997	St. Louis Cardinals
Herb Bradley	1927–1929	Boston Red Sox
Clay Christiansen	1984	New York Yankees
Chuck Dobson	1966–71, 73–75	Kansas City / Oakland A's, California Angels
Bob Edmundson	1906,08	Washington Senators
Dale Gear	1896–97, 1901	Cleveland Spiders, Washington Senators
Tom Gorzelanny	2005-2016	Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, Washington Nationals, Milwaukee Brewers, Detroit Tigers, Cleveland Indians
Harry Huston	1906	Philadelphia Phillies
Skip James	1977–78	San Francisco Giants
Steve Jeltz	1983–90	Philadelphia Phillies, Kansas City Royals
Larry Miller	1964–66	Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets
John Nelson	2006	St. Louis Cardinals
Ray Pierce	1924–26	Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies
Steve Renko	1969–83	Montreal Expos, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Oakland A's, Boston Red Sox, California Angels, Kansas City Royals
Curt Schmidt	1995	Montreal Expos
Roger Slagle	1979	New York Yankees
Scott Taylor	1995	Texas Rangers
Les Walrond	2003, 2006, 2008	Kansas City Royals, Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies

See also

• List of NCAA Division I baseball programs

References

• 2009 Kansas Baseball Quick Facts
• Kansas Baseball History

External links

• Official website

Rivalries

Since the inception of collegiate athletics at the University of Kansas, the main rival of Kansas has been the University of Missouri. The schools annually compete in the Border War. The historic rivalry between Kansas and Missouri dates back to the pre-Civil War days known as Bleeding Kansas, when pro-Slavery guerrillas from Missouri raided the anti-Slavery city of Lawrence in the Sacking of Lawrence. The rivalry further deepened and became more bloody during the Civil War when pro-Confederate guerrillas from Missouri again raided the pro-Union, anti-Slavery city of Lawrence in the Lawrence Massacre, killing between 185 and 200 men and boys. The rivalry between the two schools today has been described as one of the most intense in the nation.

Kansas' in-state rival is Kansas State University. The series between Kansas and Kansas State is known as the Sunflower Showdown.

A recent rival of Kansas, especially in basketball, has been the University of Texas. Since the two schools joined the same Conference in 1996, they have often competed for basketball dominance of the Big 12. Texas and Kansas have met the last three years in the Big 12 Tournament final, with Kansas winning all three.

Kansas and the University of Nebraska have the third longest uninterrupted series in football in the nation, dating back to 1892.

Notable athletes

• Bob Allison, Major League Baseball player, Minnesota Twins
• Ferrell Anderson, Major League Baseball catcher, Brooklyn Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals
• Gilbert Brown, 10 year NFL defensive tackle, Green Bay Packers
• Wilt Chamberlain, two-time All American, Final Four MVP, National Basketball Hall of Fame, Top 50 All Time Greatest NBA players
• Nick Collison, NBA Player, former Team USA member, power forward for the Oklahoma City Thunder
• Jon Cornish, 2006 First Team All-Big 12, second round draft pick of the Calgary Stampeders
• Nolan Cromwell, 1975 Big 8 Offensive Player of the Year, All-Pro safety, Los Angeles Rams
• Glenn Cunningham, 2-time US Olympic Runner, Silver Medalist 1936 Berlin Olympics, dominant runner of the 1930's
• Bobby Douglass, All-American QB, 13 year NFL player
• Drew Gooden, NBA Player, power forward for the San Antonio Spurs
• Charles Gordon, NFL player, cornerback for the Minnesota Vikings
• John Hadl, two-time All-American, one year as a halfback and one year as quarterback; 16 year NFL player
• Justin Hartwig, NFL player, center for the Carolina Panthers, holds distinction of being the NFL's highest-paid center
• Kirk Hinrich, Starting point guard for the Chicago Bulls
• Adrian Jones, NFL player, offensive lineman for the Kansas City Chiefs
• Raef LaFrentz, NBA Player, power forward for the Portland Trail Blazers.
• Danny Manning, Basketball player and coach. Two-time All-American 1988 recipient of the Naismith and Wooden Awards, Big 8 Player of the Decade for the 1980's, 2-time NBA All-Star, National Collegiate Basketball Hall Of Famer.
• Curtis McClinton, three-time All-Pro running back, Kansas City Chiefs
• Mike McCormack, NFL Hall of Fame tackle. Former NFL head coach and GM.
• David McMillan, NFL player, linebacker for the Cleveland Browns
• Billy Mills, First American to win gold medal in the 10,000m run, 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games
• Moran Norris, NFL player, fullback for the San Francisco 49ers
• Al Oerter, Olympic gold medal discus thrower in four consecutive Olympiads
• Rhino Page, MVP of the 2004 Intercollegiate Bowling Championships, now a 2-time titleist on the PBA Tour
• Paul Pierce, NBA Basketball player, Boston Celtics starting SF, 2008 NBA Finals MVP, MVP of the Big 12 Conference Tournament in both 1997 and 1998 NBA
• Willie Pless, All-American LB, CFL Hall of Famer, all-time tackling leader at KU and the CFL
• Scot Pollard, power forward for the Boston Celtics
• Dion Rayford, Defensive End and notable fast food connoisseur
• Nick Reid, 2-time All-Big 12, 2005 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year
• Steve Renko, Major League Baseball pitcher, California Angels
• John Riggins, NFL Hall of Fame running back, MVP of Super Bowl XVII
• Dave Robisch, All-American forward, 2-time Big 8 Player of the Year, 13-year ABA/NBA player
• Jim Ryun, World record holder in mile, Olympic silver medalist, former Congressman
• Tony Sands, All-American running back, 1991 Big 8 Offensive Player of the Year
• Wes Santee, American middle distance runner and athlete, 1952 Olympics
• Gale Sayers, 2-time All American, NFL Hall of Fame running back, Chicago Bears
• Wayne Simien, 2-time All American, first-round draft pick by the Miami Heat
• Dana Stubblefield, All-American, 3-time All-Pro defensive tackle, 1997 NFL Defensive Player of the Year
• Aqib Talib, All-American, 2008 NFL Draft Pick, 1st round - Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Darnell Valentine, All-American guard, 3-time Academic All-American, 9-year NBA player
• Jacque Vaughn, All-American player, point guard for the San Antonio Spurs
• Rex Walters, played on KU Final Four team in 1993, played seven years in NBA, current coach of the University of San Francisco men's basketball team.
• Jo Jo White, All-American guard, 12-year NBA player, member of two NBA champion teams, number retired by the Boston Celtics
• Gary Woodland, professional golfer on the PGA Tour
• Julian Wright, 2007 NBA Draft Pick #13 - New Orleans Hornets

Athletic directors

James Naismith also served as athletic director in some fashion in the years prior to Hamilton. Hamilton is the first official athletic director.

• W.O. Hamilton - 1911-19
• Phog Allen - 1919-37
• Gwinn Henry - 1938-42
• Karl Klooz - 1943 (interim)
• Ernie Quigley - 1944-49
• Arthur Lonborg - 1950-63
• Wade R. Stinson - 1964-72
• Clyde Walker - 1973-77
• Bob Marcum - 1978-81
• Del Shankel - 1981 (interim)
• Jim Lessig - 1982
• Del Shankel - 1982 (interim)
• Monte Johnson - 1982-87
• Bob Frederick - 1987-2001
• Richard Konzem - 2001 (interim)
• Allen Bohl - 2001-03
• Drue Jennings - 2003 (interim)
• Lew Perkins - 2003-Present

References

• Falkenstien, Max (1996). Max and the Jayhawks: 50 years on and off the air with KU Sports. Wichita, Kansas: The Wichita Eagle & Beacon Publishing Company, Inc. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

Notes

Further reading

• University of Kansas Traditions: The Jayhawk
• Kirke Mechem, "The Mythical Jayhawk", Kansas Historical Quarterly XIII: 1 (February 1944), pp. 3–15. A tongue-in-cheek history and description of the Mythical Jayhawk.

External links

• Kansas Athletics, the official KU Athletics site
• Kansas.com, The Wichita Eagle's coverage
• KUsports.com, The Lawrence Journal-World's coverage of KU sports