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Kansas Jayhawks

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Kansas Jayhawks
Logo
UniversityUniversity of Kansas
ConferenceBig 12
DivisionDivision I
Athletic directorLew Perkins
LocationLawrence, Kansas
Varsity teams16
Football stadiumMemorial Stadium, Lawrence
ArenaAllen Fieldhouse
MascotBig Jay, Baby Jay
NicknameJayhawks
ColorsBlue and Crimson
   
Websitewww.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.

The Jayhawks field teams in basketball, baseball, cross country, football, golf, rowing (women only), soccer (women only), softball, swimming (women only), tennis (women only), track, and volleyball (women only).

University of Kansas athletic teams have won nine total NCAA Division I championships, including two 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.

Origins of "Jayhawk"

The Jayhawk is a mythical bird, a cross between a blue jay and a sparrow hawk. The term 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. [1]

Football

KU football dates from 1890. The program today is classified in Division I-A. While not a national powerhouse like KU's basketball team, the Jayhawk football team has had notable alumni including Gale Sayers, a two time All-American who later enjoyed an injury-shortened yet Hall of Fame career with the Chicago Bears; John Riggins, another Pro Football Hall of Famer with the Washington Redskins; John Hadl, Steve Towle, Dana Stubblefield, Bobby Douglass, and Nolan Cromwell. KU has appeared twice in the Orange Bowl: 1948 and 1969, and most recently made a bowl appearance in the 2005 Fort Worth Bowl. The Jayhawks currently play in Memorial Stadium (cap. 50,071), the first stadium built on a college campus west of the Mississippi River, which opened in 1921. They are coached by Mark Mangino (fifth season at Kansas), and their record in 2006 is 5-5 (2-4 Big XII). As of November 4, 2006, the program's overall record is 541-536-58 (.502)

The Jayhawks have two traditional archrivals. KU competes with the University of Missouri Tigers in the longest uninterrupted rivalry in college football west of the Mississippi River, first played in 1891 and originally known as the "Border War." The name of the rivalry has since changed to the "Border Showdown" following the aftermath of 9/11. Each year the winner of the game is awarded a traveling trophy, the Marching Band Drum. Kansas has held the Drum for the last three years. In addition, KU 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.

Kansas has also played an annual game with the Nebraska Cornhuskers since 1905. This gives Kansas the second- and third-most played college football games in existence. KU is only 22-88-3 all-time against the Cornhuskers (as of 2006), and from 1969-2004 the Huskers rang up 36 consecutive victories, second longest in NCAA Division I (only Notre Dame's streak over Navy is longer. That streak came crashing down on November 5, 2005, when Kansas defeated Nebraska 40-15 in Lawrence. The 40 points are the most by the Jayhawks against Nebraska, and the 72 points scored by the Jayhawks in 2005 and 2006 combined is the largest consecutive two-year total in the series. Also, in the overtime loss on September 30, 2006, the 32 points scored was the most by any Jayhawk team in Lincoln since 1899, when KU won 36-20 in only their eighth all-time meeting.[1]

Records

  • December 23, 2005: KU's strong rushing defense finishes the season by limiting Houston to just 30 rushing yards in the Fort Worth Bowl, a KU bowl record, bringing its season average down to 83.3 yards allowed per game[2] and breaking the school record of 109.2 set in 1948.[3] It was the ninth time in the season the Jayhawks held their opponent to less than 100 yards on the ground.
  • September 23, 2006: KU's win over South Florida extends its at-home winning streak to eight games against non-conference foes. The Jayhawks are 7-1 in their last eight non-conference games and 14-6 in non-conference games since 2002.[4]
  • As of November 4, 2006, Kansas' defense hasn’t allowed an opposing running back to rush for 100 yards in their last 23 games.

2006 Season Schedule

Season Record: 5-5

2005 Season Schedule

Season Record: 7-5

2004 Season Schedule

Season Record: 4-7


Bowl appearances

The Jayhawks have a 4-6 bowl record:

Football coaches

Head football coaches, including their win-loss records, years coached, and reason for leaving if other than firing:

  • E.M. Hopkins (6-1-1), 1891
  • A.W. Shepard (9-6-0), 1892-1893
  • Hector Cowan (15-7-1), 1894-1896
  • Wylie G. Woodruff (15-3-0), 1897-1898
  • Fielding Yost (10-0-0), 1899, accepted Stanford job
  • Charles Boynton (2-5-2), 1900
  • John H. Outland (3-5-2), 1901
  • Arthur Curtis (6-4-0), 1902
  • Harrison Weeks (6-3-0), 1903
  • A.R. Kennedy (53-9-4), 1904-1910
  • Ralph W. Sherwin (4-2-2), 1911
  • Arthur Mosse (9-7-0), 1912-1913
  • H.M. Wheaton (5-2-1), 1914
  • Herman Olcott (16-7-1), 1915-1917
  • Jay Bond (2-2-0), 1918
  • Leon McCarty (3-2-3), 1919
  • Forrest "Phog" Allen (5-2-1), 1920
  • Potsy Clark (16-17-6), 1921-1925
  • Franklin Cappon (5-10-1), 1926-1927
  • Bill Hargiss (22-18-2), 1928-1932
  • Ad Lindsey (19-28-8), 1933-1938
  • Gwinn Henry (9-27-0), 1939-1942
  • Henry Shenk (11-16-3), 1943-1945
  • George Sauer (15-3-3), 1946-1947, accepted Navy job
  • J.V. Sikes (35-25-0), 1948-1953
  • Chuck Mather (11-26-3), 1954-1957
  • Jack Mitchell (44-42-5), 1958–1966
  • Pepper Rodgers (20-22), 1967–1970, accepted UCLA job
  • Don Fambrough (19-25-1), 1971–1974
  • Bud Moore (17-21-1), 1975–1980
  • Don Fambrough (17-24-4), 1979–1982
  • Mike Gottfried (15-18-1), 1983–1985, accepted Pittsburgh job
  • Bob Valesente (4-17-1), 1986–1987
  • Glen Mason (47-54-1), 1988–1996, accepted Minnesota job
  • Terry Allen (20-33), 1997–2001
  • Mark Mangino (19-29), 2002–present

KU alumni currently in the NFL (2006)

Source: NFL.com[5]

Basketball

The men's and women's basketball teams play in Allen Fieldhouse and are currently coached by Bill Self and Bonnie Henrickson, respectively.

Men's Team

The men's team has enjoyed considerable success, and has won four national championships. The 1922 and 1923 championships predate the current NCAA championship tournament and were retroactively awarded by the Helms Foundation in 1936. The 1952 and 1988 championships were won in the NCAA tournament. Their 1873 wins are the third most wins in NCAA history, trailing only Kentucky (1926) and North Carolina (1883).

The men's team is also notable for its conference success. Including the split conference title with Texas in 2006, Kansas now has 49 conference titles all time, which is a record among all universities, 1 ahead of the Kentucky Wildcats. The Jayhawks have won a record 6 conference titles and a record 4 conference tournaments in the 10 years of the Big 12, and also own the best Big 12 records in both those areas with a 131-29 record in conference play and a 19-6 record in tournament play.

From 1990 to 1999 Kansas compiled a 286-60 record, the best win-loss record of any team in the 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.

From 1949 to 2006, the Jayhawks have been ranked 488 times in the weekly AP top 25 poll. 337 times in the top ten, 216 times in the top five, and 41 times ranked number one. A record in and of itself, only five schools have been ranked number one more times. Kansas was seeded fourth in the Oakland Region of the 2006 NCAA Tournament, the 17th consecutive appearance for the school. KU ranks fourth in NCAA Tournament appearances, with 34. Kansas is also ranked fifth in NCAA Tournament victories, with 73.

The men's team has had several notable coaches, beginning play during the 1898-1899 season under head coach James Naismith, the inventor of the game and the only KU coach to post a losing record. In 1907, KU hired Phog Allen as head coach, where he would coach for 39 seasons. Allen would later be titled the "Father of Basketball Coaching," having passed his knowledge of the game to some of the most well-respected names in the history of college basketball. These would include two of the winningest coaches of all-time: Kentucky's Adolph Rupp and North Carolina's Dean Smith. Two of Smith's assistant coaches later became head coaches at KU: Larry Brown and Roy Williams. Current head coach Bill Self shares this rich pedigree, having been hired as a graduate assistant by Brown in 1985.

Women's Team

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 1996.

KU Men's Basketball Final Four history

Men's basketball coaches

Head men's basketball coaches, including win-loss record, years coached, and reason for leaving:

All-Time Record: 1873-779 (.706)

Women's basketball coaches

Head women's basketball coaches, including win-loss record and years coached:

Former KU players and coaches in the basketball hall of fame

KU alumni currently in the NBA (2006-2007)

The 2006-07 Men's Basketball Team

After returning every key player from the 2006 team that shared the Big 12 regular season title with the Texas Longhorns and defeated Texas for the conference tournament title, the Jayhawks expect to repeat as Big 12 champs and contend for the national title in 2006-07. ESPN's Andy Katz has ranked the Jayhawks as the second best team in the nation for the preseason, while Dick Vitale has the Jayhawks ranked third. The starting lineup includes Russell Robinson (guard), Mario Chalmers (guard), Brandon Rush (small forward), Julian Wright (Forward), and Sasha Kaun (Center). In addition, the Jayhawks add two freshmen, Darrell Arthur (forward) and Sherron Collins (guard) who were named to the McDonald's All American Team last year.

The ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll was released in late October, with Kansas ranked #3. The Associated Press poll, released November 6, also billed the Jayhawks at third. In both polls, only the defending national champion Florida Gators (a KU opponent in November - see below) and the North Carolina Tar Heels were ranked higher.

The "injury bug" is biting KU early. Sasha Kaun is out for 3-6 with an injured knee. Jeremy Case is out indefinitely with a groin injury, and Mario Chalmers sat out the Emporia State exhibition contest with a bruised toe.

To add to these early difficulties, junior center C.J. Giles was dismissed from the team on November 7 following charges of assault and battery against his ex-girlfriend the previous night.

Other Notable Athletes

Notes and References

  1. ^ "Kansas Postgame Notes vs. Nebraska" (Press release). University of Kansas. September 30, 2006. Retrieved 2006-10-07. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  2. ^ "Kansas Postgame Notes" (Press release). University of Kansas. December 23, 2005. Retrieved 2006-10-07. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  3. ^ "Kansas Postgame Notes" (Press release). University of Kansas. November 26, 2005. Retrieved 2006-10-07. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  4. ^ "Kansas Postgame Notes" (Press release). University of Kansas. September 23, 2006. Retrieved 2006-10-07. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  5. ^ "NFL Rosters". National Football League. Retrieved 2006-09-09. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  • Falkenstien, Max as told to Doug Vance. Max and the Jayhawks: 50 years on and off the air with KU Sports. Wichita, Kansas: The Wichita Eagle & Beacon Publishing Company, Inc., 1996.

Bibliography

  • 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.
  • Ryan Colaianni, "KU Bowl History", The University Daily Kansan (December 8, 2005).
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