Wagner Seahawks vs. Kansas Jayhawks, 8/29/2025, 6:30pm CST

Kansas 46 – Wagner 7, Attendance: 39,129

Weather: Sunny, 79; Ticket: Face: $23 – Kansas, Parking: Free (sort of)

“Rock Chalk, Love them Jayhawks” by Tree

Kansas University is located in Lawrence about an hour west of Kansas City. It is a quintessential college town. We stayed local in an Airbnb which was a pleasant half hour walk from the stadium. The only drawback was the resident dog’s dementia. Every time I entered the backyard, the dog acted like he had never met me and not in a happy “Labrador” manner but instead as a skittish rescue that was still fighting some demons from his past.

Low growling aside, staying in Lawrence was great. We hit up local haunts like the Free State Brewery for dinner and Ladybirds for breakfast. Both were situated in the main drag of Lawrence, which was a very pleasant stretch of restaurants and shops. KU is big but Lawrence never felt crowded or rushed. It was very pleasant.

Our arrival coincided with the re-opening of David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. It is located on the edge of campus surrounded by some residential homes, very similar to the University of Iowa. Our plan was to tailgate in the parking lot adjacent to the campus. I had arranged to tailgate with a friend of a friend, which is always a roll of the dice. Unfortunately, the combination of a Friday night game combined (I am guessing) with a subpar opponent led to this contact bailing on me on Thursday morning. I was left to scramble to see what our options might be having not prepared to tailgate on our own. With a very early flight, I was in Lawrence by 3pm. I checked into the Airbnb and immediately headed over to campus to scope out my options.

I walked through the neighborhood adjacent to Booth and as I got close to the stadium, it was clear that this area was a popular tailgate destination. There were a couple of signs for parking at $100 and clear evidence that tailgating was happening in front, back and all around the houses. My buddy Doug and I were very familiar with this environment as he had lived in a similar Iowa City area and had rented out his property for tailgating and parking. I spotted a few students grilling on their front porch and inquired about tailgating. They said most of the landlords, including their own, had already sold out their tailgating areas, but suggested I knock on a few doors.

Luckily, just a few houses down the street, I saw a young lady painting a Jayhawk on a beer pong table. I introduced myself to Eva and explained our tailgating plight. She said they might be able to host but she’d have to check with her roommates. They had a small group, maybe ten coming to pregame so she thought there might be room. I gave her my cell number and to text me when she had an answer. Thankfully, I must have passed the “not-a-creep” test, which is never a sure thing when you are over fifty and talking to a female college student, because she texted an hour later to “come on and tailgate with us”. The rest of the afternoon was a bit of a scramble with Doug packing up provisions and chairs and me searching for a cheap tent. As luck would happen, Menard’s was having an end of season sale and I picked up one for $50. It was money well spent as we used it both at KU and K-State the next day.

On Friday morning, I had plenty of time to walk the campus and visit the famous Allen Fieldhouse. If you are a basketball fan, a trip to see the Jayhawks hoops team is a must. The campus was surprisingly hilly which allows for a great view of the stadium. On my return, I stopped to talk to some guys setting up tailgate tents on the hill. It turned out this was the KU Players’ Family tailgate. These Dads were very friendly and invited me to come back and tailgate with them later. Anyone can tailgate on the hill for free, but the immediate parking lot is pass only so some logistical planning is required. There were also 3rd party tailgate tents there for rent.

My Friday afternoon started with tailgating on the hill and then returning to the neighborhood spot to await the arrival of my buddy Doug. He arrived around 2:30 and by 2:32 we were drinking beers and watching the classic college student pregame tableau unfold before eyes. Porches became filled with students and parents as the partying started in earnest. Ours was more relaxed, leaving the beer pong to the students, although we did play some cornhole.

About an hour before kickoff, we wrapped it up and headed back to the hill to hang out with some more age-appropriate folks. Don’t get me wrong, the kids were great, but we have a lot more in common with the parents. The young ladies did not charge us anything to park or tailgate btw, but we threw them $50 for being excellent hosts anyway.
In summary, the tailgating on the hill and the homes around the stadium was great. It would certainly require some planning, and you need to be early. I can’t speak to the scene in the parking lots. At a school the size of KU, it should be fine. I, however, really do like the tailgating at the houses. There are not many schools that have that kind of experience and I highly suggest checking it out, even if it is just a walk through.

Our walk to the stadium was a very short one. Booth is three quarters done, with the visitors’ side still needing a refresh. Overall, the stadium looks good. There is one video board with multiple video ribbons around the stadium to keep you up to date. The concession stands were standard stuff with some local options thrown in. However, they are following the self-service trend I have seen at several stadiums. While perhaps more efficient, it also means all bottled soda which means no souvenir cup. Beer is served but only in particular zones and not at seat level.

We paid about $25 for our tickets at the gate, after our last-minute purchase attempt on Stubhub would not go through. Once inside, we grabbed some open lower-level seats in the endzone corner. Most of the lower-level seats had seatbacks. It was not lost on us that the press box was strategically set right above us, allowing Kansas to sell more luxury boxes in the middle of the field. At the end of the half, we wandered over to the visitor’s bleacher side and sat in the upper level around the 40-yard line. In both instances, the views were great. However, only one video scoreboard is a major miss in this day and age. Another thing that stood out was the size of the poles holding up the net for field goals and extra points. They were unusually big. So much so that they blocked out a little of the video scoreboard. I guess Kansas kickers have extraordinarily strong legs?!?

Surprisingly, the stadium was nearly filled. It was impressive considering the FCS opponent and the day of the week, Friday. The Jayhawks game into the stadium as “Enter Sandman” was blaring from the sound system. We viewed this as a major faux pas. Clearly, Virginia Tech owns that tradition. It was disappointing. However, we were impressed with the “waving of the wheat” which occurred after each score. That is a tradition we can get behind. Opposing chants of “Rock Chalk” “Jayhawk” were good, but it did not quite have the sweet cadence you hear at the basketball games. Supposedly, the students shake their keys but we didn’t really see a lot of that. The attire was Midwest country with lots of boots. Overall, the fan base was loud, proud, yet very friendly. No doubt, it is an enjoyable venue.

I have a general rule of not going to cupcake games for Power Five teams, e.g. an FCS team like Wagner visiting a FBS power conference team like Kansas. Occasionally, the cupcake will give the host a good game and on very rare occasions, actually beat them. Unfortunately, that is rarer than a humble Notre Dame fan. We were combining this weekend with K-State on Saturday night and the opportunity to double up on two tailgates was worth the mismatches. (Note, K-State nearly went into diabetic shock with their cupcake, North Dakota, having to resort to a very late score to secure the victory.) One out of two is not bad.

In this case, there was no exception to the rule. This game was all Jayhawks, all day. It was 14-0 at the end of the 1st quarter, and 29-0 in the 2nd quarter before Wagner scored on a long pass. It was the only score of the day for the Seahawks and will undoubtedly be the one moment of shame in the KU post-game film session. This game was so lopsided, I could not even get a line to bet on it early in the week. Admirably, the Jayhawks did what they were supposed to do. They took care of business, winning 46 – 7.

Kansas is notably known as a basketball school for good reason. They have an outstanding history, including the original rules of basketball from James Naismith, and numerous national championships. For that reason alone, one would be excused to think of Jayhawk football as an afterthought. However, they have had their moments, particularly when they had hall of fame back Gayle Sayers running around. Nonetheless, we had set low expectations for our trip.

Instead, we found KU ticked the majority of boxes necessary for an excellent experience. The people were great. The families of KU players were particularly down to earth, including World Series MVP, Jermaine Dye who gave us a great recommendation on portable stools which I purchased immediately upon returning home. In search of satisfying some post game hunger pangs, we stumbled on to Johnny’s Tavern. They not only serve great food late, their affable manager, Spencer, gave us a custom tour and swag of the venerable local bar.

The tailgating was great and the stadium environment vibrant with at least one unique tradition. Perhaps the only risk is the quality of the football program. They have been up and down so you might not always see a great game. I would characterize them as must see with an asterisk. The asterisk being that the team needs to be good. However, in general, I would say a visit to Lawrence is a must do. Because even if the football team is middling, there’s way too much to like about KU to not give it a visit, especially during basketball season.