Kansas Jayhawks

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For current information on this topic, see 2009-10 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team. For last season, see 2008-09 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team.

For current information on this topic, see 2009 Kansas Jayhawks football team. For last season, see 2008 Kansas Jayhawks football team.

Kansas Jayhawks
University	University of Kansas
Conference	Big 12
NCAA	Division I
Athletics director	Lew Perkins
Location	Lawrence, KS
Varsity teams	18
Football stadium	University of Kansas Memorial Stadium
Basketball arena	Allen Fieldhouse
Baseball stadium	Hoglund Ballpark
Mascot	Big Jay, Baby Jay
Nickname	Jayhawks
Fight song	I'm a Jayhawk
Colors	Blue and Crimson
Homepage	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

Contents 1 Origins of "Jayhawk" 2 Championships 2.1 Conference championships & titles 2.2 National championships 2.3 BCS Bowls 3 Basketball 3.1 Men's basketball 3.2 Women's basketball 4 Football 5 2008 Football and Basketball Record 6 Baseball 7 Rivalries 8 Notable athletes 9 Athletic directors 10 References 11 Further reading 12 External links

[edit] 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]

[edit] Championships

[edit] 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^[1]

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.^[2]

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^[3]

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^[4]

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

[edit] 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 ^[5]

[edit] BCS Bowls

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

[edit] Basketball

[edit] Men's basketball

Perhaps no program in the world has as many ties to the foundation and history of the sport as the University of Kansas. From Dr. James Naismith's early development, to Phog Allen's modernization of the game, to the team's enormous success in recent decades, Kansas basketball is interwoven to each step of the sport's identity.

The program has enjoyed considerable national success, having been selected Helms Foundation National Champions in 1922 and 1923, winning NCAA national championships in 1952, 1988, and 2008, playing in 13 Final Fours, and being regularly ranked in the AP Top 25 college basketball poll. Kansas ranks third all-time in NCAA Division I (behind Kentucky and North Carolina) with 1,970 wins (as of April 4, 2009), against only 793 losses (.713 winning %, 3rd all-time). This record includes a 634–106 (.857) mark at historic Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks are second in NCAA history with 90 winning seasons. They have had the fewest head coahces (eight) of any program that has been around 100 or more years. Yet, they have reached the Final Four under more head coaches (six) 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 4 head coaches who have been inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame, also more than any other program in the nation. A perennial conference powerhouse, Kansas leads all universities with 52 regular-season conference titles in 102 years of conference play (the MVIAA Conference was created in 1907) through the 2008–2009 regular season, two more than the second place Kentucky Wildcats. The Jayhawks have won a record nine conference titles and a record six conference tournament titles in the 13 years of the Big 12's existence. The program also owns the best Big 12 records in both those areas with a 172–36 record in conference play and a 25–7 record in tournament play. In Street & Smith's Annual list of 100 greatest college basketball programs of all time in 2005, KU ranked 4th.^[6] 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.^[7]

[edit] 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.

[edit] Football

KU football dates from 1890. While not a national powerhouse like the men's basketball team, the 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 and Super Bowl XVII MVP with the Washington Redskins; Pro Football Hall of Famer for the Cleveland Browns, Mike McCormack; plus John Hadl, Dana Stubblefield, Bobby Douglass, and Nolan Cromwell. The Jayhawks have appeared three times in the Orange Bowl: 1948, 1969 and 2008. The team currently plays in Memorial Stadium (capacity 50,071), the first stadium built on a college campus west of the Mississippi River, which opened in 1921. It replaced McCook Field, which had been constructed in 1892. Mark Mangino, former Oklahoma assistant coach, has coached the team since 2002. As of January 1, 2009, the program's overall record is 563-543-58 (.509).

[edit] 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.^[8]

[edit] Baseball

Baseball has been played at the University of Kansas since 1880 and for a total of 118 seasons. The Jayhawks had a 1621-1550-16 all-time record entering the 2009 season.

In 1993, Kansas had arguably it's best season to date. That year 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 Junior Jamie Splittorff, son of former Kansas City Royal Paul Splittorff, got the win for KU going 8 1/3 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 Baseball Tournament. That year KU traveled to Corvalis, Ore. for the Corvalis Regional. KU went 1-2 and did not advance.

[edit] 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.^[9]

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.^[10] 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.

[edit] 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
• 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

[edit] 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

[edit] References

• Falkenstien, Max; as told to Doug Vance (1996). Max and the Jayhawks: 50 years on and off the air with KU Sports. Wichita, Kansas: The Wichita Eagle & Beacon Publishing Company, Inc. 

Notes

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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

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