This timeline of college football in Kansas sets forth notable college football-related events that occurred in the state of Kansas.
Overview
College football in Kansas began in 1890 and has its roots in the formation of the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference. The first game was played on November 22 that year between Baker University and the University of Kansas. Games have been played in the state continuously every year ever since.
Timeline
Note: this timeline is incomplete. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
1890s
1900s
1910s
- 1911
- October 21 â Kansas beats Kansas State 6âÂÂ0. After the teams did not play in 1910, this is the first game in a continuous series that has lasted more than 100 years â the sixth-longest continuous series in college football history.
- November 25 â Over 1,000 people gather in downtown Lawrence to watch a live scale model reenactment of the Kansas Jayhawks game against Missouri. Game statistics were transmitted by telegraph.
- 1913
- Kansas State formally leaves the Kansas Intercollegiate Athletic Association to join the Missouri Valley and compete against the University of Kansas and other larger schools in the region.
1920s
- 1928
- December 1 â The former Kansas Intercollegiate Athletic Conference disbanded to form the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference ("little six").
1930s
- 1939
- October 28 â Kansas State's homecoming game against Nebraska is broadcast on W9XAK television. This is the first college football game broadcast in Kansas and the second anywhere in the nation.
1940s
- 1948
- January 1 â Both Wichita State and Kansas play in bowl games on the same date â the first bowl appearances for any of the state's schools. Wichita State plays in the Raisin Bowl, while KU plays in the Orange Bowl. After the season ends, WSU's head coach Ralph Graham leaves to coach at his alma mater, Kansas State, which is at the time in the midst of an NCAA-record 28-game losing streak.
- 1949
- September 24 â Harold Robinson plays his first game for Kansas State, breaking the modern "color barrier" in Big Eight Conference athletics, and also becoming the first ever African-American athlete on scholarship in the conference.
1950s
1960s
- 1961
- Pittsburg State wins its second NAIA National Title.
- Kansas Sports Hall of Fame is founded. The organization celebrates all Kansas sports with 19 inductees its first year, including Garfield Weede, Ernie Quigley, Mike Ahearn, Bill Hargiss, and Emil Liston.
- 1966
- Former Kansas State head coach Pappy Waldorf is voted in to the College Football Hall of Fame.
- 1969
- October 11 â Kansas State beats KU 26âÂÂ22, in the first contest in the Governor's Cup series. The game features star players on both sides, with KU led by future Pro Football Hall of Fame running back John Riggins, and KSU led by quarterback Lynn Dickey.
- November 22 - The Kansas State High School Activities Association holds its first state championship games. Previously, there were no playoffs for high school teams, and champions were determined by media polls.
1970s
1980s
- 1980
- November 20 â The first Sunflower Bowl is played.
- November 21 â The final Boot Hill Bowl game is played.
- 1986
- November 15 â The final Sunflower Bowl is played.
- December 2 â Wichita State University discontinues its football program.
- 1988
- December 13 - Bill Snyder. the offensive coordinator for the Iowa Hawkeyes, is named Kansas State's new head coach.
- 1989
- Emporia State advances to the NAIA National Championship game, losing to Carson-Newman
1990s
- 1991
- Pittsburg State wins its first NCAA Division II National Championship and 3rd title overall.
- 1992
- Saint Mary of the Plains closes (and also its football program)
- 1995
- October 28 â Kansas State and Kansas face each other as ranked football teams for the first time. KU comes into the game ranked number 6 in the nation in the AP Poll, while KSU is ranked number 14. KSU wins the game, 41âÂÂ7.
- The Wheat Bowl plays its first game.
- 1996
- August 31 â Texas Tech plays at Kansas State in the first ever Big 12 Conference football game.
- 1998
- November 9 â Kansas State rises to the number 1 ranking in the Coaches Poll after improving to 9âÂÂ0, the first time a state school is ranked first in the nation in the Division I college football polls. The Wildcats finish the regular season 11âÂÂ0, but squander a chance to play for the national championship by losing 36âÂÂ33 in double overtime to Texas A&M in the Big 12 Championship game.
2000s
- 2001
- Former Kansas tackle/halfback and former head coach at Kansas, Washburn and Haskell John H. Outland is inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
- 2002
- Former Wichita State head coach Marcelino Huerta is inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
- 2004
- Charlie Richard, former head coach at Baker University, is inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
- 2005
- November 19 - Bill Snyder retires after 17 seasons as head coach at Kansas State.
- 2006
- The final Wheat Bowl game is played.
- 2007
- November 24 - Kansas, ranked second in the Associated Press poll, has an opportunity to ascend to No. 1 by defeating archrival Missouri at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. However, the Tigers win 36-28 and ascend to the top.
- 2008
- November 24 - Bill Snyder returns as head coach at Kansas State. His second tenure will last 10 seasons (2009âÂÂ18).
- 2009
- May 12 â The first Kanza Bowl is played
2010s
See also
References