Genuine Kansas - University of Kansas Jayhawks

The collegiate 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 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 cross between two hunting birds--the noisy blue jay and the quiet 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 in unison before and during games. 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 More information on Jayhawk Basketball Only Big 12 Conference Championships listed. Kansas has won a total 50 conference titles in Men's Basketball. 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. 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 State. 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 - 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 Bill Self, won 88-84 in OT over #3 seeded Texas Women's Basketball 1997 - Big 12 champion - coached by Marian Washington Football 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 GeorgeSauer 1968 - Big 8 champion (tie) - coached by Pepper Rodgers Baseball 2006 - Big 12 tournament champion - defeated Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Missouri, and Nebraska in the Conference playoffs. Softball 2006 - Big 12 tournament champion - won 4-2 over Oklahoma and outscored opponents 13-3 in four games 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 Men's Cross Country 1953 Men's Indoor Track 1966 - 1969 - 1970 Men's Outdoor Track 1959 - 1960 - 1970 Basketball More information on Jayhawk Basketball The Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball program is the intercollegiate men's basketball program of the University of Kansas Jayhawks. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I, and the team competes in the Big 12 Conference. 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 1,905 wins are the third most wins in NCAA history, trailing only Kentucky (1,948) and North Carolina (1,911). The men's team is also notable for its conference success. Including the regular-season conference title in 2007, Kansas now has 50 conference titles all time (in 100 years of conference play), which is a record among all universities, 1 ahead of the Kentucky Wildcats. The Jayhawks have won a record 7 conference titles and a record 5 conference tournaments in the 10 years of the Big 12, and also own the best Big 12 records in both those areas with a 145-31 record in conference play and a 22-6 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 490 times in the weekly AP top 25 poll. 338 times in the top ten, 217 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 and the 22nd in 23 years; Kansas missed out on the tourney in 1989 because of NCAA probation. KU ranks fourth in NCAA Tournament appearances, with 36. 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 . 2006-07 season 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 expected to repeat as Big 12 champs and contend for the national title in 2006-07. ESPN's Andy Katz had ranked the Jayhawks as the second best team in the nation for the preseason, while Dick Vitale had the Jayhawks ranked third. The starting lineup included Russell Robinson (guard), Mario Chalmers (guard), Brandon Rush (small forward), Julian Wright (power/small forward), and Sasha Kaun (Center). Darrell Arthur and Sherron Collins were the nucleus of Bill Self's recruiting class for the 06-07 season and provided valuable minutes coming off the bench. Some key returnees included Darnell Jackson and Jeremy Case. One early-season casualty was C.J. Giles. He was suspended in early November for failure to attend practices, for poor showing in the classroom, and because of unpaid child support. He was to have been reinstated for the Winston-Salem State game, but another incident involving charges of assault and battery against his ex-girlfriend left Bill Self with no choice but to dismiss the troubled center from the team. Giles has transferred and will play for the Oregon State Beavers. Following the victory over #1 ranked and defending National Champion Florida in Las Vegas, athletic director Lew Perkins announced that he had extended Coach Bill Self's contract through 2011. Until February 3, no team from the Big 12 South division had ever beaten Kansas in Allen Fieldhouse since the conference's formation in the 1996 offseason. That streak came to an end when Texas A&M came from 11 down to beat KU 69-66; this also marked the first time ever that the Aggies had beaten the Jayhawks. There are two streaks that remain intact. Kansas has won 24 consecutive home games against Colorado, most recently a 97-74 victory on January 27, 2007. KU also maintains the 24-game on-the-road win streak against Kansas State in Manhattan, the most recent win being a 71-62 victory in Bramlage Coliseum on February 19, 2007. KU won the final five games with KSU in Allen Fieldhouse and all 19 meetings in Bramlage. Kansas won the 2007 regular season Big 12 championship, finishing in first place with a 14-2 record in conference play. In doing so, they clinched their third straight regular season title and their first outright Big 12 title since 2003, having settled for ties with Oklahoma and Texas the previous two seasons. They came from down 16 against Texas to win 90-86, leading by as many as 10 at one point and holding on for the four-point win. The title is the Jayhawks' 50th all-time since joining the Missouri Valley Conference in 1907-08. It is also KU's fifth outright Big 12 championship and seventh overall. The outright title gave Kansas the top seed for the Big 12 Tournament and a bye for the preliminary rounds of play. In the quarterfinal, KU faced ninth-seed Oklahoma and prevailed 64-47. In the semifinal, KU faced fourth-seed Kansas State and prevailed 67-61. Finally, in the title game, KU defeated Texas 88-84 in overtime to win the Big 12 Tournament. They pulled off an even bigger comeback than in the regular-season meeting, coming from down 22 to win. The 22-point comeback is the biggest in KU history, eclipsing the 19-point comeback in an 85-70 win over UCLA in 1995. Kansas earned the top seed for the West Region of the 2007 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. In subregional action at the United Center in Chicago, KU defeated Niagara 107-67 and Kentucky 88-76. In the Sweet 16, KU escaped a tough defensive stance from Southern Illinois, winning 61-58 at HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. The victory sent KU to the Elite Eight against the second-seeded UCLA Bruins, but they lost 68-55, their largest margin of defeat all season. KU has never won a game against UCLA in NCAA Tournament play, losing all five meetings, and Bill Self has never taken any of his teams to the Final Four, going 0-4 with Tulsa, Illinois, and Kansas (twice). Nonetheless, Kansas enjoyed a successful season, finishing 33-5, winning the Big 12 regular season and postseason championships, reaching the Elite Eight, and achieving the seventh 30-win season in school history. On April 9th, 2007, sophomore forward Julian Wright announced that he would forego his junior and senior seasons, hire an agent (therefore forfeiting his amateur status and college eligibility), and enter his name into the NBA Draft. Teammate and fellow sophomore Brandon Rush had originally chosen to follow suit, announcing on April 26, 2007 his plan of entering his name into the NBA Draft, but decided to not hire an agent (therefore allowing him to return to KU if he decided to withdraw his name from the draft). However, after tearing his anterior crucial ligament in a pickup game of basketball, Rush changed his mind and decided to return for his junior season at KU. Despite the injury, Rush's return means that big things will be expected of the Jayhawks for the Big 12 and NCAA Title races in 2007-08. Rush's surgery ended up being a success. Trivia Since the expansion to 64 teams in the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship in 1985, there has never been a case where all four #1 seeds made it to the Final Four. The closest it has ever come to this was in 1993 when the #2 seeded Jayhawks led by Roy Williams defeated Bobby Knight's #1 seeded Indiana Hoosiers 83-77 to proceed to the Semifinals with #1 seeds Kentucky, Michigan, and North Carolina (where North Carolina emerged as National Champion under Kansas graduate, Coach Dean Smith). The 1988 Jayhawks, at 27-11, had the worst record of any team to win the national championship, recording a won/loss percentage of .710. The first Chinese broadcast of a Big 12 game was Kansas's 83-32 win at home versus Dartmouth on November 28, 2006. 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 1996. Former players and coaches in the basketball hall of fame Lynette Woodard, player and coach Women's basketball coaches Head women's basketball coaches, including win-loss record and years coached: Marlene Mawson, (19-16), 1968-1971 Debbie Artman, (9-8), 1971-1972 Sharon Drysdale, (9-8), 1972-1973 Marian Washington, (555-363), 1973-2004 Bonnie Henrickson, (40-49), 2004-present KU Football More about KU Football The Kansas Jayhawks football program is the intercollegiate football program of the University of Kansas Jayhawks. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I, and the team competes in the North Division of the Big 12 Conference. 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 with the Washington Redskins; John Hadl, Steve Towle, Dana Stubblefield, Bobby Douglass, and Nolan Cromwell. The Jayhawks have appeared twice in the Orange Bowl: 1948 and 1969, and most recently made a bowl appearance in the 2005 Fort Worth Bowl. 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. Mark Mangino has coached the team since 2002. As of November 25, 2006, the program's overall record is 542-537-58 (.503). 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. 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. Team records and statistics 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 and breaking the school record of 109.2 set in 1948. It was the ninth time in the season the Jayhawks held their opponent to less than 100 yards on the ground. For the season, their defense ranked 3rd nationally against the rush. September 23, 2006: KU's win over South Florida extends its 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. November 18, 2006: Kansas State rusher Leon Patton's 102 yards rushing breaks the Jayhawk defense's record setting 23 game streak without allowing a 100-yard rusher. The streak started following a controversial 27-23 loss to Texas on November 13, 2004. November 25, 2006: In the regular season finale, senior running back Jon Cornish rushes for 126 yards in a 42-17 loss to Missouri to become KU's all-time single season leading rusher. His 1,457 yards surpassed the previous record of 1,442 yards set by Tony Sands in 1991. Bowl appearances The Jayhawks have a 4-6 bowl record: 1948 Orange Bowl (Miami), lost 20-14 to Georgia Tech 1961 Bluebonnet Bowl (Houston), won 33-7 over Rice University 1969 Orange Bowl, lost 15-14 to Penn State 1973 Liberty Bowl (Memphis), lost 31-18 to NC State 1975 Sun Bowl (El Paso), lost 33-19 to Pittsburgh 1981 Hall of Fame Bowl (Birmingham), lost 10-0 to Mississippi State 1992 Aloha Bowl (Honolulu), won 23-20 over BYU 1995 Aloha Bowl, won 51-30 over UCLA 2003 Mazda Tangerine Bowl (Orlando), lost 56-26 to NC State 2005 Fort Worth Bowl, won 42-13 over Houston Notable athletes Bob Allison, major league baseball player, Minnesota Twins; Gilbert Brown, 10 year NFL defensive tackle, Green Bay Packers; Wilt Chamberlain, Basketball hall of Fame; 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, starting power foward for the Cleveland Cavaliers; John Hadl 2-time All-American. One year as a half back and one year as a QB, 16 year NFL player; Kirk Hinrich Starting point guard for the Chicago Bulls; Danny Manning, Basketball player and coach. 2-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; Curtis McClinton, 3-time All-Pro running back, Kansas City Chiefs; Mike McCormack, NFL Hall of Fame tackle. Former NFL head coach and GM; Billy Mills, First American to win Gold medal in the 10,000m run, 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games; Al Oerter, Olympic Gold Medalist, Discus throw in four consecutive Olympiads; Paul Pierce, Basketball player. Averaged 16.4 points and 6.3 rebounds per game in his three seasons at Kansas, earning MVP honors in 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; Steve Renko,major league baseball pitcher, California Angels; John Riggins, NFL Hall of Fame running back; Dave Robisch, All-American, 2-time Big 8 Player of the Year, 13-year ABA/NBA player; Gale Sayers, 2-time All American, NFL Hall of Fame running back, Chicago Bears; Dana Stubblefield, All-American, 3-time All-Pro defensive tackle, 1997 NFL Defensive Player of the Year; Darnell Valentine, All-American G, 3-time Academic All-American, 9-year NBA player Rex Walters, played on KU Final Four team in 1993, played seven years in NBA, current coach of Florida Atlantic men's basketball team; Jo Jo White, All-American, 12-year NBA player.