Sunflower Showdown
The Sunflower Showdown is the series of athletic contests between Kansas State University and the University of Kansas, most notably football and men's basketball. The name is derived from the official nickname for the state of Kansas: the Sunflower State. In addition to being natural geographic rivals, both schools are members of the Big 12 Conference North Division, so they are guaranteed to play each other annually in all sports.
The two schools compete each year for the Governor's Cup in football. The football series dates back to 1902, and has been played every year since 1911, making it the fourth-longest uninterrupted series in college football history.[1] The University of Kansas built a large advantage in the series by 1923, and still leads overall 63-37-5 following the 2007 game. In the 1990s and early 2000s, Kansas State boasted a long winning streak, but KU has now won 3 of the last 4.
The basketball series dates back to 1907, and is the most-played series in either school's history. The University of Kansas leads the basketball series 174-90 following a Kansas State victory in the first contest of the 2007-2008 season.
Origins
The rivalry between the two schools can be traced indirectly back to their creation in the 1860s. The towns of Manhattan, Kansas (now home to KSU) and Lawrence, Kansas (now home to KU) both competed to be the site of the state University – required in the Kansas Constitution – after Kansas achieved statehood in 1861. Manhattan would have become the home of the University in 1861, but the bill establishing the University in Manhattan was controversially vetoed by Governor Charles L. Robinson of Lawrence. An attempt to override the veto in the Legislature failed by one vote. In 1862, another bill to make Manhattan the site of the University failed by one vote. Finally, on the third attempt, on February 16 1863, the Kansas Legislature designated Manhattan as home to the state's Land-grant university. Yet the legislature was not done. Prodded by former Governor Robinson, the Legislature distinguished this institution from the "University" in the Constitution, and on February 20 the Legislature named Lawrence as the home to the state University (provided Lawrence could raise $15,000 and acquire 40 acres of land). When Lawrence met these conditions, the University of Kansas was established there in 1865.[2]
The two institutions officially met for the first time in athletic competition a little more than thirty years later, in a baseball game in 1898.
Men's basketball
The two schools had a strong rivalry in basketball for several decades, peaking in the 1950s. For the past two decades, the University of Kansas has dominated the series, including a winning streak over K-State that lasted from 1994 to 2005. Even when the schools have been at different levels, however, upsets are always a possibility in the rivalry, as when Kansas State upset a KU team that was ranked #1 in the AP Poll on January 17, 1994, or when KU pulled the upset on a K-State team ranked #1 on January 17, 1953.
Over the decades, the rivalry has seen a number of notable coaches match wits, including Jack Gardner, Tex Winter, and Jack Hartman at Kansas State, and James Naismith, Phog Allen, Larry Brown, and Roy Williams at KU. During the 2006-2007 season, both teams featured noteworthy coaches with high winning percentages – Bill Self (KU) and Bob Huggins (KSU). Following that year, however, Huggins left Kansas State to return to his alma mater, West Virginia University. The 2007-2008 season promises a high degree of interest in the Showdown, as Kansas returns nearly every player from the previous season, losing only Julian Wright to the NBA, and Kansas State debuts the top recruiting class in the country under the tutelage of an untested first-year head coach, Frank Martin.
1950s
Both schools were national title contenders in the 1950s, with K-State starting the decade in the title game of the 1951 NCAA tournament, and KU winning the title at the 1952 NCAA tournament. Befitting a clash of these titans, one of the best games of the 1952 season was an epic 90-88 overtime victory by KU over K-State. KU returned to the Final Four in 1953, claiming the league title along the way over a KSU team that had earlier been the top-ranked basketball team in the country.
The rivalry heated up even further with the arrival of Bob Boozer at Kansas State and Wilt Chamberlain at KU in the middle of the decade. In the 1955-1956 season, Kansas State split the season series with KU and won the Big Seven Conference title, denying Chamberlain his first chance at the NCAA tournament. The following year, Chamberlain led KU to the league title and a triple-overtime loss to North Carolina in the title game of the 1957 NCAA tournament. Kansas and Kansas State played another classic the following season, when Boozer scored 32 points in a 79-75 double-overtime victory at KU on February 3, 1958, while KSU was ranked #3 and KU was ranked #2. (When the two teams had previously met that season on December 30, 1957, they were also ranked #2 and #3 in the country.) Following that season, KSU made another appearance in the Final Four. To close the decade, Kansas State swept the season series from KU on the way to a 25-2 record and a #1 ranking in the final AP Poll for 1959.
During the 1950s, the two schools also engaged in one-upsmanship in facilities. In 1950 Kansas State opened Ahearn Field House, one of the largest and most impressive basketball facilities in the country at the time, which seated 14,000 spectators. Meanwhile, KU continued to play their home games on a converted stage in an auditorium with a seating capacity of 5,500. In response to the construction of Ahearn, the University of Kansas successfully lobbied the state to pay for the construction of Allen Fieldhouse, which would seat 17,000.[3] KU pointedly opened the facility with a game against Kansas State on March 1, 1955 (a 77-66 KU upset victory).
This period also saw the beginning of the 'Sunflower Doubleheader', with two non-conference teams visiting the state to play KU and K-State at one venue one night, then switching venues and opponents the following evening. This event was held from 1957 to 1968, and featured national powerhouses such as UCLA, Xavier, San Francisco, St. Joseph's, Cal, and Marquette.
1960s and 1970s
The basketball rivalry between the two schools continued unabated through the 1960s and 1970s, with the two schools competing annually for the Big Eight Conference championship (see chart below). In Dick Harp's last two seasons as the KU coach, the Jayhawks plummeted to losing records of 7-18 in 1962 and 12-13 in 1963. Nevertheless, in the championship game of the Big Eight Holiday Tournament in December 1962, KU posted a surprising 90-88 quadruple-overtime victory over K-State. Also, on February 20, 1965, one of the classic pranks in the series was perpetrated when a pair of 6x12 banners saying "Go Cats, Kill Snob Hill Again" unfurled on the east and west sides of the Allen Fieldhouse scoreboard with eight minutes left in the first half of an 88-66 KU victory. Another popular "prank" perpetrated by Kansas State students throughout the years is throwing live chickens on the court during pre-game introductions, as a taunt at the Kansas mascot, the Jayhawk. For years the Kansas State administration has attempted to stop this practice, and following a nationally-televised game on February 19, 2007, PETA complained about it in a letter to KSU President Jon Wefald.
1980s
The 1980s saw the return of star power to the schools and arguably the rivalry's most high-profile game. At the start of the decade, Rolando Blackman at Kansas State and Darnell Valentine at KU squared off in some classic match-ups. To close the decade, it was Mitch Richmond (K-State) and Danny Manning (KU) battling.
With Richmond and Manning in their senior years, the 1987-1988 season proved to be momentous in the rivalry. In the first matchup of the season, on January 30, 1988, Richmond scored 35 points to lead Kansas State to a 72-61 win to halt KU's then-record 55-game home winning streak. On February 18, KU turned the tables, prevailing 64-63 in Ahearn Field House to deny K-State a victory over KU in the old field house's last year. In what was supposed to be the rubber game, in the 1988 Big Eight Conference tournament, Kansas State won a decisive victory by a 69-54 score. However, the biggest was yet to come. Both teams qualified for the NCAA tournament, and after three wins apiece in the tournament they faced each other on March 27 in Pontiac, Michigan, for the right to advance to the Final Four. Led by Manning's 20 points, KU turned a tight game into a runaway and prevailed 71-58. They eventually advanced to claim the school's second NCAA Championship.[4] That game in the Pontiac Silverdome was the first of only two meetings between the 'Hawks and the 'Cats that was not played in Lawrence, Manhattan, or Kansas City, Missouri (the second meeting being the 2007 Big 12 Tournament in Oklahoma City).
The 1990s and 2000s
The rivalry slipped in significance after the 1988 season, as K-State slowly declined into an also-ran in the Big 8 and Big 12 conferences. Only occasionally would K-State make some noise, such as the 68-64 win over then-#1 KU in Allen Fieldhouse in 1994. When Tom Asbury was hired at K-State during the 1994 offseason, he vowed to "come after Kansas." Roy Williams accepted this blustering challenge by saying, "South on 177 (Kansas Highway 177), East on 70 (Interstate 70), West Lawrence Exit." Asbury never won a game against the Jayhawks.
From 1994-2005, KU won 31 straight games against K-State, the longest streak for either school in the series. Also, from 1984 to 2007, KU won 24 straight games on the Wildcats' home floor. That streak began in Ahearn Field House, where KU won the final five meetings. It had carried over into Bramlage Coliseum, where KU won the first 19 contests, including a 71-62 win in 2007. Since the streak began, K-State has won seven games against KU, but all of them have been away from Manhattan: four games in Lawrence (1988, 1989, 1994, 2006), two games in the Big Eight Tournament in Kansas City (1988, 1989) and one game in the Big Twelve Tournament (1993). KU's streak at Bramlage came to an end on January 30th, 2008 when #24 ranked Kansas State upset the previously unbeaten #2 University of Kansas 84 - 75.
The Rivalry Today
When Kansas State hired coach Bob Huggins to replace Jim Wooldridge in the 2006 off-season, it promised to reignite the rivalry. At K-State's Midnight Madness celebration to start the 2006-2007 season, Huggins said that "February 19th is when we break the streak."[5] However, KU managed to sweep the season series from Kansas State.
With Huggins having departed to coach his alma mater, the 2007-2008 season presents an intriguing matchup between youth and experience. KU is led by the experienced coach Bill Self and boasts a strong lineup of returning players. Kansas State is led by a first-year head coach, Frank Martin, and boasts the top-rated group of freshman players in the nation. The first match-up of the 2007-2008 season was won in Manhattan on January 30th by Kansas State, 84-75 with their top three scorers making 20 or more points.
Conference titles
From 1946 through 1978, Kansas and Kansas State made the competition for the basketball title for their conference (known as the Big Six, Big Seven and Big Eight during this time) virtually a two-way affair. During this 33-year period, KU or KSU won or shared the title 26 times. The following chart shows the conference titles captured by the Sunflower Showdown schools during this span of time.
| Team | Season | Conference |
|---|---|---|
| Kansas | 1945-1946 | Big Six Conference |
| Kansas State | 1947-1948 | Big Seven Conference |
| Kansas | 1949-1950 | Big Seven |
| Kansas State | ||
| Kansas State | 1950-1951 | Big Seven |
| Kansas | 1951-1952 | Big Seven |
| Kansas | 1952-1953 | Big Seven |
| Kansas | 1953-1954 | Big Seven |
| Kansas State | 1955-1956 | Big Seven |
| Kansas | 1956-1957 | Big Seven |
| Kansas State | 1957-1958 | Big Seven |
| Kansas State | 1958-1959 | Big Eight Conference |
| Kansas State | 1959-1960 | Big Eight |
| Kansas | ||
| Kansas State | 1960-1961 | Big Eight |
| Kansas State | 1962-1963 | Big Eight |
| Kansas State | 1963-1964 | Big Eight |
| Kansas | 1965-1966 | Big Eight |
| Kansas | 1966-1967 | Big Eight |
| Kansas State | 1967-1968 | Big Eight |
| Kansas State | 1969-1970 | Big Eight |
| Kansas | 1970-1971 | Big Eight |
| Kansas State | 1971-1972 | Big Eight |
| Kansas State | 1972-1973 | Big Eight |
| Kansas | 1973-1974 | Big Eight |
| Kansas | 1974-1975 | Big Eight |
| Kansas State | 1976-1977 | Big Eight |
| Kansas | 1977-1978 | Big Eight |
Both schools have also won a number of other conference basketball titles, with the University of Kansas alone winning or sharing 50 conference titles in 100 years of conference play following the 2006-2007 season – more titles than any other Division I basketball team in the country.
Football
Neither the University of Kansas nor Kansas State University has had the same sustained excellence in football that they have collectively had in men's basketball. However, mirroring the situation in basketball, over the past several years Kansas State fielded a much stronger team – annually garnering high national rankings – resulting in a winning streak over KU that lasted from 1993 through the 2003 season, finally ending in 2004.
Interestingly for the rivalry, both schools started the 2006 season with brothers at the starting quarterback position: Dylan Meier at Kansas State and Kerry Meier at KU. However, by the time the teams played on November 18, 2006, Dylan Meier had been replaced in K-State's starting lineup. If the brothers had started against each other, it would have been the first time in Division I-Bowl Subdivision history that had happened.
History
After the two programs began playing football in 1902, ill will soon surfaced. Following the 1909 contest, a 5-3 KU victory, a dispute between the schools led them to cancel the game scheduled for the 1910 season. After taking the break in 1910, the teams have met on the field for 97 consecutive autumns; only three other series in college football had been contested for more consecutive years.
KU was notably dominant in the series during the early years, building a 17-1-3 advantage through the 1922 season.[6] Since 1923, the programs have been much more even, with KU holding a 46-36-2 advantage during that period (including a 1980 forfeit[7] by KU). Because KU does not acknowledge its forfeit, the two schools disagree on the overall series record. KU says it leads the series 64-36-5, while Kansas State reports the record as 63-37-5.[8]
The teams began competing for the Governor's Cup in 1969, and many of the most storied or interesting games between the programs have come during this period, including a 1995 matchup between sixth-ranked Kansas and fourteenth-ranked Kansas State. KU won the latest contest 30-24, on October 6, 2007, which the two teams entered as potential Big 12 North contenders.
Series standings
The schools compete annually in football, men's basketball, women's basketball, women's volleyball, baseball, cross country, track and field, women's tennis, rowing, men's golf, and women's golf. Below are the series records in the major sports.
| Sport | Series Record | Last Result |
|---|---|---|
| Football | KU leads 63-37-5 | 30-24 KU win on October 6, 2007 |
| Men's Basketball | KU leads 174-90 | 83-75 KSU win on January 30, 2008 |
| Women's Basketball | KSU leads 53-41 | 82-74 KU win on February 19, 2007 |
| Women's Volleyball | KSU leads 58-37-1 | 3-1 KSU win on November 14, 2007 |
| Baseball | KU leads 156-155-1 | 7-4 KSU win on May 5, 2007 |
| Women's Rowing* | KSU leads 6-5-0 | 16-9 KSU win on November 12, 2007 |
| * Fall meeting only (at KSU). Spring meeting at KU called Kansas Cup, KU leads 8-3-0 as of April 7, 2007 |
See also
References
- ^ "NCAA Record Book" (English). Retrieved 2006-10-11.
- ^ Griffin, C.S. "The University of Kansas and the Years of Frustration, 1854-64" (English). Retrieved 2006-10-06.
- ^ "Fieldhouse Built to Catch KSU, MU" (English). Retrieved 2006-10-10.
- ^ "Rock Chalk Site" (English). Retrieved 2006-10-10.
- ^ http://cjonline.com/stories/021907/haw_149456815.shtml
- ^ "College Football Database" (English). Retrieved 2006-10-11.
- ^ "Sports People". New York Times. August 27, 1982. Retrieved 2006-10-20.
- ^ "KSU-KU Postgame Notes" (PDF) (Press release). Kansas State University. November 18, 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-30.