Sunflower Showdown
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The Sunflower Showdown is the series of athletic contests between the University of Kansas and Kansas State University, 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 62-37-5, following the 2006 game.
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 170-89, entering the 2006-2007 season.
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[edit] History
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 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.
[edit] Men's basketball
The two schools had a strong rivalry in basketball for several decades, peaking in the 1950s. For the past several years, the University of Kansas has fielded a much stronger team, resulting in a winning streak over K-State that lasted from 1995 to 2005. KU also has an astounding winning streak in Manhattan stretching from 1983 to date. 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. Both teams now again feature noteworthy coaches with high winning percentages – Bill Self (KU) and Bob Huggins (K-State) – and the future seems bright for the rivalry.
[edit] 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 2 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.
[edit] 1980s
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). 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. However, 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 1980s, 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 in the old field house's last year. In 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 handily prevailed 71-58 and eventually advanced to claim the school's second NCAA Championship.[4]
[edit] 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 every year but seven. The following chart shows the conference titles captured by the Sunflower Showdown schools during this span of time. (While K-State has fallen from contender status lately, KU has won 6 championships in the 10-year existence of the Big 12 Conference.)
| 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 |
[edit] 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 to 2003.
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 could have been the first time in Division I-A football history that happened.
[edit] 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. Despite the break in 1910, when the teams met on the field for the 96th consecutive autumn in 2006, only three other series in college football had been contested for more consecutive years.
Through 2006, Kansas leads the all-time series 62-37-5. KU was notably dominant in the series during the early years, building a 17-1-3 advantage through the 1922 season.[5] Since 1923, the programs have been much more even, with KU holding a 45-36-2 advantage during that period (including a 1980 forfeit by KU[6]). 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 1994 matchup between sixth-ranked Kansas and fourteenth-ranked Kansas State. KU won the 2006 contest 39-20.[7]
- See also: Governor's Cup (Kansas)
[edit] References
- ^ NCAA Record Book (English). Retrieved on 2006-10-11.
- ^ Griffin, C.S.. The University of Kansas and the Years of Frustration, 1854-64 (English). Retrieved on 2006-10-06.
- ^ Fieldhouse Built to Catch KSU, MU (English). Retrieved on 2006-10-10.
- ^ Rock Chalk Site (English). Retrieved on 2006-10-10.
- ^ College Football Database (English). Retrieved on 2006-10-11.
- ^ "Sports People", New York Times, August 27, 1982. Retrieved on 2006-10-20. (in English)
- ^ University of Kansas (November 18, 2006). KU-KSU Postgame Notes. Press release. Retrieved on 2006-11-18.
