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

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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.

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 ^[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) ;Women's Basketball ^[3]

;Football

;Baseball

;Soccer

;Softball ^[4]

;Men's Indoor Track & Field

;Men's Outdoor Track & Field

;Men's Cross Country

;Men's Golf

;Tennis

National championships

;Men's Basketball

;Men's Cross Country

;Men's Indoor Track

;Men's Outdoor Track

;Men's Tenpin Bowling

BCS Bowls

Basketball

Men's basketball

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]

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.

Football

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]

Baseball

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.

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
• Isaac Byrd, 6 year NFL wide receiver, Tennessee Titans and Carolina Panthers
• Wilt Chamberlain, two-time All American, Final Four MVP, National Basketball Hall of Fame, Top 50 All Time Greatest NBA players
• Anthony Collins, All-American, NFL player, offensive tackle for the Cincinnati Bengals
• 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 Houston Texans
• 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 (often referred to as "Touchdown" Tony Sands or "Tuxedo" 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

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

References

1. Big 12 Record Book: Men's Basketball
2. 2007-08 Media Guide
3. Big 12 Record Book: Women's Basketball
4. Big 12 Record Book: Softball
5. Jenkins, Chris. "Charging Rhino...Ryan Page rising quickly on pro bowling tour."[1]
6. 100 Greatest Programs[1]
7. NCAA Penalty Hits KU Hard[1]
8. Team Notables
9. SI.com - Writers - The Bonus: Heated Kansas-Missouri rivalry dates back to 1800s - Friday November 23, 2007 8:12AM
10. ESPN - Kansas vs. Texas - Recap - March 16, 2008