Can Kansas Get Home Field Advantage Back This Season?

Head coach Lance Leipold and a few Kansas football players just wrapped up their time at Big 12 media days as football season continues to draw closer.

Excitement is building as the Jayhawks are looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2024 season.

Expectations may not be as high nationally, but there is still plenty to be excited about locally for Jayhawk fans heading into the 2025 season. 

One of the biggest draws heading into this season is the newly named Kivisto Field at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, home of Kansas football. After spending a year bouncing back-and-forth between Kansas City, Kansas, and Kansas City, Missouri for their home games, the Jayhawks will be back in Lawrence for their gameday experience.

Playing non-conference home games at Sporting Park, home of Major League Soccer’s Sporting Kansas City, and conference home games at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, home of the Kansas City Chiefs, were made necessary with renovations being made at The Booth. With about three-quarters of the project finished, The Booth will be open for business again this fall. 

A newly designed press box and suites, along with new seating from the south end zone, wrapping around the east side of the field, and finishing in the north end zone, will make for an extraordinary viewing experience.

The west side of the stadium will still be part of the original Memorial Stadium and will be updated when funding is completed next offseason. A home stadium, on campus, is what college football is meant to be, and it is a good thing for the Jayhawks to be back at home in Lawrence on game days once again. 

Everything from local businesses getting more money in their pockets, to students being right there on top of things, to traditional tailgates with long-time season ticket holders, this move back to Lawrence for Kansas football will be the talk of the town heading into the season. But what about the product on the field? 

The Jayhawks will have plenty of turnover on both sides of the ball, with new faces expected, but having Jalon Daniels back at quarterback will be a great start for the offense. Leipold will be the steady hand at the wheel, and hopefully, this team can gel well together and start the season on the right foot as non-conference play begins. 

The Jayhawks will be looking to regain a home-field advantage that helped them out so much a couple of seasons ago as they got out to a 5-0 start and were able to host College Gameday for the first time in Kansas football history.

It’s not a secret that Kansas has been known as a basketball school for as long as sports have been a part of the university. That doesn’t mean the Jayhawks can’t put together a competitive team and become a consistent presence representing the Big 12 in bowl games.

KU fans don’t have to choose one or the other. They can enjoy both programs and support both to the fullest. This football team will need that support as the university reopens a newly imagined version of The Booth.

The Jayhawks will welcome in the new era on August 23rd with Fresno State coming to Lawrence. The first game at the reimagined stadium will be huge, and the administration will surely pull out all the stops to make this debut a big show. Season tickets have been slowly rolled out over the summer, first to previous season ticket holders and students, then to recent grads, and soon they will be available to the general public. 

As Kansas gets ready to welcome the fans back to The Booth, the team is hoping to see a sold-out stadium to help give them an extra boost at critical points in the game. There’s no doubt Jayhawk Nation will show out in big numbers for the home opener. It will be up to the team and their success on the field to continue bringing fans back as the season continues into October and November.