 | |
| Sport | Multiple |
|---|---|
| First meeting | 1898 (baseball) |
| Trophy | Governor's Cup (football) |
The Sunflower Showdown is the series of athletic contests between Kansas State University and the University of Kansas athletic programs, most notably football and men's basketball. The name is derived from a nickname for the state of Kansas as well as the state flower, the Sunflower State.
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 active series in NCAA college football.[A 1] The University of Kansas built a large advantage in the series by 1923, and leads the overall series 64–53–5 or 65–52–5 (depending on whether a 1980 forfeit by KU is counted)[1] as of the end of the 2023 season.
The men's basketball series dates back to 1907, and is the most-played series in either school's history, and the sixth-most-played in NCAA history.[2] Kansas has dominated the all-time series and leads the men's basketball series 205–96 following the most recent game on March 5, 2024. This is the most victories by one school over another in NCAA Division I men's basketball.[3] Kansas has led in the all-time series since 1922, and since 1984, Kansas leads the series 87–14.
In football and men's basketball, despite some competitiveness in the rivalries in the past, both sports have dominated by one team in the rivalry since 1990. In football, Kansas State is 28–6 since 1990. In men's basketball, Kansas is 71–10, excluding three vacated wins.
In 2010, Dillons bought the naming rights and the series was re-branded "The Dillon's Sunflower Showdown".[4]
Cite error: There are <ref group=A> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=A}} template (see the help page).
- ^ "Sports People". New York Times. August 27, 1982. Retrieved 2006-10-20.
- ^ http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/m_basketball_RB/2012/DI.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/m_basketball_RB/2017/D1.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ "Kansas Jayhawks". Kansas Jayhawks.