More Than The Game: Lance Leipold Excited To Bring College Football To London

By Simon Carroll

Imagine your local university is playing a weekend soccer game against a nearby rival. Twenty-two students. Muddy pitches. Newspaper for shinpads. Halftime oranges. Someone’s dad running the line because the referee’s assistant had one too many pints the night before. And maybe, if you’re lucky, ten or twelve casual spectators who have stopped walking their dog to take a passing interest. The occasion is purely for those involved, and the outcome likely meaningless once Monday returns.

Now visualize dropping those twenty-two young adults into a 40,000 seat stadium packed out with students past and present. The game is broadcast on Sky Sports. Merchandise is everywhere. Hundreds of staff members on each sideline, thousands more employed because of the game you’re playing. Training facilities that put professional sports teams to shame. Tailored dietary regimens. Marching bands. Million-pound endorsement deals for everyone on the field. Parties all across town that start way before kickoff and finish the next day. And, of course, a lot more than just local bragging rights on the line…

For the average unfamiliar Brit, comprehending what American collegiate sports is requires seeing it to believe it. And next year they can do exactly that as college football sends two teams over to play on these shores.

London Calling

College Football in the United States is more than just football; it’s a cultural phenomenon. And one very difficult to describe to the uninitiated this side of the pond. By now, most sports fans over here are familiar with the NFL, even if it’s not something they consume on a weekly basis. The professional version of American Football has exported its product to London since 2007, and demand is so high that three games are now typically played in the capital each season. The collegiate version of the sport is playing catchup – but exposure is increasing, with a yearly Week 0 game being held in Dublin and DAZN carrying the games for the UK audience. 

And now, college football will head to London for the first time, with the Kansas Jayhawks and Arizona State Sun Devils competing in the inaugural Union Jack Classic next September. Wembley Stadium is an iconic venue to host the Big 12 matchup, allowing 90,000 fans the opportunity to sample a college gameday in person. And yet, the organisers are determined to bring more than just the game itself to the occasion.

Out in Lawrence to celebrate the announcement, I took the opportunity to sit down with Kansas head coach Lance Leipold to learn more about the Jayhawk football program, and discuss what fans can expect when a slice of Americana hits the capital.

College Football: More Than Just The Game

Beginning a coaching career the minute he hung up his cleats, Lance Leipold has known nothing else other than college football his entire adult working life. It’s his passion, his vocation; and to put it succinctly, he’s damn good at it, having had success as a head coach at three different stops. So there’s not many more qualified to try to explain to a group of British journalists what the sport entails. Forget the NFL folks; college football is on a totally different level:

“I mean, college football is football, but it’s also more than that. The pageantry and excitement from what you see pre-game, the tailgating atmosphere you get, it’s different from a professional game. I grew up in a small town in Wisconsin that was five minutes from the interstate. I could take a right and drive to Milwaukee where the Green Bay Packers used to play two games a year, or I could take a left and go to Madison, where the University of Wisconsin is. If you gave me seats on the 50 yard line to both and told me to go where I wanted, even as a young person I would choose the college game every time. It’s a totally different vibe.”

In the States, college football sells itself. It’s a 100-year snowball that has grown and grown into a beautiful monster that almost all of America indulges in. There is nothing comparable to it in the United Kingdom, but Leipold does better than most to highlight some small examples of what makes it so unique:

“It’s a different level of passion. You’ll have a student section akin to a soccer crowd, going wild and living and breathing every chance and big play. Then there’s the band – and when we come out to London I’m still pushing hard for a big number of the band to come with us because they are tied to college football and the programs they represent. There’s an innocence and romance to the college game, it’s played a little bit differently, and of course the rosters are bigger and there’s some rule differences too. Overall it makes for quite the spectacle.”

Perhaps the soccer comparison is most apt, in that college football is a sport where the team is in the blood of the fans. And last week’s rivalry game against Kansas State allowed Coach Leipold a unique example akin to any season ticket holder in this country who has spent years on the terraces supporting their team:

“I do a weekly radio show at a sports bar, and the host recently asked the crowd who had been coming to the Sunflower Showdown the longest. This is usually an older crowd, and one guy raised his hand and said he came to his first one in 1964. He’d missed a few, but college football and Kansas football has been his passion for sixty years. I mean, s**t, I was born in 1964! When we’re talking about the passion, it kinda ties into this tribal loyalty. I’ll be out with my wife and people will come up to me and say ‘coach I appreciate what you’re doing, I’ve been a season ticket holder since nineteen something something.’ And they’ll talk about sitting through games during the tough times and what they’ve gone through. This thing is almost as important to them as family.” 

Rock Chalk

Since being named head coach in 2021, Leipold has worked strenuously to bring the family atmosphere and good times back to Kansas. The last few decades have been difficult on the gridiron in Lawrence, and most will recognise KU for their impressive basketball program. But Leipold has quickly turned that around. And supported by an athletic department keen to invest in football, has embarked on a new era with the Jayhawks:

“We’re a program that’s still evolving. We’re a program that struggled for many years; we had some success in the 07-08 era, and since then kinda bottomed out. We came in here in 2021 and we’ve been able to turn things around. Because this school has been known for basketball for a very long time and we wanted to balance that out. We have a very passionate fanbase that’s been very loyal through the tough times, and we’ve felt it’s our duty to try and get everyone engaged in what we’re doing so we can fill our stadium. That in turn will allow us the kind of financial investment to continue what we’ve started, complete this stadium and finish the project. And really, nobody else is doing this. In the modern era with name image and likeness, not many people are funding players and the infrastructure and facilities like we are. That says a lot about where we’re at as far as commitment goes.”

The phrase ‘college town’ doesn’t really have a lot of context until you’ve had the privilege of being in one on gameday. Technically a city, Lawrence is a perfect example of this phenomena, a place seemingly adrift of anywhere else and totally built around a higher education institution. A huge sprawling campus sat amongst thousands of houses, with businesses thriving as the school grows. KU isn’t just succeeding in sports; it’s recognised as one of the best seats of learning in the US:

“As far as the university itself, we’re one of about sixty schools that have AAU status (Association of American Universities), making us a top research institution with high quality medical schools and law schools. And on top of that, this is a really good college town. And that’s nothing against Tempe or Fort Worth or anything like that, it’s just that this is the first place I’ve worked where I wish I had gone to school here. There’s 100,000 people in Lawrence and it’s the university that really makes this town go. And the passion for this place; I’ve met people who have retired to move back here, because it makes them feel young and it feels like a real home. It’s the arts, theatres, all the things you get on a real good college campus that embraces youthfulness and has a great proximity to Kansas City. It’s pretty neat.”

Bringing The College Town Environment To The UK Capital

Sometimes it’s easy to look at college football and think that it’s outgrown the academic side of higher education in America. The sheer amount of money involved, the impact it has on the lives of those within it – it’s almost as if the tail is wagging the dog, and somewhere it has been forgotten what the real purpose of attending a university is for. But in reality, football can be a catalyst for good; most schools’ football programs fully fund every other sport they offer, and as Coach Leipold explains they can actually help improve the appeal and prestige of the institution:

 “College athletics drives enrollment. Graduates identify the school they went to, and go to the office and brag about their football and basketball teams when they’re doing well. You can go get the exact data, and there’s multiple factors that affect enrollment of course that this data will show. But when our basketball team won the National Championship in 2022, applications to our university went up something like eight percent. When ESPN brought College Gameday to this campus for the very first time, applications went up like twenty-two percent. And we had businesses on Mass Street tell us they had their best September in their history when we got off to hot starts in 2022 and 2023. The impact of college sports in towns like these is significant.”

Internally, football programs have become not just a valued contributor to schools in America; if you want to keep up, they’re a necessity. And when you appreciate what it does to the town or city around them, the impact of what some consider to be ‘just a game’ is quite astonishing. The essence of this sport being at the heart of these communities is what the Union Jack Classic is attempting to capture and deliver to London next season.

Breaking New Ground

Often, when NFL teams come to London, it feels like they’re being strong-armed to do so by a league desperate to open more markets and chase every last dollar they can find. But there’s a different attitude from college football when it comes to the conference who has bought into this opportunity and the two programs chosen to represent them. Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark has not been shy in exploring ways to further his league’s cause, and was confident he would have a school willing to move a home game to Wembley…

Lance Leipold has long been an advocate of playing outside of the States, and I was keen to know why an occasion like this was viewed as a positive rather than an inconvenience:

“I’ve always been kinda into that world of doing something different. I’ve had some experiences with this game of going outside the country and I want more – as a graduate assistant with Wisconsin we played in Tokyo, Japan, moved a game there. I look back at that life experience and how incredible that was, and I want that for my players. When I was head coach at the University of Buffalo we played in the Bahamas Bowl; I just think any time you have a chance to try or experience something new you should grab it.”

So how have the players reacted to the news? As Leipold explains, the nature of the sport, coupled with a more transient environment thanks to the transfer portal, means his current team will likely look a lot different in ten months’ time:

“With the way college football is today, the fluidity of the roster, some guys will still be here, others not – we’ve not dove in completely with the players about this opportunity. We probably will do in January when we have an idea of our team so to speak, but it will be focused on an education for them; the history of Wembley Stadium, what it’s like and what it is. And really have them embrace all that. Because with the benefit of hindsight, what you appreciate at 22 and what you appreciate at 42 is like night and day. And we know that the occasion that we’re building for them, they’ll be telling their children and their children’s children that they were a part of it for many years – especially being the first ones to do it.”

"We Were The First Ones Here"

It’s quite evident that Leipold is a man who is all in. All in on the project he’s undertaking at Kansas, and all in on the Jayhawks’ involvement in the Union Jack Classic next year. As pioneers of the ambitious venture, the interview turns into a two-way conversation; the media learning about KU and their coach, and Leipold unafraid to ask questions about culture and logistics, determined to make the event a success by offering whatever resources he has at his disposal. Commissioner Yormark couldn’t have identified a more invested leader of a football program to entrust with this project.

If this article has the feel of a puff-piece, then it is; as a huge fan of college football, I want the Union Jack Classic to succeed every bit as much as the organisers, the Big 12, and the Kansas Jayhawks. All parties involved are aware of the challenges ahead – this is not a mainstream sport, and as successful as the Dublin game has proven to be, the Aviva Stadium is roughly half the size of Wembley. But there’s a passion in the product and a strong belief that, if they’re able to lead 90,000 people to the water, they won’t be able to stop drinking it. For Leipold, he doesn’t just want to convert people into college football fans – he wants them to adopt the famous Kansas crimson and blue:

“I know Dublin has been of interest to our conference and our program in the past, and when you look at the NFL and the NBA; they wouldn’t keep doing it if they were failing at it. It’s just always intrigued me. I would watch NFL Europe, watch those games in the Spring. This thing is coming; it’s a new way to connect with more people, more markets, and if we do it right it could be something special for years to come. This could be a big deal for our program, and I’m at a stage in my career where, I wouldn’t say it’s a legacy deal – what I’m hoping is that there’s people in London who will come to this and become Jayhawk fans because we were the home team and the first ones there.”

UNION JACK CLASSIC TICKETS ON SALE NOW!

College Football heads to London in 2026! Make sure you get to see the Arizona State Sun Devils take on the Kansas Jayhawks at Wembley Stadium. Book your tickets here:

Mock Draft

SIMON CARROLL

Lead Writer, Head of Content

PREVIOUSLY THE FOUNDER OF NFL DRAFT UK, SIMON HAS BEEN COVERING COLLEGE FOOTBALL AND THE NFL DRAFT SINCE 2009. BASED IN MANCHESTER, SIMON IS ALSO CO-CREATOR & WEEKLY GUEST OF THE COLLAPSING POCKET PODCAST AND COVERS THE JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS FOR SB NATION.

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