Planting the BIGXII flag on UK shores
by GEORGE SOMERVILLE
If you are reading this, there is a high chance you watched college football on the DAZN Network over the weekend.
In doing so, you will not have missed the promotion run by the Union Jack Classic played during the commercial breaks. And while you were likely sleep deprived at that point, you were not delirious in thinking that college football is coming to the UK next year!
Yes, college football fans of the United Kingdom and beyond. College football – the beautiful game – will be played on these shores next year.
On September 19th 2026, the inaugural Union Jack Classic will be played at Wembley Stadium in London between the University of Kansas Jayhawks and the Arizona State University Sun Devils.
This week, BIGXII Commissioner Brett Yormark was in London to see the preparations made at Wembley ahead of the NFL game with the Jags and Rams in town and to speak with the UK media.
The Touchdown was present at Wembley to chat with Commissioner Yormark. You can watch the full interview here.
Tickets for next year’s game are on sale now, and you can buy them directly from Ticketmaster.
A global outreach
During BIGXII Media days back in July, both Yormark and Conference Chief Football & Competition Officer, Scott Draper, talked about taking BIGXII football to a global audience. While the conference had two teams – Kansas State and Iowa State – playing a conference rivalry game in Ireland earlier this year, pushing the boundaries further is important for Yormark. But why is it so important? The beauty of college football is its regional basis, the traditions and the rivalries. This much remains true and is at the epicentre of why the game is so popular. But Yormark is a progressive thinker and has the bigger picture on his mind.
“It’s part of our overall growth strategy” said Yormark about why expanding the brand beyond the continental US is important to him and the conference.
“Going global is a part of that strategy. How do we plant our flag in important markets across the world”across the world”.
Next steps
Yormark has witnessed first-hand the success of the College Football Classic in Ireland and can see the opportunities there are to develop the Conference brand to a broader audience.
“to me this (London) is the next chapter . How do we bring what we experienced in Dublin right here to Wembley” continued the Commissioner.
“There’s a short and a long term strategy to our international growth. First and foremost how do we provide great experiences to our student athletes. There’s also the opportunity to drive enrolment to our member institutions, recruitment for our Olympic sports and obviously raise the global profile of our conference” said Yormark, who has experience of marketing other sports, notably basketball overseas”.
“Long term, it’s how do we monetise – candidly – our international TV rights ” he said with some inevitability.
We know driving revenue for conferences and schools has never been more important, so it’s no surprise that money is mentioned at some point as a driver. However, the Conference has not lost sight of the fact that ultimately it’s in the entertainment business.
“But most importantly we want to bring a great event to the market here” continued the Commissioner. “I’ve experienced the fanbase here in England. They love American Sports and College football is the #2 sport in America”.
Rock Chalk Wembley Style
Why London and why Kansas and Arizona State?
I was one of the fortunate few to speak with Yormark on the Wembley field, and the Commissioner couldn’t mask his excitement to be standing on the hallowed Wembley turf.
“this is an historic venue that has hosted some of the biggest global events in the world and to think that on September 19th we’re going to bring two of our conference members to play college football here is just an amazing accomplishment. We are really excited”.
Last year, as a guest on the College Chaps podcast, Kansas head coach Lance Leipold discussed his burning desire to take his team across the pond and play football in London.
“I’ve expressed my desire as a Head Coach to our administrators to get the chance” Leipold told the Chaps.
“Back when I was a graduate assistant at Wisconsin we played a game in Tokyo, Japan. I still believe in the cultural experience for our young men. If you look at what the NFL keeps doing, starting games in London and keep branching out I think college football, the way we are evolving to that model, it’s a great time for a place like Kansas to explore this even further”.
Yormark made reference to Leipold’s vision when we talked on the Wembley turf.
“Many of our schools raised their hand when we said we were going to go global. But Kansas had an opportunity to move a home game here to Wembley – they are very ambitious as an institution. They have a head football coach who truly wants to globalise his program and coming to Wembley and England is a first step for them as well”.
And the news for UK fans is good. The BIGXII doesn’t want to stop at one game. The Conference intends to build a base here and has identified the Jacksonville Jaguars’ model of creating an overseas fanbase as one to use as a template. Yormark added,
“Many of our schools want to follow in their footsteps. This is not a one shot deal for us. We want to continue to build equity here. No different to what the (Jacksonvile) Jaguars do. Our ambitions is to be here annually with a BIGXII conference game”.
A Cultural Experience
If you haven’t been to a college football game in the US, you might be wondering what the comparisons are to an NFL game. Yormark was more than happy to outline what fans in London next year will experience.
“we bring a cultural experience” Yormark told me. “great pageantry, the school band, the dance team….rituals – all of that will unfold here. We are going to bring the best of College football to Wembley, that’s our goal, that’s our ambition and we’re excited to do that”.
Union Jack Classic CEO, Brian Dubiski, who was also at Wembley, said that they would look to recreate the tailgating environment, which is synonymous with American football in general but is central to the college football experience. It’s also frankly one part of the gameday experience which the NFL has not successfully replicated on UK shores.
All of which is hugely exciting for the fan base in the UK, who will get to experience something close to what happens in Lawrence, KS, and Tempe, AZ.
In Ireland, for the College Football Classic, there are events in the week leading up to the game, such as pep rallies and school bands playing across the city. But the introduction of tailgating would take the event to a different level, and one which fans who travel to London are sure to want to indulge in!
The details
With Yormark and his team over this week to talk about the game, it feels like this is the start of the build-up to the inaugural Union Jack Classic next season. Meaning no doubt there will be more details to come.
Here are the details as they currently stand.
What: The Union Jack Classic
Who: BIGXII football match-up between The University of Kansas Jayhawks and The Arizona State University Sun Devils
Where: Wembley Stadium, London
When: College football schedule, Week 3 – Saturday, 19th September
Tickets: Available now from Ticketmaster (and other outlets): Here
GEORGE SOMERVILLE
COLLEGE FOOTBALL WRITER
GEORGE IS A LONG STANDING FANATIC OF LIFE AND FOOTBALL IN THE DEEP SOUTH AND WRITES HIS WEEKLY COLUMN CALLED “IT’S ONLY SEC” FOR THE TOUCHDOWN. HE IS ALSO CO-HOST AND ONE THIRD OF THE COLLEGE CHAPS PODCAST, THE UK’S FIRST PODCAST DEDICATED TO THE COLLEGE GAME.