KU Student-Athletes Kick Off 2012 with Barbecue

Aug. 20, 2012

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas student-athletes kicked off the 2012 school year by joining together in a welcome-back barbecue at Memorial Stadium Monday evening. The purpose of the barbecue, which was sponsored by the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), was to give student-athletes a chance to come together as a Jayhawk family, as well as to get acquainted with other student-athletes from different sports.

“This is a lot of fun,” said football senior Toben Opurum. “Guys were starting to get tired of the summer and training camp so it’s nice to get back into school and have all our friends back. I really enjoy seeing all the student-athletes out here and hanging out with everybody and making friends.”

Over 400 KU student-athletes met at the west side of Memorial stadium and were fed a meal of barbeque which gave everyone a chance to reconnect and swap stories after a summer apart.

“This is my fifth one of these and it’s been a lot of fun every year,” said fifth-year cross country senior Donny Wasinger. “It gives us a good chance to get caught up with teammates and friends and gets us into gear for our upcoming seasons.”

While this is one of the biggest events that brings student-athletes together to kick off the school year, squads make it a point to support all Jayhawk sports throughout the year.

“I really like watching all these other student-athletes compete in their sports,” Opurum continued. “I’m excited to see everyone’s seasons kick off.”

With the start of classes Monday and the hopes of promising new seasons, Kansas student-athletes are looking forward to setting new goals and accomplishing outstanding new feats.