Anderson Family Football Complex

Kansas Jayhawks

Construction of the Anderson Family Football Complex at Kivisto Field was completed in July 2008 and is now the headquarters of Kansas Football. The much-anticipated facility is adjacent to Memorial Stadium and does not interfere with the KU graduation tradition of walking down Campanile Hill to the stadium. The building includes offices, academic areas, a weight room, locker rooms, an audio-visual room, meeting rooms, a cardio room, a hydro-therapy room, a nutrition area and a display area.

The stand-alone, 80,000 square-foot facility is the state-of-the-art centerpiece of a $33 million project, which also includes two practice fields and additional parking. The football facility consists of two levels, with only the upper level above ground. The lower, underground level houses the football training area and weight room, locker rooms, and related facilities. The upper level houses coaches and athletics administrative offices and academic support services.

The two 100-yard practice fields are located southeast of the stadium, between the Anderson Family Football Complex building and the Kansas Union.

Kansas Jayhawks

HNTB Architecture of Kansas City, Missouri, produced the architectural program outlining space needs and estimated costs, approved by the Regents and the Legislature’s Joint Committee for Building Construction. HNTB worked closely with the university building committee to develop and select the design and site for the project. Turner Construction Company of Kansas City, Missouri, was the General Contractor that constructed the building, practice fields and modified the site to fit such facilities.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the Anderson Family Football Complex at Kivisto Field was held October 6, 2006, at Memorial Stadium. The following day, during halftime of the KU-Texas A&M football game, the field in Memorial Stadium was named Kivisto Field.

Design work on the parking expansion was completed by December 2006, and construction began in spring 2007. Work on the practice fields and football facility started in spring 2007 and was completed in summer 2008.

Kansas Jayhawks

Funding for the $33-million Anderson Family Football Complex was provided largely through the generosity of two University of Kansas alumni families – the Kivistos (former men’s basketball team captain Tom Kivisto and his wife Julie), and the Andersons (Dana, Sue, Justin and Jean) – as well as several other families, including Charles and Sharon Lynch Kimbell (Hutchinson, Kansas), Frank Sabatini and family (Topeka, Kansas), and Ken Wagnon (Wichita, Kansas).

A native of the Chicago area, Kivisto was a three-year starter for KU’s basketball team (1971-72 through 1973-74), and averaged 7.6 points-per-game for the Jayhawks’ 1974 Final Four team. He earned academic All-American, All-Big Eight and academic All-Big Eight honors at KU, and is a member of the Illinois Basketball Hall of Fame. He earned a bachelor’s degree from KU, majoring in pre-med and psychology. His master’s work, also at KU, was in urban planning.

Kansas alumni Dana and Sue Anderson have been consistent supporters of the advancement of Kansas Athletics. Their generous contributions have enhanced and upgraded many KU facilities that have, in turn, positively impacted the lives of thousands of KU student-athletes.

In 1996, the Anderson family pledged $10.5 million, most of which established the Anderson Family Athletics Building Fund. In August 2001, the Anderson family pledged $8 million toward the Anderson Family Strength and Conditioning Center, a 25,000-square-foot facility that opened in 2003. In February 2006, the Andersons pledged $12 million toward the Anderson Family Football Complex. The family’s contributions have benefited the Wagnon Student-Athlete Center and Hoglund Ballpark, as well as the volleyball, basketball and rowing teams. The Anderson’s generosity also has benefited the KU Libraries’ Kansas Collection and the KU School of Business.

Dana is vice chairman of Macerich Co., where he has worked since 1966. At KU, he has served on the boards of Kansas Athletics, Inc., the Endowment Association, the Alumni Association, the School of Business and KU Libraries, and has helped strengthen numerous projects on campus.

A KU building committee worked with HNTB Architecture on the football facility building design. Members of the football facility building committee were Warren Corman, University Architect; Jim Modig, Director, KU Design Construction and Management; Mark Reiske, Associate Director, Design Construction and Management; Sean Lester, Associate Athletics Director for Internal Affairs; Brad Nachtigal, Assistant Athletics Director for Facilities Planning; Bill Dickerson, Assistant Athletics Director for Operations and Events; George Matsakis, Director, Football Operations; and architects from HNTB, led by KU alumni Marty Haynes, Gerardo Prado and Phil Dougherty.