LAWRENCE, Kan. – Making their first postseason appearance since the 2008 season, the Kansas Jayhawks have accepted an invitation to play the Arkansas Razorbacks in the 64th AutoZone Liberty Bowl on December 28. The game will take place inside Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium at 4:30 p.m. CT and will air on ESPN.
It will be Kansas’ second appearance in school history at the Liberty Bowl, with the first coming on Dec. 17, 1973, when Kansas fell to NC State, 31-18. Head Coach Lance Leipold has Kansas making its first Bowl appearance since the 2008 Insight Bowl and Kansas’ 13th all-time Bowl appearance. The Jayhawks enter this year’s AutoZone Liberty Bowl with a 6-6 record in Bowl appearances all-time.
Kansas and Arkansas will meet for the third time in their history, with Kansas leading the all-time series at 2-0. The two teams last met in 1906 in Lawrence (37-5), with the first meeting coming in 1905 in Little Rock (6-0).
“Our program is very excited about having the opportunity to play in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl and travel to a great city like Memphis,” Coach Lance Leipold said. “Earning the right to play in such a historic bowl game against a quality opponent is something our players and staff can be very proud of. We are looking forward to the next few weeks of preparation and taking advantage of this valuable time to focus on development and continuing to improve our football team.”
Kansas enters the AutoZone Liberty Bowl at 6-6 on the season, after racing out to a 5-0 start, its best start since 2009. Kansas opened the season with a 56-10 victory over Tennessee Tech, before claiming its first win in program history at West Virginia, 55-42 (OT), on Sept. 10.
The Jayhawks carried their momentum on the road to Houston on Sept. 17, where Kansas defeated the Houston Cougars, 48-30. Kansas returned home for a three-game homestand, defeating Duke (35-27) and Iowa State (14-11), leading to their first AP Top-25 ranking since the 2009 season, ranking No. 19.
With an undefeated Big 12 matchup coming to Lawrence between Kansas and TCU, ESPN’s College GameDay came to David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium for the first time on Oct. 8.
Kansas officially clinched Bowl eligibility with a 37-16 victory over No. 18 Oklahoma State on Nov. 5, marking Kansas’ first win against a ranked opponent since 2010. Kansas enters the AutoZone Liberty Bowl on a three-game slide.
“We’re thrilled to welcome back the Kansas Jayhawks to the AutoZone Liberty Bowl for the first time in nearly 50 years. We’re impressed with the new enthusiasm and excitement around the Kansas Football program created by head coach Lance Leipold and director of athletics Travis Goff,” said Steve Ehrhart, Executive Director of the AutoZone Liberty Bowl. “We fully recognize that Kansas has not participated in a bowl game since 2008 and Jayhawk fans are eager to celebrate their team’s return to the post season and follow them on their bowl trip to Memphis.”
Arkansas enters the AutoZone Liberty Bowl with a 6-6 record, including a 3-5 record in SEC play to rank fifth in the SEC West. The Razorbacks are Bowl Bound for the second-straight season after defeating Penn State, 24-10, in the 2022 Outback Bowl. Arkansas is 15-24-3 in Bowl appearances all-time and are making their sixth appearance in the Liberty Bowl, where they are 2-3 all-time.
Tickets for the AutoZone Liberty Bowl are now available online by clicking here, or by calling the Kansas Athletics Ticket Office at 785-864-3141. Kansas Athletics and the KU Alumni Association are excited to partner with Anthony Travel, an On Location company, to offer Official Kansas Bowl Travel Packages, which are available here. Packages are likely to include hotel accommodations, transportation, admission to official Kansas bowl game events and more. Travel packages will not include tickets. Tickets must be requested separately from the Kansas Athletics Ticket Office. Student ticket information will be available early the week of 12/5.
