KU Jayhawks football has new season opener. It’ll be against a familiar opponent
The Kansas football team has solidified its third — and final — season-opening opponent for the 2020 season.
KU will face Coastal Carolina on Sept. 12, the school announced Friday night.
In essence, the Jayhawks are swapping the final games of their planned two-for-one series against the Chanticleers. KU lost 12-7 at home to Coastal Carolina last season and was scheduled to travel to Conway, S.C. this year before the coronavirus pandemic shuffled plans nationwide.
Now, KU will play Coastal Carolina in Lawrence this season while planning a return trip to Conway in 2021.
The Big 12 announced KU’s conference slate on Wednesday. The Jayhawks will have a week off after the Coastal Carolina game before traveling to Baylor on Sept. 26.
This is KU’s third different opponent for the season’s opening game. The Jayhawks originally were to face New Hampshire before that school announced in mid-July it would not be playing football in 2020.
KU added Southern Illinois as a new Week 0 game after that slated for Aug. 29, but it fell through when the Big 12 decided on a later start date to the football season. Southern Illinois’ website now lists KU as a non-conference opponent in 2024 with a scheduled $500,000 payout from the Jayhawks.
Athletic director Jeff Long said Wednesday that KU still plans to have fans — less than 50% capacity for now — at the team’s first home football game. He said the athletic department would be making presentations to both the university’s COVID-19 strategy team and county officials while hoping to get its blueprint endorsed.
2020 KANSAS JAYHAWKS FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
Sept. 12 — Coastal Carolina
Sept. 26 — at Baylor
Oct. 3 — Oklahoma State
Oct. 17 — at West Virginia
Oct. 24 — at K-State
Oct. 31 — Iowa State
Nov. 7 — at Oklahoma
Nov. 21 — Texas
Nov. 28 — TCU
Dec. 5 — at Texas Tech
