How Nebraska, Cincinnati & the Chiefs brought college football back to Arrowhead
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- Nebraska and Cincinnati drew a packed crowd to Arrowhead Stadium for Week 1.
- Cincinnati could earn up to $6 million after moving its home game to Kansas City.
- Chiefs leadership aims to host annual high-profile college games at Arrowhead.
The parking lot was jammed with tailgaters and a sea of red filled GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. But the Chiefs weren’t playing.
Nebraska, whose fans were responsible for most of the traffic that jammed the southbound lanes on Interstate 29 on Thursday afternoon, held on for a 20-17 victory over Cincinnati in a Week 1 contest before 72,884 fans.
Both teams wear red, and this was the Bearcats’ home game. But the “Go Big Red” chants were an unmistakable reminder of the school that turned this into a Chiefs-like atmosphere.
The game originally was scheduled to be played in Cincinnati’s stadium, then at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. But the promise of a bigger crowd and payday persuaded the Bearcats to relocate and play before famed alum brothers Travis and Jason Kelce.
Also in the house, Travis Kelce’s fiancee and Arrowhead regular: superstar singer Taylor Swift.
How big of a payday? The Cincinnati Enquirer reported the school could realize as much as $6 million in guarantees and ticket sales.
Also taking in the game were Chiefs teammates Patrick Mahomes (and wife Brittany), several teammates and assistant coach Dave Merritt, whose son Dawson is a freshman linebacker for the Cornhuskers.
If Chiefs president Mark Donovan has his way, similar collegiate scenes will play out annually in Kansas City.
“You’ve got this venue, at a crossroads of the Big Ten, the SEC and Big 12,” Donovan said. “With this game, it was available, so we went after it.”
Donovan is right about the location. The schools closest to Kansas City — Missouri in the SEC, Kansas State and Kansas in the Big 12, and Nebraska in the Big Ten — were once part of the Big 12. But membership in different leagues increases the possibility of non-conference games here.
Add Arkansas, Iowa State and Iowa to the mix of possible anchors and the game, dubbed the Battle Sports Classic after the sports equipment and apparel company, would seem to have regional inventory ... for the right price.
All of those schools have played at least one game at Arrowhead since Nebraska met Oklahoma State in 1998 in the first major college game in the stadium that opened a quarter-century earlier. It had been the vision of Chiefs founder Lamar Hunt to bring college games to Kansas City, and once it started, Arrowhead became something of a hub.
From 1998 until last year, when Kansas played four home games at Arrowhead while renovating its stadium, 23 major colleges contests were played here, including five Big 12 Championship Games. And more than 40 in all, including Division II and small college games.
Neutral field games make sense for the same reason they always have: additional revenue. That’s never seemed more important than in the era of revenue sharing — schools can pay their athletes up to $20.5 million starting this year — while name, image and likeness gets sorted out.
“I think the appeal for this game is the changing world of college athletics,” Donovan said. “Conference realignment happens, NIL happens. It creates opportunities. We think we can provide a venue that helps accomplish those goals.”
If this becomes an annual event, the Chiefs and Battle Sports would be hard-pressed to find a better school to kick it off than Nebraska. In addition to filling the stadium, eight high school players from the metro area are suited up on the roster, including three from Lee’s Summit North — Missouri transfer Williams Nwaneri, defensive back Jamir Conn and running back Isaiah Mozee.
Not to mention Huskers quarterback Dylan Raiola, who wears No. 15 and has styled his hair like Mahomes.
“Arrowhead’s been described as the perfect combination of professional and college sports,” Donovan said. “I’m biased, but there’s nothing else like it.”
This story was originally published August 29, 2025 at 6:00 AM.