Kansas football: The story behind “The Booth” and its place in Jayhawk lore

When a podcast trio decided to try and give David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium a fresh nickname, they weren’t sure whether or not it would catch on. In what has become nothing short of a phenomenon, “The Booth” has taken on a life of its own.

The Big House, Death Valley, The Swamp, and now, The Booth. This season has been full of change for Kansas football; a new coach, newfound confidence, and now a new stadium nickname. But, when did The Booth start gaining traction, and where did it originate from?

“Producer AB brought up calling it The Booth in our group chat” – Ryan Rinehart

The story of The Booth can be traced back to the hosts from one of the fastest-growing Kansas Jayhawks sports shows: The Ain’t No Seats Podcast. Show co-hosts Braiden Turner and Ryan Rinehart credit producer Anthony Bax (AB) with coining the name. Once The Booth was born, it began its slow rise to relevancy.

As the hype surrounding Les Miles and the football season began to build, so did the popularity of “The Booth.” Still, the name wasn’t quite mainstream yet and it was mostly only used on Twitter and by the podcast itself.

On August 24, that all changed. The Booth took its first big step in joining the lexicon of Kansas football when athletic director Jeff Long  got in on the movement:

After the endorsement of Jeff Long, The Booth officially transcended the fans and became widespread in all facets of the Kansas football program. From Les Miles and Jeff Long to Kyle Mayberry and others, The Booth has become the official nickname of the stadium.

Still, “The Booth” has its critics. A minority of Kansas fans on various social media outlets have expressed their distaste for the nickname, calling it disrespectful to the WWI soldiers of which the stadium is a memorial to.

While it may be a concern to some, the Ain’t No Seats crew has made it clear that the stadium is still the David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, and that the nickname is an attempt to give some life to a football program that’s been dead for the past decade.

Whether you like it or not, The Booth is here to stay. If you don’t believe that, go ahead and search #TheBooth on Twitter, and scroll through the long feed of tweets from Kansas football players, coaches, fans, and verified accounts.

What began as something confined to a few, has ballooned into its own following. The Booth may join “waving the wheat” and the “rock chalk” chant as one of the great traditions at the University of Kansas, and its thanks to three guys and a podcast.