Kansas football: Why bringing back the Border War is a positive thing

Kansas football and Missouri are set to renew the Border War on the gridiron in a few years, and that’s good news for the Kansas Jayhawks.

The Border War is officially back, but not everyone is on board with reigniting the rivalry. There’s a sect of Kansas Jayhawks fans that don’t want the Tigers on the schedule, and their arguments are understandable. Still, having the Border War back will be a positive for Kansas football.

Per release, the series is set to begin in the 2025 season with games alternating between each schools’ main stadiums, which means no Arrowhead. Choosing to have the games in Lawrence and Columbia was the best choice for fans and the local economies of both towns, so that’s definitely a win for both sides.

Here are the scheduled games:

• September 6, 2025 (Columbia)
• September 12, 2026 (Lawrence)
• September 6, 2031 (Columbia)
• September 12, 2032 (Lawrence)

Of course, when Missouri sold out the Big 12 to become a member of the SEC, that’s when the rivalry was ended. It seems like one of the main reasons fans don’t want to bring back the Border War is to spite the Tigers, saying “they killed the rivalry when they left the conference!” While that’s true, there are some benefits for Kansas football.

The biggest perk for the Jayhawks will be getting another game on the schedule that fans are truly excited about. Remember how much hype was built up when Kansas was set to take on Kansas State at home last season?

All week leading up to the game there was a buzz around campus. There were arguments everywhere on social media, and fans from both schools were all in on the game. Come Saturday, David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium was sold out for the first time in a decade, and students showed up in droves.

Of course, Kansas dropped the ball that game, but the point is that it got fans excited and that’s extremely important given how weak support for Kansas football has been. It’s understandable though, given how futile the program has been, which is another reason for not wanting to play Missouri.

Kansas football fans aren’t delusional about the state of the program, and adding an SEC team to the schedule when you’re just trying to make it to a bowl game seems like the wrong thing to do.

The good news is that since the series isn’t set to begin until 2025, Kansas head coach Les Miles will have quite a bit of time to try and get the program back on the right track. Hopefully, the pair of games in the 2020s will be hard-fought between two teams of equal talent.

While there are some negatives, bringing back the Border War is ultimately a good thing for Kansas football. It adds a meaningful non-conference game to the schedule, it’ll get fans excited, and it brings back one of the oldest rivalries in college athletics.