In the era of collegiate athletics, money is almost everything, either from boosters, or via sponsorship or television deals, whether you like it or not. How you deal with massive cash flows for both football and basketball programs is the biggest litmus test to how universities are handling the dollars involved.
For Kansas, the historical tradition has been basketball first. There has been the odd year when Kansas football has soared pass expectations, but the Jayhawks will always have an unshakable "basketball first" imaginary tag assigned to their name. Yet, Kansas is pushing to even the score between football and basketball.
Two days ago, Kansas received a special gift thanks to a former graduate.
Per the Kansas athletics website
"Just days before the Kansas Jayhawks football season kickoff against Fresno State on Aug. 23, the University of Kansas announced an unprecedented gift from alumnus David G. Booth of Austin, Texas. The extraordinary gift, amounting to approximately $300 million, is the largest in Kansas Athletics and University of Kansas history, and is among the largest single gifts in the history of college athletics."
This sent shockwaves through the nation.
So much so that on Pat McAfee's show 'The Pat McAfee Show,' ESPN insider Pete Thamel spoke about the recent changes that extend before Booth's donation.
A shift like no other 📈@PeteThamel on Kansas Football’s rise under Travis Goff — this morning on the @PatMcAfeeShow 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/AjAUihPY9R
— Kansas Football (@KU_Football) August 15, 2025
The pasted quote reads "I Don't think I've ever seen a school shift like Kansas has and go so hardcore in investing in football as it has in the past 4–5 years under Travis Goff"
Booth provided a foundational gift of $50 million in 2017 to kick off renovations at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, which was named for him in 2018. Booth has also $300 million to the University of Chicago School of Business, where Booth earned his MBA.
Towards the end of Thamel's quote, he noted "You can't give Kansas administrators enough [credit] getting there a few years ago, realizing 'if we don't have vibrant big-time football our whole athletics program could get left behind'"