Failure to host regional championship draws disappointment on and off campus
By Mitchell Smedley
The KU football team scored an amazing come-from-behind win over Charleston (W. Va.) last weekend to secure a spot in the regional finals. Unfortunately, this weekend’s exciting rematch with Slippery Rock (Pa.) has been overshadowed on KU’s campus and the surrounding area because Golden Bears will not be hosting the game, even though KU is ranked a spot higher than Slippery Rock.
That means the game should have been hosted at Andre Reed Stadium, but the failure of KU to submit a bid back in late October resulted in Slippery Rock having home field advantage, leaving the KU football faithful extremely disappointed.
Golden Bear Athletics broke the news to fans on Instagram on the afternoon of Sunday, Nov. 26.
Fans were understandably upset following this announcement with many fans questioning why KU Athletics would not submit a bid for the playoff game.
I reached out to KU’s Director of Communications, Bryan Salvadore, and asked exactly what the bid process looked like. He described it basically as “a combination of NCAA paperwork and securing hotel reservations.”
In my view, this indicates financial considerations did not hold the University back, and that it was simply time the university wasn’t willing to put in. Salvadore continued by acknowledging that “we know the investment in time to submit bids would have been well worth the return in hosting a major university event.”
Unfortunately, players, fans, and the university itself will lose out on this opportunity as a result of an inability to follow through on paperwork.
When asked why the paperwork wasn’t completed, Salvadore said, “With bids for each round due in October, we needed a minor miracle to be in this position. But that is why you play the games and Coach Clemens has taught us to never count our Golden Bears out.”
Well, the “minor miracle” occurred with the Golden Bears dominating both Slippery Rock and Virginia Union, winning both games by 24 points. They followed those games up with a dramatic comeback against Charleston.
The Golden Bears have asserted themselves as a force in Super Region One.
And yet here we are, faced with an away game when it should have been a home game.
The University is hosting a bus trip to Slippery Rock and a “watch party” at McFarland Student Union on Saturday, but it’s just not the same. And while fans should participate and support the team, it doesn’t take the place of an actual football game on a Saturday afternoon at Andre Reed Stadium.
In closing, Salvadore said, “We share in our campus community’s disappointment and sadness that we will not be hosting our second ever football game in December.”
Agreed.
Hopefully, this embarrassing situation—combined with the long trip—doesn’t distract Jim Clemens and the Golden Bears from the task at hand. They’ve had an amazing year and here’s hoping that they’re able to turn this letdown into elation and excitement with a win over Slippery Rock, which would propel them into the national semifinals.