Kansas Football Rallies set for Wichita, Topeka

Kansas Head Football Coach Turner Gill, along with former KU great Gale Sayers and Kansas Director of Athletics Sheahon Zenger will all speak at the Kansas Football Kickoff Rallies next week in Topeka and Wichita.

July 20, 2011

LAWRENCE, Kan. -

KU football coach Turner Gill, KU Hall-of-Famer Gale Sayers and KU Athletics Director Sheahon Zenger will headline the 2011 Kansas Football Kickoff Rallies in Wichita and Topeka next week. The annual events are a collaboration between Kansas Athletics and the KU Alumni Association, who have partnered to bring the University of Kansas to Jayhawk fans across Kansas.

The rally in Wichita will take place Thursday, July 28, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Larry Buds, 2120 North Woodlawn Street. KU Alumni Association President Kevin Corbett and others from his staff will be there, as well as staff from the KU Endowment Association and Kansas Athletics’ Williams Education Fund.

More information on the event may be found by visiting the Wichita KU Alumni Chapter page at www.kualumni.org/wichitakansasjayhawks.

On Sunday, July 31, beginning at 5:30 p.m., the rally will be held at the Fairlawn Mall, 2114 SW Chelsea. For more information on the event, please visit topekajayhawkclub.org.

All Jayhawk alumni, fans and friends are invited to the event. Fans can pick up 2011 commemorative football items, and have a chance to win autographed merchandise and Jayhawk apparel.

"The KU Alumni Association has spent considerable energy building powerful Jayhawk chapters throughout Kansas, the nation and the world,” said Kevin Corbett, president of the KU Alumni Association. “The Kansas Football Kickoff Rallies are yet another example of our unwavering commitment to engage alumni and friends to strengthen the University of Kansas.”

“We have wonderful fans who often travel a great distance to Lawrence to watch games and visit the University,” Zenger said. “These events provide us an opportunity to reach out to those fans and bring the University of Kansas and Kansas Athletics to them.”

Upcoming KU events:

Wichita: Thursday, July 28, 5:30 p.m. Rally at Larry Buds Bar and Grill.
Topeka: Sunday, July 31, 5:30 p.m. Rally at Fairlawn Mall.
Prairie Village: Friday, Aug. 19, 6:30 p.m. Rally at Corinth Square, 83^rd Street and Mission Road.
Lawrence: Saturday, Aug. 20, Family Fun Fest, Memorial Stadium.
Lawrence: Thursday, Sept. 1. Pep rally, outdoor concert follows Turner Gill’s radio show (6 p.m. – 7 p.m., Jayhawk Radio Network) at Salty Iguana, 6^th Street and Wakarusa Drive.