21 August 2023
LAWRENCE (KSNT) – Not everyone is aware what the ‘Memorial’ in KU football’s David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium stands for.
KU’s Chancellor Douglas Girod asked reporters the same question during the announcement of the Gateway Project, the Jayhawks’ $300 million athletics upgrades plan.
The ‘Memorial’ part of the stadium is in memoriam of Jayhawks – 129 of them – that died serving in World War I.
“I’ll tell you that most of our campus doesn’t know that,” Girod said.
Girod says that, while designing this new stadium, the athletics department wants to make certain that a memorial is a focal point.
“We’re actually working with World War I Museum in Kansas City to think about, particularly in the corner of that site, how, in fact, we can elevate that so people are immediately aware that it’s a memorial to the 129 Jayhawks that lost their lives in the first world war,” Girod said.
David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, along with the student union, are memorials for World War I. Though details on what this may look like aren’t released, the Jayhawks want this to be a key part of this new development.
“We think we have an opportunity to really elevate that, and make that front and center as we redesign this,” Girod said. “Right now it’s kind of a hidden secret.”
The Kansas football team will continue to play in Memorial Stadium through renovations, with a new grand opening scheduled for 2025.