Melissa Colgan grew up in Lawrence, but she didn’t have any trouble turning her back on Kansas University to become a Wildcat a few miles west off Interstate 70.

“I’m a big K-State football fan,” Colgan said. “Everybody (in Lawrence) is like, ‘Don’t you want to cheer for KU’s basketball team?’ I never got into KU basketball. I’m a pretty die-hard K-State fan.”

Colgan, a 2001 graduate of Lawrence High School, is one of about 200 Douglas County natives who attend Kansas State University in Manhattan.

KSU officials will attempt to lure a few more to their university during a recruitment picnic tonight at the Douglas County 4-H Fairgrounds.

Though you might expect the sports rivalries to carry into academics, recruitment officials at KU and KSU insist they have the same approach in their rivals’ hometown as they would anywhere else.

“We want to help get the local high school students exposed to Kansas State,” said Missy Decker Heidrick, KSU associate director of alumni programs. “We want to let people know they can get a great education in their own back yard (at KU) or down the road a few miles (at KSU).”

Pat Bosco, dean of student life at KSU, said alumni played a major role in recruiting. He said there were about 1,400 KSU alumni living in Douglas County.

Tonight’s picnic is similar to about 50 others KSU has throughout the state and a few outside the state, he said.

“We wouldn’t have any idea the specifics or strengths of other schools,” he said. “Our presentation is the same as we give in Hoxie and Hays and Wichita. We’re emphasizing the quality of K-State.”

Colgan, the Lawrence native, said she was hooked on going to college in Manhattan after a visit to the KSU campus.

“It’s a really friendly atmosphere,” she said. “The people at K-State’s campus are really friendly, and they always make eye contact and smile. And if I would’ve stayed at KU, it would’ve been more like going to high school.”

Lisa Pinamonti, director of admissions and scholarships at KU, said her university took a similar approach when recruiting in Manhattan. KU had 183 students from Riley County — home to Manhattan — last fall.

“We feel they just need to be informed about the strengths of KU,” she said. “They probably already realize the strengths of K-State.”

She said KU participated in an unusual recruiting activity every year at Manhattan High School. The high school has a joint presentation between KU and KSU for its seniors in a format similar to a debate.

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“It’s fun,” she said. “It’s an opportunity to promote both schools.”