It’s a cram session to sell a bundle of football tickets, but Kansas University officials are pleased with their start.

As of Tuesday, the athletic department reported more than 6,000 tickets of its required allotment already had been sold for the Fort Worth Bowl on Dec. 23. As stated in contracts for each of the teams, the Fort Worth Bowl requires each participating school to sell 10,000 tickets through its own athletic department.

“We could get 10 to 12,000 (KU fans),” athletic director Lew Perkins said, “which is really good for a lot of reasons.”

That doesn’t mean that Kansas will sell its full 10,000-ticket quota. Many Jayhawk fans, including those living in the Fort Worth area, will purchase tickets through the Fort Worth Bowl rather than through KU. The Fort Worth Bowl is offering a discount for family packages that isn’t available through either participating school, and the bowl also offers several convenient ways to purchase tickets. Fort Worth Bowl executive director Tom Starr claims that roughly 30,000 tickets have been sold – including the 10,000 allotted to each of the schools.

Houston athletic director Dave Maggard, meanwhile, said Tuesday that about 3,000 of his 10,000 tickets had been bought.

“We want to sell more tickets,” Maggard said. “We’ve still got some time, and our students are in finals. We’re just getting the word out – we’ll sell more.”

Based on the word of Starr and both athletic directors, then, about 19,000 tickets are accounted for so far – not counting the 11,000 the schools still are trying to unload.

KU’s ticket-selling efforts include Perkins offering free tickets to all KU students willing to make the trip to northern Texas for the game. A similar perk was implemented for the 2003 Tangerine Bowl.

If Kansas can’t sell all 10,000 of its tickets, the Big 12 Conference will pay for whatever’s left – just like the seven other bowls in which conference schools are participating.

The Fort Worth Bowl will be played at Amon G. Carter Stadium – home field of TCU – at 7 p.m. on Dec. 23. It will be televised by ESPN.

¢ Local ties show interest: Former KU associate athletic director Jay Hinrichs, now the A.D. at Northern Colorado, currently is looking for a new football coach – and some familiar names have popped up in the search.

According to a report in the Greeley Tribune, former KU football coach Terry Allen and current KU assistant Earnest Collins are among those interested in the UNC opening, which came about after Hinrichs fired Kay Dalton earlier this month.

Allen, an assistant at Iowa State, also is in the running for the Missouri State job. He compiled a 20-33 record in a forgettable five-year stretch in Lawrence from 1997-2001.

Collins, meanwhile, played at Northern Colorado from 1990-94, was an assistant there from 2000-02 and has been a cornerbacks coach at Kansas since 2003.

The coaching search at UNC, an NCAA Division I-AA school, is expected to move swiftly.

¢ QB club meeting: The KU Quarterback Club will have its final meeting of the 2005 season from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday at Alvamar Country Club.

KU coach Mark Mangino will be on hand, and a 2005 highlight tape will be shown, as well as a bowl preview.

Cost is $20, and includes lunch, beverage and dessert. For more information, contact Louise Ecord at 864-3991 or by e-mail at lme@ku.edu.