Officials expect thousands of Kansas fans

By week’s end, Fort Worth is going to look a lot like game-day Lawrence.

“I think we’ll have 10,000 people down there,” predicted Jim Marchiony, associate athletic director at Kansas University.

Most are sure to be decked out in their finest crimson and blue. They’ll be there for the Jayhawks’ football game Friday against the Houston Cougars in the Fort Worth Bowl. The stadium seats 44,000.

“It’s hard to predict how many will be there,” Marchiony said, “because so many people bought their tickets from the bowl itself.”

The KU athletic department has chartered a 172-passenger flight for donors who’ve contributed more than $25,000 in the past year.

“It’s their reward for being in the Champions Club,” Marchiony said, referring to the high-end bracket of the department’s Williams Educational Fund.

A few staff members would be on the flight as well, he said.

Because Fort Worth is less than a day’s drive from Lawrence, the athletic department did not market a game-day travel package for fans. Flights between Kansas City, Mo., and Dallas also are plentiful.

“You could get a round-trip ticket for $200,” Marchiony said.

KU Alumni Association didn’t put together a package either.

“We try to stay out of the travel business,” said Danny Lewis, programs coordinator at the alumni association.

At Travellers Inc., 831 Mass., president Walt Houk said the company had a “good response” from customers looking for help in booking flights or reserving rooms.

“It was mostly on an individual basis,” Houk said. “As close as (Fort Worth) is, I suspect a lot of people will just drive.”

Brad Korell expects more than 10,000 KU fans to converge on Fort Worth.

“We have 6,000 alumni in the Dallas-Fort Worth area,” said Korell, head of the alumni association’s Dallas-Fort Worth Chapter.

“We’re a young chapter,” he said. “A majority of our members graduated (from KU) within the last 10 years. The turnout should be very good.”

Korell, 33, said thousands of Texas-based KU alumni were expected to drive to Fort Worth from “nearby” Austin, Houston and San Antonio.

“Houston and San Antonio are about four and a half hours away, Austin is about three,” he said. “In this state, that’s definitely a short drive.”

More than 12,000 KU alumni live in Texas, Korell said.