Miami ? For a sports fan about to see his program’s biggest victory in at least 40 years, and perhaps ever, the biggest sin is forgetting the tickets.

By that measure, count Adam Shaull, a Kansas University fan from Hattiesburg, Miss., as a sinner. The 2005 KU graduate left the two Orange Bowl tickets he purchased at home.

So, out of options, he purchased another ticket for both him and his wife, Abby, from a scalper. Small problem: The scalper sold him tickets in the middle of Hokie nation.

“We bought these at the last minute and managed to talk a scalper down to two tickets for $30,” he said.

Dressed in a Todd Reesing jersey, complete with a Trajan No. 5, he stuck out like a blueberry in a bowl of oranges. But it didn’t matter after Kansas beat Virginia Tech on Thursday night.

And the Shaulls weren’t the only ones to find themselves surrounded by the maroon and orange.

Kendall Talley, a KU fan from Kansas City, Mo., just wanted to upgrade the seat he’d purchased from KU. The ticket scalper who sold him the “better” tickets assured him he’d be moving from the upper deck of the KU section into the lower level of the KU section.

Not quite. Hokie maroon was all you could see from his seat.

“We’re winning, though,” he said shortly before half time. “That makes it a lot easier.”

Talley’s friend, Joe Courtright, however, said that they had no regrets about swapping seats. In fact, even if given the chance to swipe a couple of seats in the KU corner, both said they were just fine sitting among the Hokies.

“We have too many new friends from sitting over here to move,” said Courtright, of Little Rock, Ark.

And what about those original tickets, high in the Jayhawk section? Talley traded those for some blue-and-white beads that he and his friends were waving as the Jayhawks built their lead.

A who’s who

Governor? Check. Regents? Check. Chancellor? Check. Deans? Check.

Everybody who was anybody in Kansas or at Kansas University was at the KU Alumni Association’s pep rally on Thursday and they followed up with the Orange Bowl itself. In addition to KU Chancellor Robert Hemenway, KU Endowment Association president Dale Seuferling, KU football great Gayle Sayers, and KU Cancer Center Director Roy Jensen, several professors, other deans and members of the Kansas Board of Regents also made the trip.

For some, however, the journey was a little easier.

Both KU Provost Richard Lariviere and Kansas University Medical Center Executive Vice Chancellor Barbara Atkinson already were in Florida with their spouses vacationing and visiting family, they said.

Hemenway, who spent a lot of the pep rally shaking hands with beaming alumni and posing for pictures with various students and fans, said he was impressed by how well the Orange Bowl committee put together a game.

“From all the planning for the events and the high quality of people that are a part of the game, you can tell this game is a big deal,” Hemenway said. “It’s a great honor to be at a BCS game, but you can really tell how much of a challenge it is to stay at this level.”

After the game, Kansas fans couldn’t stop smiling. That went for the big wigs, too. As they were leaving their suite in Dolphin Stadium, regents Christine Downey-Schmidt, Jill Docking and Janie Perkins had big smiles on their faces. When asked if she’d enjoyed the game, Docking, a KU alumna, had a very simple answer.

“Are you kidding!”

Ham’s in the mail

Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine told Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius “the ham is on its way.”

Kaine and Sebelius had made a friendly wager on the outcome of Thursday night’s Orange Bowl between Kansas University and Virginia Tech.

KU won, 24-21, so Sebelius gets a Virginia ham. Had Virginia Tech won, Sebelius would have sent Kaine some Kansas beef.

Sebelius’ office said Kaine, who grew up in the Kansas City area, called her Friday to congratulate the Jayhawks and inform her of the incoming ham.

“Governor Sebelius said his Kansas values are shining through as he kept his word and followed through on his commitment,” Sebelius spokeswoman Nicole Corcoran said.