Greg Faltermeier shops for his dad, Bill, for Father's Day gifts Thursday at Weaver's, 901 Mass. The department store hopes to buck the national consumer spending trend with Father's Day sales figures on par with previous years.

Spending on ties, golf clubs and other gifts for dad this Father’s Day is taking a back seat to rising expenses for fuel and groceries, according to a survey from the National Retail Federation.

But this week Mario Chalmers, Bill Self and the rest of the NCAA champion Kansas Jayhawks just might help retailers pull out another improbable victory, this time over the forces of economic downturn.

“The last two months have been so good because of KU winning the national championship. We think Father’s Day will at least be as good as ’07,” said Joe Flannery, president of Weaver’s Department Store, 901 Mass. “Whenever people feel good about themselves or their community, they tend to be more optimistic. This will hang around for the rest of the year.

“I think people will feel good about this for a long time.”

Then again, Flannery and others aren’t expecting an onslaught of tens of thousands of out-of-town shoppers rushing into Lawrence to celebrate, as visitors did following KU’s tournament run and ultimate overtime victory over Memphis.

Instead, business owners and managers are hoping that families and friends of fathers simply will buck a national trend and reach a little deeper into their wallets for gifts, entertainment and other sentiments in preparation for Sunday.

The retail federation’s survey forecasts Father’s Day spending as reaching $9.6 billion nationwide this year, down from $9.9 billion a year ago. Average consumer spending for the holiday is projected at $94.54, down from $98.34 last year.

Among gift categories expected to take the biggest hit: sporting goods and leisure items, with consumer spending expected to drop by 15 percent.

“When it comes to dad, a simple greeting card and family dinner really goes a long way,” said Tracy Mullin, the federation’s president and chief executive officer. “Unfortunately, consumers are torn between their love for dad and their need for gas this year.”

But Kyle Taylor, owner of Golf USA in Lawrence, is counting on his Father’s Day sales to be the same or even up from a year ago. If anything, he said, rising fuel prices are forcing people to cut back on long trips, leaving plenty of dads searching for something to do – golf – close to home.

Then there’s the KU factor. Taylor boosted his orders of KU logo merchandise by 25 percent in preparation for Father’s Day, and he’s already moved plenty of the additional Jayhawk headcovers, divot-repair tools, bags, shirts, hats, balls, bag tags and other items.

With KU football winning the Orange Bowl, and KU basketball winning the national title, Taylor’s Golf USA shop now is posting red numbers – the good kind – for sales of crimson-and-blue goods.

“We’ve had phone calls from people out of town requesting Jayhawk stuff,” he said, noting that sales continue picking up leading into the weekend. “We’ve been slammed.”