photo by: Chris Conde

Chloe Hicks, center, said on Wednesday that she would spend about two hours a day "camping" for KU-Mizzou seats, and Emily Swinson, right, said she would spend about five hours through the week at Allen Fieldhouse.

Hundreds of KU students — some draped in blankets and donning slippers — have been taking shifts “camping” all week in the halls of Allen Fieldhouse in anticipation of Saturday’s Border Showdown between KU and Missouri. Their goal: to snag the best seats for the basketball game between two rivals who haven’t played each other since the 2011-2012 season — when most of the campers were in elementary school.

As of Wednesday, ninety-four camping teams with up to 30 members have had representatives on standby from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. to answer a roll call that will determine student seating during Saturday’s game. A lottery took place early Monday morning to determine the initial order of teams; those who fail to answer the roll call during the week lose their place in line to get into the game.

photo by: Matt Tait

KU freshmen Chris Anderson, from right, of St. Louis, Ben Waugh, of Council Bluffs, Iowa, and Alex Loeffelman, of St. Louis, brought a few creature comforts to Allen Fieldhouse for their KU-Mizzou “camping,” including a couch and an X-Box.

“Everyone is kind of here just to actually get to see the game rather than just sit in the student section,” student Emma Lionette said.

Lionette said her team has advanced since the lottery started from number 55 in line on Monday to 45 on Wednesday.

“This is my first day camping, but I’ve been here for three hours,” Lionette said. “We have a whole Google sheet of times and who is going to be camping and how long.”

photo by: Chris Conde

“I feel like the season is actually starting now,” said Joey Meyer, right, of Saturday’s KU-Mizzou game. He said on Wednesday that he would spend an hour each day camping for seats and he had yet to hear a roll call on his shift on at Allen Fieldhouse.

Not every team had a full roster for the initial lottery, said student Andrew Klimiuk of the Kap Sig team.

“Not all of our guys showed up to the lottery, but some of them are still going to camp anyway, so that helps everyone else,” Klimiuk said.

A handful of his team overslept for the 6 a.m. lottery on Monday, costing them a few chances in the lottery for better placement, but they had already advanced four slots from 48 to 44, Klimiuk said Wednesday.

The Kap Sig team has one of the less colorful camping team names. The 94 teams have names like “The Phog Machine, “Bill’s Bestie Boos” and “Mizzou fans don’t wash their hands” — plus a long list of names not fit to print, according to a roster from KU Basketball Camping.

photo by: Chris Conde

Caden Simmons, left, texts his teammates on the Hawkettes about the free T-shirts and food he just received while “camping” for KU-Mizzou seats on Wednesday at Allen Fieldhouse.

Caden Simmons is a member of the Hawkettes team, and even at 70th in line for seating, his team has a great chance of getting a good spot, he thought. He said he was present for two roll calls so far this week.

“All of these groups signed up, but a lot of them slip through the sand, a lot of them don’t show up for their shifts, and that’s how they get kicked out. So we’re still going strong,” Simmons said.

Though being on a team can be demanding, students aren’t exactly roughing it; they’re being treated to some free meals and swag from KU Athletics sponsors. Camping at Allen Fieldhouse lasts until 10 p.m. Friday, when the list will be finalized.

photo by: Chris Conde

KU students browse through clothing items that KU Athletics was giving to basketball-seat “campers” on Wednesday at Allen Fieldhouse.

photo by: Chris Conde

Students line the halls at Allen Fieldhouse, “camping” for seats for Saturday’s KU-Mizzou basketball game. By midweek, representatives from 94 camping teams had been at the ready inside Allen Fieldhouse since Monday at 6 a.m.

photo by: Matt Tait

Kansas City freshman Ella Smith catches a nap during her “camping” session for Saturday’s KU-Mizzou game at Allen Fieldhouse.