photo by: AP Photo/Charlie Riedel

Kansas head coach Lance Leipold stands with his players before running onto the field before an NCAA college football game against Houston, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo.

The Kansas football team will host Southeast Missouri State during the first week of the 2027 season, according to documents obtained by the Journal-World on Tuesday via a Kansas Open Records Act request.

The game will take place on Sept. 2, 3 or 4, 2027 with KU, as the home team. The Jayhawks will provide a guarantee of $485,000 to SEMO, which plays at the FCS level, for its participation.

The 2027 nonconference schedule may now be complete, with a game on the road at Washington State (in Week 2) and another at home against Louisiana Tech (in Week 3) as part of previously reported home-and-home series with those teams.

The contract to play against SEMO was approved by KU athletic director Travis Goff, Chancellor Douglas Girod and SEMO athletic director Brady Barke last August.

KU was originally going to play against Missouri State (not to be confused with Southeast Missouri State) on this 2027 date, but according to a report by the Springfield News-Leader in October, the schools agreed to cancel that game with no fee as the Bears are moving to the FBS level.

SEMO went 9-4 and lost in the first round of the FCS playoffs in 2024. It is 1-28 in its history against FBS foes after a narrow 23-16 loss to New Mexico State on Aug. 31. The lone victory came by a score of 24-14 against Middle Tennessee State on Sept. 28, 2002. The Redhawks will have another chance at a win to open the 2025 season when they travel to face Arkansas State; in 2026, they have a game set against another Big 12 foe, Iowa State.

KU now has FCS opponents lined up for each of the next five seasons: Wagner (2025), Long Island (2026), SEMO (2027), Lindenwood (2028) and Colgate (2029).

The Jayhawks open the 2025 season at the renovated David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium on Aug. 23 against Fresno State. They’ll play a return date against the Bulldogs in Fresno, California, on Sept. 14, 2030, and then another one in Lawrence on Sept. 13, 2031.