Big Noon Kickoff heads to London for Kansas, Arizona State game
Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff will air from Wembley Stadium before KU meets Arizona State, giving Lawrence another national spotlight and the Jayhawks’ first international football showcase.
Big Noon Kickoff is heading overseas for the first time in its history, putting Kansas football on Fox’s signature pregame stage from Wembley Stadium before the Jayhawks face Arizona State in the Union Jack Classic on Sept. 19. The show will air live from London at 9 a.m. Central, leading into the 11 a.m. Central kickoff on FS1, a timing that turns one game into a national television event with a global backdrop.
For Lawrence, the move says as much about Kansas’ growing brand as it does about the game itself. Fox and the Big 12 are billing the matchup as the first FBS football game ever played in the United Kingdom, and Kansas says it will be the first international game in program history. That puts the Jayhawks in a rare category, one that stretches their profile beyond the Big 12 and into a market where college football usually has little presence.
The stakes for KU are bigger than a one-weekend novelty. A game at Wembley, which opened in 1923 and has hosted Olympic events, a World Cup final, Live Aid and NFL games, gives Kansas a platform that could resonate with recruits, alumni and national television viewers who may not normally see the Jayhawks. It also raises the ceiling on the kind of attention KU can draw on the road, from fan travel and campus chatter to the kind of merchandise and branding interest that follows a program when it breaks into new territory.
Kansas already has a history with Big Noon Kickoff. The show came to Lawrence for the Jayhawks’ 2023 upset of Oklahoma, and this London trip extends that relationship to a much larger stage. Fox Sports said it made the announcement during FIFA World Cup coverage on June 17, underscoring how the network is tying college football to a broader international sports audience.
The Big 12 said its 2026 schedule includes a pair of games in Europe, and the Union Jack Classic lands in Week 3. Kansas opens its 135th season at home against Long Island on Friday, Sept. 4, then heads to London two weeks later for what remains one of the most unusual games in program history. ESPN noted that the only previous college football game in the United Kingdom was Richmond’s 20-17 win over Boston University at Crystal Palace in 1988, which gives this matchup a historical weight beyond the Big 12 standings.
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