The history of GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium playing host to college football games has been more about extended engagements and less about one-offs.
The Kansas Jayhawks played four home games there last season while renovating their own stadium. Five Big 12 Championship games, five Border War showdowns between Missouri and KU and more series and rivalry games speak to the preference of return business at the iconic NFL stadium.
That’s the vision for the next event, which now has a sponsor and name: the Battle Sports Kansas City Classic. Nebraska will meet Cincinnati on Aug. 28 at 8 p.m. in a game broadcast live on ESPN.
“Our hope is annual,” said Chiefs president Mark Donovan. “We sit at the crossroads of the Big 12, Big Ten, SEC, so we think that will create opportunities for matchups that make sense.”
Since opening for business in 1972, Arrowhead has played host to 43 college football games across all levels of the sport. The first was played in the stadium’s inaugural year, when Grambling, coached by legendary Eddie Robinson, beat Mississippi Valley State.
The next game there didn’t happen until 1998, however, when Nebraska defeated Oklahoma State before 79,555 fans. After that, college football became a regular presence at Kansas City’s largest sports venue.
Other teams that have played at Arrowhead in the 2000s include Kansas State, Iowa State, Iowa, Florida State, Oklahoma and Brigham Young.
For the Aug. 28 game, Cincinnati will be the home team. The contest was originally part of a home-and-home series set to begin in 2020, but those plans were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and rescheduled for 2025 and 2033.
Initially the series was to take place at Lucas Oil Field in Indianapolis, home of the NFL’s Colts. But Cincinnati decided to move the game because it can make more money in Kansas City, Bearcats athletic director John Cunningham told The Cincinnati Inquirer.
Title sponsor Battle Sports is a football equipment and athletic apparel brand located in Omaha, Nebraska.