Kansas and Stephen F. Austin Cancel Scheduled 2025 Football Game

The Jayhawks will now need to find a new opponent for Aug. 30 of next year.

Kansas football players work on drills during an outdoor practice Thursday, Aug. 15. / © Evert Nelson/The Capital-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Kansas Jayhawks and Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks have mutually agreed to cancel their scheduled football matchup in 2025, a decision first reported by FBSchedules.com. This game, initially slated for August 30, 2025, at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kansas, would have marked the first-ever meeting between the two programs.

The original contract for the game was signed in 2019, with both teams looking forward to the matchup. However, circumstances have changed, leading to the mutual decision to cancel the game. The reasons behind the cancellation haven't been disclosed, but such changes are not uncommon as teams reassess their schedules in the years leading up to a season.

As of now, the Kansas Jayhawks, under the leadership of head coach Lance Leipold, have not announced a replacement opponent for the open date in their 2025 schedule. It is expected that Kansas will seek another lower-level opponent to fill the void, providing a competitive but manageable matchup before they face tougher challenges later in the season.

The Jayhawks are set to kick off the 2025 season at home against the Fresno State Bulldogs on August 23, which falls on Week Zero, offering them an early start to the campaign. The cancellation of the Stephen F. Austin game means Kansas will have a gap in their schedule between the season opener and their next scheduled game, a significant matchup against the up-and-coming Missouri Tigers on September 6. This game will be a renewal of the historic rivalry between Kansas and Missouri, adding extra excitement to the early part of the season.

Kansas' 2025 schedule, now in flux due to the cancellation, still features a mix of non-conference and conference matchups that will test the Jayhawks as they continue their rise in college football under Leipold's guidance. The Jayhawks will be looking to build on recent successes and further establish themselves as a force in the Big 12.

With the Kansas-Stephen F. Austin game off the books, both teams will now focus on finding suitable replacements that align with their competitive goals for the 2025 season.

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