Outstanding in Their Fields

PUBLISHED NOVEMBER 2024

To understand the sports scene in Kansas, it helps to start with a quick geography lesson. So here it is:

U.S. Highway 81 almost exactly bisects the state’s 105 counties: 50 of them are either west of that vital roadway or are part of its path from Oklahoma to Nebraska, and 55 sit to the west.

Here’s why that’s important: In a state of 2.9 million people, those eastern and central counties have more than 2.5 million residents. Their western neighbors? Not quite 427,000. So, on the math alone, there are nearly five eastern Kansans for every person who lives in the West. 

That has huge implications not only on the types of athletic competitions one can attend as a fan, but on the level of competition. 

So while folks in the Topeka-Kansas City corridor can avail themselves of professional teams (mostly on the Missouri’s side of the border), the pro-choices in Kansas are a tad more limited. But they’re still at a high level. 

For one, Sporting Kansas City, based at Children’s Mercy Park in Wyandotte County, is the region’s Major League Soccer representative. And just across the Village West entertainment district, there sits the Kansas Speedway, home to NASCAR races and other competitions. 

The pro-pipeline ebbs pretty quickly from there, although the Wichita Wind Surge counts as a pro baseball team, albeit at the Double-A level as an affiliate of the Minnesota Twins.

Given all that, perhaps it’s easy to understand why Kansans are such rabid fans of college sports—and above all, college basketball.

That’s where the nation’s eyes turn to the Sunflower State. Think about this: The Kansas Jayhawks won the NCAA Tournament championship in 2022, and the betting odds had them as favorites to bag another in 2025, had not a viral visitor from the Far East disrupted the sports-attendance world that year. Up the road in 2023, Big XII arch-rival Kansas State came within a game of a Final Fourth berth of its own in The Big Dance.

Neither of those achievements is meant to overlook what Wichita State’s Shockers have accomplished on the court, with six NCAA appearances in the past decade alone. Three of those trips went as far as the Sweet 16.

Back at the professional level, Kansas City is well within reach of fans traveling to Arrowhead Stadium to see the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs in action. They’re led by quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who invariably puts on a dazzling athletic performance—in almost every game, he produces a “Did you see that?” play. He’s taken the Chiefs to the Super Bowl four times in five years, winning three of those. And now the team is poised to make NFL history if it can win a third straight Lombardi Trophy.

Also in the northeast are the Kansas City Royals, who, after a decade of Major League Baseball doldrums since their last World Series championship, were finally able to restore October baseball to the region in 2024. 

Baseball is also in swing in Wyandotte County, where the semi-pro Kansas CityMonarchs play in the 4,500-seat Legends Field in Village West.

And, of course, there’s plenty of soccer to go around. Sporting Kansas City and its influence have helped this region claim the title of Soccer Capital of America, securing a 2026 FIFA World Cup host status for Kansas City. 

On top of those achievements, the Kansas City Current opened play this year at CPKC Stadium, the world’s first pro-soccer venue designed and built specifically for women’s play in the National Women’s Soccer League.

There’s no shortage of small-college sports with Division II and III NCAA teams, primarily drawing crowds for football and basketball, and both of those sports stir the passions of fans who follow their high school teams.

As a social construct, the local high school is a gathering spot for hundreds of small communities across the state. So much so that, even in the face of dwindling rural populations, organized football continues. Years ago, declining enrollments introduced eight-man football to the state; as that demographic trend continued, six-man teams have emerged, with high-flying, high-scoring games that will challenge any scorekeeper’s ability to keep up.

Weekend-warrior activities: Across the state, there are boundless opportunities for sports fans to engage their interests. Organized amateur team sports for rugby, softball, and other sports are easily accessible, and for the individual, there’s no shortage of venues for swimming, boating, hunting, fishing, biking, hiking or other outdoor activities.