Kansas and Arizona State play Union Jack Classic at Wembley as college football debuts in London
Kansas and Arizona State met in the Union Jack Classic, the first top-tier college football game staged at Wembley in London, on Saturday.
The event drew a partisan crowd of 46,000 to the stadium and spilled onto Wembley Way, the 500-yard concourse that led to scenes described by the organisers as a tailgate atmosphere. Pundits from Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff Show broadcast live from outside the venue, with Brady Quinn, Mark Ingram II, Matt Leinart and Urban Meyer pictured eating fish and chips in front of a fake Grenadier guard. While 42 NFL games have been staged in the UK capital over the past 19 years, the only previous college game in Britain was in 1988 when Richmond beat Boston University at Crystal Palace.
Tom Jenkins, the photographer on assignment, captured the colour and spectacle as the build-up leaned on American game day traditions and concert-style entertainment. Players emerged through a tunnel of fireworks and Paige Blake performed the US national anthem on an electric guitar, while marching bands, cheerleaders and musical acts supplied sound and colour between plays. Organisers said the production left a visible footprint on the pitch that could complicate preparations for England’s football match with Spain next weekend.
Thomas Hensey, co-founder of the Union Jack Classic, recounted how the idea developed over conversations in Britain and gave figures for the local market in his pitch. “I was over here at the Ted Lasso pub [the Prince’s Head in Richmond] with Rob Yowell, who’s one of the other partners, and I said ‘I think it’s time to bring college football here’. “There’s 14 million American football fans in this country and four million of those are what they deem avid. That’s a pretty large crowd. So we asked ourselves: ‘Are we willing to risk everything at our stage in our careers for this?’ And we said: ‘Hell yes, we’re all in!’”
Hensey said Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham was enthusiastic about taking his team overseas. “He’s a real character, a real visionary, and he said ‘I’ll play anyone, anywhere, anytime!’” Hensey also described the event’s blueprint as “to take some of the best traditional game day dynamics – the marching bands, the cheerleaders – and then add a bit of rock and roll, a little country, a little hip hop, and turn it into a concert with an American football game stuck in the middle of it.”
On the field, Arizona State won 24-17 after a contest that lasted more than three hours and 30 minutes, a margin that organisers nevertheless described as comfortable. Jaren Hamilton’s 100-yard kick-off return shifted momentum in Arizona State’s favour around the midway point of the game. Winning coach Kenny Dillingham was photographed talking to the media with his three-year-old son Kent on his shoulders, and Arizona State players celebrated on the pitch with their mascot Sparky and the trophy.
Several players described the trip as a rare overseas experience, with the majority reportedly not owning passports before the trip. Kansas linebacker Trey Latham said: “There’s a lot more grit and hunger in college football than in the NFL,” and added: “College football teams go at it neck and neck. NFL players know they’re already fed, but we’re trying to feed our loved ones. There are scouts watching and people are desperate [to make it].” Kansas cornerback Jalen Todd said: “This was my first time going out of the United States. Being from Detroit, I never expected to be playing football in the UK. Wembley is iconic.”
Both teams spent time sightseeing in London, including a boat trip along the Thames and climbing Tower Bridge, the landmark that appears on the Union Jack Classic winner’s trophy; Arizona State players were photographed posing above the glass walkway after a trip from Putney Pier. Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said the event “exceeded” his expectations even though the crowd fell short of the organisers’ 60,000 target, and Hensey said he is aiming for a sold-out stadium when the event returns with two new teams next year. Hensey added: “I personally think college football is on the cusp of what the NFL was 20, 30 years ago, and it’s about to go global.”
Dillingham emphasised the cultural effect on his squad, saying: “We had multiple players say ‘I love this place, London is awesome, I want to come back and spend summer or Christmas out here.’ It’s an experience that I think everybody will remember for the rest of their lives.” Hensey has confirmed plans to return next year with two different teams and a target of filling Wembley.