Kansas reignites its rivalry with Missouri as Civil War-themed hype video sparks backlash for invoking slavery and calling the Tigers evil in public!
The historic Kansas-Missouri rivalry is back, but a pregame hype video from the Jayhawks has drawn attention for reasons far beyond football.
Kansas released a social media video ahead of its Friday night matchup with the Missouri Tigers that leaned heavily into the bitter history between the neighboring states. The video invoked the Civil War era, slavery and the violent conflict that once defined the Kansas-Missouri border.
The move was intended to reignite the passion surrounding one of college football’s oldest rivalries. Instead, critics argued that Kansas went too far by portraying Missouri as the “evil” side of a historical conflict.
Kansas-Missouri rivalry dates to 1891
The Border War, as the rivalry was traditionally known, dates back to 1891 and has featured more than a century of competition between Kansas and Missouri.
The rivalry’s roots extend beyond sports. During the years leading up to the Civil War, Kansas and Missouri were on opposite sides of the slavery debate, contributing to violent clashes along the border.
The football series itself was later rebranded as the Border Showdown, in part to move away from the imagery associated with armed conflict.
Kansas’ latest promotional effort, however, deliberately returned to that history.
Jayhawks hype video invokes Civil War history
The roughly 90-second video used historical references and imagery to frame the upcoming matchup as a battle between heroes and villains.
Among the figures referenced were abolitionist John Brown and Confederate guerrilla leader William Quantrill. The video also drew on the history surrounding the Lawrence Massacre, a Civil War-era attack that remains a painful part of Kansas history.
The messaging quickly generated online discussion, with critics questioning whether slavery and Civil War violence were appropriate material for promoting a modern college football game.
OutKick writer Austin Perry argued that the Kansas social media campaign went too far, particularly in portraying Missouri as “evil” because the state had been a slave state more than 160 years ago.
Rivalry returns to Kansas after years apart
The renewed controversy comes as the Kansas Jayhawks and Missouri Tigers prepare to resume a rivalry that has been dormant as an annual series for years.
Friday’s matchup in Lawrence represents a significant return for the Border Showdown, giving both fan bases an opportunity to revive one of college football’s most emotionally charged regional rivalries.
That long history gives the matchup plenty of material for promotional campaigns. But the Kansas video demonstrated the risks of relying on some of the rivalry’s darkest chapters to build excitement.
Metro Boomin connection adds another twist
The choice of music for the video also drew criticism.
Kansas used Metro Boomin’s “Superhero (Heroes & Villains)” as the soundtrack. The Atlanta-raised producer has strong ties to St. Louis, Missouri, adding an unexpected connection to the state Kansas was attempting to cast as its historical rival.
The coincidence became another talking point surrounding the video, adding an ironic twist to an already controversial promotional campaign.
Kansas-Missouri rivalry is bigger than football
The controversy illustrates why the Kansas-Missouri matchup has always been different from an ordinary college football game.
The rivalry is rooted in more than wins and losses. Its history reaches back to the political and social conflicts that preceded the Civil War, while generations of fans have continued to pass down the animosity attached to the matchup.
Still, critics of Kansas’ campaign argue that modern players and students should not be personally associated with the actions or beliefs of people who lived more than a century ago.
With the rivalry officially returning to the spotlight, the Jayhawks’ attempt to embrace that history has certainly succeeded in generating attention. Whether it helped Kansas build excitement for the game—or simply crossed a line—has become part of the story surrounding the latest chapter of the Border Showdown.
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