Kansas State Wildcats heading to Memphis for Liberty Bowl against Navy
Kansas State’s reward for an 8-4 regular season that featured a victory over playoff-bound Oklahoma is a postseason trip to Memphis, Tenn. for the Liberty Bowl.
The Wildcats will play Navy (9-2) in the game, which is set for a 2:45 p.m. kickoff on Dec. 31 at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.
“We’re thrilled to be playing in such a prestigious game,” K-State football coach Chris Klieman said. “I told the guys about it after our practice today, and they were thrilled to get an opportunity to go to Memphis and play a storied tradition school like the Naval Academy. I have so much respect for Ken (Niumatalolo) and the job he’s done there. We’re thrilled to take our fans and take our football team and try to put up a great showing against a great team.”
The Liberty Bowl usually features a matchup between Big 12 and SEC teams, but this year the game selected Navy as an at-large choice out of the American Athletic Conference with SEC teams heading elsewhere.
K-State and Navy have never played.
This will be K-State’s second appearance in the Liberty Bowl. It last played in Memphis in 2016, losing 45-23 to Arkansas.
Tickets to this year’s game in the official K-State sections can be purchased at the school’s athletic website and via phone at 1-800-221-Cats. All Ahearn Fund members and fans who pre-ordered tickets have been contacted with information regarding their ticket requests. Student tickets will also be made available later this week in-person at the Bramlage Coliseum ticket office.
Bench seating is still available at $85 per ticket, and parking passes are available for just $20 each. Fans are also invited to purchase tickets to the bowl’s pre-game buffet and party next to the stadium for just $40.
“Pre sales have been pretty good. We’ll know a lot more now that our bowl has been announced,” K-State athletic director Gene Taylor said. “I know that the Liberty Bowl was one of our higher pre sales when we put it out. It was one of the top ones. I’m guessing now that our fans know and can start planning ... I think our sales will pick up. I think our fans have been kind of waiting to see where we’re going to be.”
Navy is having a strong season, with its only losses coming against Memphis and Notre Dame. It still has one game remaining on its schedule and K-State players will have the unique opportunity to watch their bowl opponent play a game before they meet in Memphis when Navy takes on Army next weekend.
It came as a mild surprise that the Wildcats dropped to the fourth bowl game in the Big 12’s selection order. K-State seemed to build momentum and boost its bowl stock by finishing the regular season with victories over Texas Tech and Iowa State.
Sunday began with K-State fans hoping for an invitation to the Alamo Bowl against a ranked Pac-12 opponent or the Camping World Bowl against Notre Dame. But the Wildcats were passed over by those postseason games, as well as the Texas Bowl.
It will be interesting to see how much purple follows K-State to Memphis when they were hoping for a more prestigious destination.
Still, the Wildcats will have plenty to play for in the Liberty Bowl. A victory would give them nine victories in Chris Klieman’s first year as coach, matching the team’s highest win total since it went 11-2 in 2012.
This story was originally published December 8, 2019 at 2:42 PM.