‘Pretty cool experience’ for K-State football opener might not be one-time thing
When Deuce Vaughn used to close his eyes at night and dream of playing football inside a NFL stadium, he always had one venue in mind.
He pictured himself playing at AT&T Stadium, which is home to the Dallas Cowboys and is located about three hours from where he grew up in Round Rock, Texas. He watched games there as a child and even saw his father once coach on the field during a Cotton Bowl.
One day making a NFL roster and playing in any of their world-class stadiums will be considered a dream come true. But nothing can top playing at the most iconic facility in his home state.
“When I was younger, I thought that this is the stadium I want to play in when I grow up,” Vaughn said. “For that to come to fruition is pretty cool, and I’m super excited to get down there with my teammates.”
Indeed, it will be a fun experience for Vaughn when the Kansas State football team plays Stanford at 11 a.m. on Saturday at AT&T Stadium in the season-opener for both teams. Not only will the sophomore running back get to play inside his dream venue, he will have a personal cheering section of 84 friends and family members in attendance. That number might rival the entire Stanford crowd.
“It’s going to be a pretty cool experience,” Vaughn said.
Crossing state lines to play a “home game” will be something new for everyone involved.
Neutral-field games don’t come along often for K-State in the regular season. The Wildcats haven’t played one since they briefly moved their Farmageddon rivalry with Iowa State to Arrowhead Stadium in 2009 and 2010. They also played California (2003) and Iowa (2000) in Kansas City. And who can forget the time they played Nebraska in Tokyo way back in 1992?
That’s it. That’s the list.
The Wildcats decided to move this game off campus primarily in exchange for a $2.8 million payday from the Dallas Cowboys, a sum that will help K-State financially recover from the money it lost last season while playing in front of sparse crowds during the coronavirus pandemic.
But that’s not the only reason.
“What a great experience for our players to be able to go out and play at AT&T (Stadium) where the Cowboys play,” coach Chris Klieman said. “I thought that was going to be a great experience for our players and for our fan base, and the fact that this is a year where we get the five home games in conference rather than the four. So, with the schedule we had we were able to work this out so that we can still have the seven home games for our great fans.”
Some K-State fans were annoyed when the game was moved away from Manhattan, because it robbed Bill Snyder Family Stadium of a marquee nonconference game.
But K-State players have always seemed thrilled about the location change.
“It excites me tremendously,” cornerback Julius Brents said. “It’s going to be surreal. The jumbotron is tremendous. It’s probably bigger than the field. It’s going to be exciting for me and the whole team.”
“It’s a great way to kick off our season,” Ekow Boye-Doe said. “I have never been to Cowboys Stadium or played in any NFL stadium. It will be a great experience, just seeing how big it is and taking in the atmosphere.”
“Being able to come back in a big-time game like this versus a Power Five team in (Arlington) at AT&T (Stadium) is a special opportunity,” quarterback Skylar Thompson said, “and I’m very excited to get back out there again.”
A crowd of approximately 30,000 fans is expected. That means the stadium, which has a capacity of 80,000, won’t even be half full at kickoff. But the vast majority of the fans in attendance will be wearing purple.
There is hope that playing a neutral-field game in the Dallas-Fort Worth area will help boost recruiting in Texas and give the Wildcats a bigger stage for Week 1 than they would have experienced playing at home.
If all goes well, K-State will consider playing more neutral-site games in the future.
“I think opportunities for kids to play in different environments is pretty special. It’s pretty unique,” Klieman said. “Whether that’s in areas where we have big recruiting bases or areas where we have a big alumni base, it seems to make sense.”
This story was originally published September 2, 2021 at 5:00 AM.