Wichita personality Fayola Oyatayo brings own twist as in-game host for KU football
Wichita media personality Fayola Oyatayo found success creating his own talk show on social media with his gregarious personality and a penchant for bringing fun energy.
That same combination is why the University of Kansas picked Oyatayo as its first official in-game host for football and basketball games this school year.
The breakthrough opportunity for Oyatayo has been even more exciting given the success of the KU football team, which is off to its first 3-0 start since 2009 entering a highly-anticipated home game at Memorial Stadium against Duke this Saturday.
“Emceeing at Bradley Fair and hosting corporate events is one thing, but when you’re doing it in front of 35,000 people and everyone is screaming is definitely a lot more nerve-wracking,” Oyatayo said. “But I love it. It’s a natural fit.”
So what does an in-game host do during college football games?
Oyatayo’s job description is essentially to keep the crowd at KU entertained and energized during breaks in the action. He generates excitement, whether it’s announcing a t-shirt toss or the KU cheerleaders and dance team.
“It’s my job to bring the energy, but I’m also bringing my own Fay twist to it,” Oyatayo said. “A big part of my brand is fashion. They gave me some polos to wear, but when I come on the field, I’m wearing a suit. The very first game, I came out in a red suit and everyone loved it. My dad always told me no matter where you go, always try to dress up and look good. That’s what I’m trying to do.”
Oyatayo has always been comfortable in crowds, but entertaining tens of thousands of people is something he never would have imagined when he graduated from Sterling College with a degree in economics and finance in 2017.
He grew up around Las Vegas and Dallas, but came to Kansas on a basketball scholarship to Sterling. He originally had aspirations of politics, but decided to pivot in careers when the coronavirus pandemic began.
“I looked at it as a blank slate,” Oyatayo said. “I knew I loved to ask questions and I loved the media. I always watched talk shows like Oprah differently. I had a passion for just sitting down with people and asking deep questions and trying to get to know their story. That’s what I loved to do.”
Launching a talk show not on cable television and without a production crew seemed like a daunting task, but Oyatayo’s passion drove him past any obstacles.
He developed a crew of three others by posting on social media and soon started filming interviews with important people around Wichita. He partnered with Wichita Life ICT, run by Landon Huslig, and Oyatayo quickly made a name for himself in 2020 with his interviews with former Wichita Police Chief Gordon Ramsay and with Arthur Gunn, the Wichita native who came to national fame when he finished runner-up on American Idol.
From there, Oyatayo built a strong social media following and he was soon being asked to promote products and emcee events around Wichita. So many opportunities piled up that it became lucrative enough for him to make it his full-time job.
He was once tempted to move to a bigger city for perceived bigger opportunities, but Oyatayo said he has found a new home in Wichita.
“A lot of people were telling me Wichita can’t offer what Dallas or LA can and for a while, I was giving into that,” Oyatayo said. “I kept telling myself, ‘I’ll be out of here in a year.’ But then I realized that God was doing things for me in this city that other people in bigger cities don’t ever get to do. I wasn’t going to ignore that and leave when God has so many blessings for me here. Wichita is home.”
Oyatayo believes it is not a coincidence that he was able to land his biggest gig yet, at KU, after he made the full commitment to stay in Wichita.
It reminded him of a phrase he’s familiar with from his basketball-playing days: the ball finds energy.
“When you commit to something 100% and go all in, you truly receive what I like to call ‘all-in blessings,’” Oyatayo said. “It’s like when you give it your all in basketball and then out of nowhere, a rebound comes right to you and you get the tip-in. It didn’t take any skill to make the ball come to you, but it came your way because you went all in.”
Oyatayo admitted he had to battle impostor syndrome when he was hired by KU, but going through that struggle and overcoming it replenished him with the same fervor he had before anyone in Wichita knew his name.
“I honestly thought that I didn’t even deserve it because I didn’t go to college for this and I didn’t even go to KU, so why me?” Oyatayo said. “But I kept getting told, ‘You worked so hard for this. You highlighted the stories of other people and now it’s time to highlight your own personal story.’
“So now I view this as a reward for all of my hard work. It’s showtime.”
This story was originally published September 19, 2022 at 8:00 AM.
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