'It was part of our pitch': Kansas State used lure of Dublin game to attract players

Kansas State will play Iowa State in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic at the Aviva Stadium in August. The rivalry between the two teams is known as Farmageddon.

Thu, 27 Feb, 2025 - 07:30

Emmet Ryan

Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman is hopeful his team can generate interest in American football across Ireland when his side comes to Dublin in August to play in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic.

Klieman told the Irish Examiner that he hopes his side will be able to visit other cities, including Cork and Galway, to introduce more people to the sport.

“I hope we get a chance. We haven’t finalised the itinerary yet. First and foremost, we’re coming over here to play our best football. We also want to have experiences for the guys, especially those that haven’t been here before. I want them to experience the culture as well.”

Klieman’s Wildcats will play the Iowa State Cyclones. The two Big 12 conference schools are bringing their rivalry, known as Farmageddon, to the Aviva Stadium in August.

“That makes it more unique for us. Iowa State and Kansas State have played some great games. It’s a great way to start off Big 12 play,” he said.

The Kansas State head coach said that preparing for this game will be a different challenge to an away trip within the United States.

“It’s going to change the way we prepare. It will hit us more when we leave, losing a day. For us, it’s about navigating hydration, nutrition, and sleep leading up to leaving on the Wednesday and playing on the Saturday,” said Klieman.

“We have to work on how fresh we can get our guys. The week prior to that will be really important to make sure their bodies and minds are as fresh as they can be. It will take a toll on both teams. It’s about fighting adversity. That’s college football, the team that can handle it best will win.”

It’s an aspect Klieman is already working around, taking into account the changes it will make for his preparations for the 2025 season as a whole.

“Football players are creatures of habit. A lot of our routines will be thrown off, like shortening both summer vacation and summer workouts.”

While there will be a change to his team’s routine, Klieman said being able to offer the lure of playing a game in Ireland helped him to attract more players to Kansas State.

“It was part of our pitch. Only a handful of schools get to do this. We didn’t know about it until May of last year and our biggest high school recruiting time was that June. We sold the heck out of it,” he said.

“I told my athletic director that we’re bringing everybody. I’m not interested in bringing a travel squad of 70 players. If we’ve got 105 or 120 players on our roster, whoever is on the football team is going to have the opportunity to come and experience this.”

Klieman is leaving little to chance in his preparations for the game in August. He is in Dublin this week, where he will attend Leinster’s game with Cardiff in the URC on Saturday to get a feel for the stadium.

“It seems to be a stadium that can get loud. We’re going to a rugby match here, it may not be sold out but I want to get the feel for what it’s like, to hear some of the echoes and the other sounds,” he said.

“Noise is something you have to prepare for no matter what. Some of our kids have played with it but some of the newer ones have not.”

Klieman said that previous coaches that had brought teams to Dublin helped convince him that playing in Ireland was a good idea.

“I spoke with Pat Fitzgerald [former Northwestern coach] and Marcus Freeman [Notre Dame head coach] and they both said I had to do it, that it was one of the best experiences they ever had,” he said.

“That got me to think of it not just from the football standpoint but from the experiences these kids were going to have. I realised what an opportunity it was to take this team and show people what American football is all about. It didn’t take me long to realise it could be a heck of an idea.”

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