Fansided

College football’s 15 most tortured fan bases of all time

By Connor Muldowney

Sep 17, 2016; Stillwater, OK, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys take the field for the game against the Pittsburgh Panthers at Boone Pickens Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Ferguson-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 17, 2016; Stillwater, OK, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys take the field for the game against the Pittsburgh Panthers at Boone Pickens Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Ferguson-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 10, 2016; Lawrence, KS, USA; Kansas Jayhawks mascot Big Jay poses with fans in the second half against the Ohio Bobcats at Memorial Stadium. Ohio won 37-21. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 10, 2016; Lawrence, KS, USA; Kansas Jayhawks mascot Big Jay poses with fans in the second half against the Ohio Bobcats at Memorial Stadium. Ohio won 37-21. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports /

Kansas football is very similar to North Carolina football. Both programs have sad fan bases from September to November or December, but once basketball season begins, everyone shifts their focus to the hardwood and that sadness seems to disappear.

You guessed it, Kansas is another basketball school that only makes the list because the football program is in such shambles that it would take annual NCAA Tournament titles to make up for the struggles on the gridiron.

The Jayhawks do have two successful seasons in the past few decades, though. Kansas won 12 games back in 2007 and even won the Orange Bowl. The Jayhawks finished fifth in the BCS rankings and shook the title of ‘basketball school’ for just one season. Since then, it’s been all downhill.

Mark Mangino is the head coach who led the Jayhawks to that successful season and it looked like he might just turn the program around, but the fans were given false hope. He did lead Kansas to an 8-5 record the following year and started 5-0 the next, only to finish 5-7 and find himself out of a job.

Kansas has shuffled through four coaches since 2010 and it looks like a program that might never win a national title. Coaches don’t want to lead this program almost as much as fans don’t want to cheer for it.

You can bet each home game is riddled with “I can’t wait until basketball season” groans.

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