History will be made at Wembley Stadium this afternoon as the first-ever college football game at the iconic venue — the Union Jack Classic Wembley — kicks off at 5pm, with the Kansas Jayhawks taking on the Arizona State Sun Devils.
The inaugural Union Jack Classic Wembley showdown is a Big 12 conference clash forming part of Week 3 of the 2026 college football season, with Kansas named as the designated home team for the landmark fixture in north-west London.
Kick-off is at 9:00am Pacific Time (11:00am Central), which is 5:00pm in London — prime time for British fans to watch American college football at the 90,000-capacity national stadium, the University of Kansas confirmed.
First-ever college football game at Wembley Stadium
Today’s fixture is the first-ever college football game at Wembley Stadium and the first Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) game ever staged in England. It is only the second college football game ever played in London — the first was the Imperial Bowl at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre in October 1988, when Richmond beat Boston University 20–17, according to Arizona State University.
Wembley has hosted the NFL’s International Series since 2007, but today marks the first time the college game takes centre stage beneath the famous arch.
What the universities and the Big 12 said
Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark said the landmark fixture underlines the conference’s global ambitions: “I’m thrilled that Big 12 football will be heading to London for the first-ever college football game at Wembley Stadium. I’ve often said my goal is for the Big 12 to be the most globally relevant conference in college athletics.”
Kansas director of athletics Travis Goff said: “This is the perfect moment in time for Kansas Football to blaze an uncharted trail to historic Wembley Stadium in London.”
Arizona State athletics director Graham Rossini added: “The Big 12 is leading the charge to take college football global, and we’re proud to be part of it. College sports are about providing our student-athletes with life-changing experiences, and playing in the Union Jack Classic at Wembley Stadium will be an incredible one.”
The Union Jack Classic Wembley fixture has been almost a year in the making: the Big 12 announced the matchup from its headquarters in Irving, Texas, in October 2025. For Kansas, the trip marks the first time the Jayhawks have ever played outside the United States, Goff confirmed.
The event is run by a collective of internationally recognised sports marketing and sponsorship agencies, led by Brian Dubiski and Thomas Hensey of Rhino Marketing alongside Rob Yowell of Gemini Sports — all with decades of experience promoting American sports in the UK and Europe. “We are proud to make history by bringing American College Football to London on a global stage,” said Dubiski, the event’s chairman and chief executive. “Hosting two elite Big 12 programs at Wembley Stadium positions this matchup as the premier international showcase for our sport.”
Rossini noted that Arizona State counts nearly 18,000 international students from 160 countries: “We can’t wait to showcase Sun Devil Football and Arizona State University to fans across Europe.”
Third Big 12 game in Europe in two seasons
The Union Jack Classic Wembley fixture is the third Big 12 football game in Europe in two seasons. Iowa State and Kansas State opened the 2025 season at the Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Dublin, while TCU faced North Carolina in the same event to open the 2026 campaign, the Big 12 confirmed.
Union Jack Classic Wembley: getting to the stadium
Supporters heading to north-west London this afternoon should check for planned engineering works before setting out — weekend closures are affecting the District, DLR, Piccadilly and Overground lines. Wembley Park (Jubilee and Metropolitan lines) and Wembley Central are the closest stations to the stadium.
It has already been quite the football weekend in the capital — Saturday’s Millwall v West Ham derby ended 2-2 at The Den earlier today — and now the eyes of the American college game turn to the Union Jack Classic Wembley kick-off at 5pm.
