Kansas football head coach Charlie Weis announced Friday that quarterback T.J. Millweard has joined the Jayhawk program after being granted his release to transfer from UCLA. Millweard, who redshirted last season in his first year as a collegian, will have to sit out the 2013 season due to NCAA transfer rules. He will be eligible for competition in 2014 as a redshirt sophomore.

Millweard, a Colleyville, Texas, native, earned three letters prepping at both Nolan Catholic High School  (sophomore and junior seasons) and All Saint’s High School (senior season) in Fort Worth, Texas. Coming out of high school, the 6-foot-3, 210-pound signal caller was rated the nation’s No. 91 player, No. 5 quarterback and No. 13 player in the state of Texas by ESPN and a four-star recruit. Scout.com tabbed him a three-star recruit, and the No. 31 quarterback in the nation, while Rivlas.com listed him as the No. 23-rated pro style quarterback in the country, the No. 90 prospect in the state of Texas and a three-start recruit.

During his senior season, Millweard completed 171-of-255 passes for 2,374 yards with 22 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He put together three four-touchdown pass games, in addition to serving as the team’s punter. As a junior, Millweard completed 127-of-209 passes for 1,621 yards for 11 touchdowns with nine interceptions, while also rushing for 464 yards on 86 carries and four touchdowns.

Kansas will open the 2013 season on Saturday, Sept. 7, when it plays host to South Dakota at Memorial Stadium at 6 p.m.

— KU Sports Information —

Kansas senior halfback James Sims’ was featured on the list of 2013 Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award candidates released by the Tyler, Texas Chamber of Commerce and SPORTyler Wednesday.

Sims, who is the Big 12 Conference’s top returning rusher heading into the 2013 season, is in the field of candidates for the award that recognizes the top offensive player in Division 1 football who also exhibits the enduring characteristics that define Earl Campbell: integrity, performance, teamwork, sportsmanship, drive, community and tenacity; specifically tenacity to persist and determination to overcome adversity and injury in pursuit of reaching goals. In addition, the nominee must meet one or more of the following criteria: born in Texas and/or graduated from a Texas High School and/or played at a Texas-based junior college or four year college.

A native of Irving, Texas, Sims became just the 11th player in Kansas history to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season as he turned in 1,013 yards on the ground and nine touchdowns in 2012 despite missing the first three games of the season. He set a KU record by recording 100 or more yards in six consecutive games.

Sims, who led the Big 12 in rushing and ranked 18th in the NCAA in 2012, recorded a career long rush of 64 yards (vs. Texas), a career-long reception of 51 yards (vs. Oklahoma) and a career-long TD run of 59 yards (vs. Baylor). Additionally, he logged his career-best rushing game with 176 yards vs. Texas. He finished his junior campaign ranked eighth on the Kansas all-time rushing chart with 2,482 yards.

Sims also hauled in 14 receptions for 168 yards and a touchdown in 2012. He concluded his outstanding junior season by finding his name on numerous All-Big 12 teams including picking up first team honors from ESPN.com, Phil Steele Magazine and CBS Sports. He earned second team All-Big 12 honors from the conference office, the Associated Press and the San Antonio Express News.

The Watch List announced today will be narrowed down to 16 semifinalists in November and then trimmed to four finalists in December. The semifinalists and finalists will be selected by broadcasters, commentators, journalists, fans and (in the future) former winners. The finalists will be brought to Tyler for The Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Awards Banquet scheduled for January 10, 2014.

Sims and his KU teammates will open the 2013 season on Saturday, Sept. 7, when they plays host to South Dakota at Memorial Stadium at 6 p.m.

— KU Sports Information —

The Kansas men’s basketball team will make its ninth appearance on ESPN’s College GameDay when the Jayhawks travel to Oklahoma State Saturday, March 1, the network announced on Wednesday. The GameDay show will be in Stillwater, Okla., with tip for the KU at OSU contest scheduled for 8 p.m. (CT).

The 2013-14 season is the 10th year for ESPN’s College Gameday. KU has hosted the show an all-time high five times (2005, 2007, 2008, 2011 and 2013) and has been the road team on three occasions (2006, 2010 and 2012).

The Kansas at Oklahoma State contest will mark the fifth-straight season the Jayhawks have appeared on ESPN’s Saturday event. KU has won four of its previous five games featured on College GameDay.

ESPN’s College GameDay Covered by State Farm is an eight-week Saturday morning and evening college basketball program originating from the site of ESPN’s Saturday Primetime Presented by DIRECTV telecast. The 2014 schedule begins Saturday, Jan. 18 with a special split-site show. The first hour begins at 9 a.m. CT on ESPNU, continuing at 10 a.m. on ESPN with a one-hour evening edition leading into the Saturday Primetime game-of-the-week on ESPN.

For the 10th year, Rece Davis will serve as host for College GameDay. He will be joined by analysts Jay Bilas, Digger Phelps and Jalen Rose to preview all the day’s action and discuss the biggest storylines in college basketball.

2014 ESPN College GameDay Covered by State Farm & Saturday Primetime Schedule
(Schedule subject to change; all times are Central)
Date – GameDay Site, Show Times*, Game (Time)
Jan. 18 – Philadelphia, Pa., 9 a.m., Temple vs. La Salle (11 a.m.)
Jan. 18 – Storrs, Conn., 7 p.m., Louisville at Connecticut (8 p.m.)
Jan. 25 – East Lansing, Mich., 9 a.m. & 5 p.m., Michigan at Michigan State (6 p.m.)
Feb. 1 – Syracuse, N.Y., 9 a.m. & 5 p.m., Duke at Syracuse (5:30 p.m.)
Feb. 8 – Memphis, Tenn., 9 a.m. & 7 p.m., Gonzaga at Memphis (8 p.m.)
Feb. 15 – Lexington, Ky., 9 a.m. & 7 p.m., Florida at Kentucky (8 p.m.)
Feb. 22 – Boulder, Colo. or Palo Alto, Calif.^, 9 a.m. & 7 p.m., Arizona at Colorado or UCLA at Stanford (8 p.m.)
March 1 – Stillwater, Okla., 9 a.m. & 7 p.m., KANSAS at Oklahoma State (8 p.m.)
March 8 – Durham, N.C., 9 a.m. & 7 p.m., North Carolina at Duke (8 p.m.)

— KU Sports Information —

Kansas’ 2013-14 men’s basketball schedule potentially includes 15 opponents which advanced to the 2013 postseason (12 NCAA, three NIT), including six foes that either won its regular-season or conference tournament titles last year as the Big 12 announced its schedule Thursday.

The 12 NCAA participants on the KU schedule for 2013-14 include: Colorado, Duke, Georgetown, Florida, Iona, Iowa State, Kansas State, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, San Diego State and possibly Villanova. Baylor won the 2013 NIT while Iowa and Tennessee, like Villanova, who are in the Battle 4 Atlantis event, also played in last season’s NIT.

The Jayhawks will have 19 of their 31 regular-season games televised on the ESPN family of networks, four contests on Jayhawk TV, three on the Big 12 Network, three on either NBC Sports Network or AXS TV and two each on CBS. In addition, the Jayhawks’ two exhibition games will appear on Jayhawk TV in the Kansas City area and in the state of Kansas (and on ESPN3 elsewhere).

Kansas released its non-conference schedule in April and it is loaded. The Jayhawks will face Duke in the Champions Classic, encounter Wake Forest in the first round of the Battle 4 Atlantis, play at former Big 12 foe Colorado and at Florida in the Big 12/SEC Challenge. KU will host national powers Georgetown and San Diego State in Allen Fieldhouse prior to Big 12 competition. KU will then open conference play at Oklahoma on Jan. 8 on ESPN. As released Aug. 7, for the eighth-consecutive year, Kansas will be featured in four contests on ESPN’s Big Monday in 2013-14.

In June, Kansas Athletics announced an agreement under which Time Warner Cable will annually air 50 KU contests – including two exhibition and four non-conference men’s basketball games – exclusively on Metro Sports in Kansas City and across the state of Kansas. ESPN3 will deliver those 50 events nationally outside that territory. In addition to the Oct. 29 vs. Pittsburg State and Nov. 5 vs. Fort Hays State exhibition contests, the other Jayhawk TV men’s basketball games include Nov. 8 vs. Louisiana Monroe, Nov. 19 vs. Iona, Nov. 22 vs. Towson and Dec. 30 vs. Toledo.

Kansas went 31-6 in 2012-13 and won its unprecedented ninth-straight Big 12 and NCAA-leading 56th regular-season conference championship. Head coach Bill Self brings back 10 letterwinners, but no starters, from the team that advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 last season.

Reloading in a hurry, Self and his staff welcome eight newcomers to the 2013-14 roster, including the nation’s No. 1 recruit in guard Andrew Wiggins. Together, KU’s class of 2013 comprises the second-ranked recruiting class in the country. KU is ranked as high as fifth in the 2013-14 national preseason polls.

Kansas has won five of the last seven Phillips 66 Big 12 Championships including the 2013 title. This year’s event will again be held at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo., March 12-15 and NCAA Tournament Selection Sunday will be Sunday, March 16.

— KU Sports Information —

Kansas men’s basketball coach Bill Self was one of seven individuals inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City Monday.

“Bill has won a lot of games, but he’s a great ambassador for KU and for Kansas Athletics,” said Bill Self, Sr., who introduced his son at the ceremony. “He doesn’t think he’s better than anyone, he supports great causes and it’s a great honor for me to present my son for this award.”

Other inductees who joined Self in the class of 2013 was Wayne Baughman (University of Oklahoma wrestling), Clay Bennett (owner of the Oklahoma City Thunder), Nadia Comaneci (Olympic gold medal gymnast), LeRoy Gutowski (Oklahoma City University and NFL standout), Jimmy Harris (Oklahoma football) and John Henry Ward (Oklahoma State University two-sport All-American).

“I am proud to be here tonight, but I didn’t get here by myself,” Self said. “My parents were the best role models anyone could have, and I owe so much to my wife and kids. I’ve been blessed to coach great players, who have sacrificed personal goals for the good of the team, and have been fortunate to work with the best assistant coaches anywhere.”

Joining Self at the ceremony was his wife Cindy, daughter Lauren and son Tyler in addition to many other family members and friends. Lauren graduated from Kansas in May 2013 and Tyler will be a sophomore guard on the KU basketball team this upcoming season. Also in attendance was former KU head coach Ted Owens, who is also a member of the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame, and Jayhawk legend and current Tulsa men’s basketball coach Danny Manning.

A native of Edmond, Okla., Self was named the Oklahoma High School Basketball Player of the Year in 1981 while at Edmond Memorial High School. Born in Okmulgee, Okla., Self went on to play at Oklahoma State University under coach Paul Hansen from 1982-85. While at OSU, he was a four-year letterwinner and was an All-Big Eight freshman selection.

Self began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Kansas for the 1985-86 season under head coach Larry Brown. He then returned to his alma mater and served as an assistant coach at OSU under Leonard Hamilton and Eddie Sutton from 1986-93. Self’s first head coaching job was at Oral Roberts in 1993-94. His second head coaching stint came four seasons after ORU as he moved across town to Tulsa in 1997-98, guiding the Golden Hurricane to an NCAA Tournament Elite Eight appearance in 2000.

In 2000-01 Self left his home state and took over the head coaching job at Illinois, directing the Illini to two conference titles and an NCAA Tournament Elite Eight appearance in 2001.

Self came to Kansas in 2003-04 and in his 10 seasons KU has won more games, 300, than any other school in the last decade. Self has steered the Jayhawks to the last nine Big 12 regular-season titles, six Big 12 postseason championships, two Final Fours, one NCAA National Championship and one NCAA runner-up finish. The four-time Big 12 Coach of the Year (2006, 2009, 2011 and 2012) has twice been named the national coach of the year (2009 and 2012) while at KU. Self is 300-59 (83.6 percent) in his 10 seasons at Kansas and 507-164 (75.6 percent) in his 20 seasons overall.

About the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame:

Founded in 1986, the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame became part of the Jim Thorpe Association in 1989. A 20-name ballot of the state’s greatest sports figures is selected each year from a list of almost 150 nominees. Selection is based on accomplishments in sports and identification with Oklahoma. Voters select at least two inductees, while the honors committee selects additional honorees.

— KU Sports Information —

Former Kansas standout running back Jon Cornish was named Gibson’s Finest CFL Player of the Month for July, the Canadian Football League announced Thursday. A native of New Westminster, BC, Cornish was one of four players honored by the league as he was named the Canadian Player of the Month.

Cornish, who plays for the Calgary Stampeders, rushed for 501 yards and three touchdowns on 77 carries during the month. He also caught 14 passes for 137 yards and a score in helping lead the Stampeders into second place in the West Division. Cornish ranks second in the CFL in rushing on the season and was named the Canadian Player of the Week for Week 1 of the 2013 CFL season.

Cornish, who lettered at KU from 2003-06, is the Kansas single-season rushing record holder with 1,457 yards on the ground in 2006. He ranks 10th on the KU career rushing chart with 2,248 yards and 17 touchdowns on 287 carries. Additionally, he is fourth on the KU all-time list for 100-yard rushing games with 12 in his Jayhawk career.

Cornish and his Calgary teammates will return to action on Friday, Aug. 9, when they play host to the Saskatchewan Roughriders. He is one of three Kansas alums playing in the CFL as Raymond Brown plays defensive back for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Marcus Henry plays wide receiver for the Edmonton Eskimos.

— KU Sports Information —

Kansas will square off against Wake Forest in the team’s first appearance in the Battle 4 Atlantis at Paradise Island, Bahamas, announced by tournament officials Monday.

Villanova, Tennessee, Iowa, UTEP, Xavier, USC join Kansas and Wake Forest to fill out the tournament field that will travel to the Bahamas, Nov. 28-30. Slightly less tropical, the Jayhawks will welcome Towson to Allen Fieldhouse for their first game of Battle 4 Atlantis on Nov. 22.

On Monday, the remainder of the bracket was released, unveiling that KU will play three games in the Bahamas, beginning with Wake Forest on Thursday, Nov. 28 at 2:30 p.m. CT on AXS TV. The Jayhawks will square off next against either Villanova or USC on Friday, Nov. 29. Tip-off times will be 8:30 p.m. CT with a KU victory against Wake Forest or 2:30 p.m. CT should the Jayhawks lose to Wake. The third day of the Battle 4 Atlantis is slated for Saturday, Nov. 30, with four games starting at noon CT and the championship contest beginning at 8:30 p.m. CT.

NBC Sports Network and AXS TV will televise the tournament field which boasts a combined 191 NCAA Tournament appearances, 25 Final Four appearances and five NCAA Championships.

Kansas went 31-6 in 2012-13 and won its unprecedented ninth-straight Big 12 and NCAA-leading 56th overall conference regular-season championship. Head coach Bill Self brings back 10 letterwinners, but no starters, from the team that advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2012-13.

Reloading in a hurry, Self and his staff welcome eight newcomers to the 2013-14 roster – including the nation’s No. 1 recruit in guard Andrew Wiggins. Together, the class of 2013 comprises the second-ranked recruiting class in the country. KU is ranked as high as fifth in the 2013-14 national preseason polls.

Battle 4 Atlantis First Round Schedule – Thursday, Nov. 28
Game 1: Villanova vs. USC (live at 12 p.m. CT on AXS TV)
Game 2: KANSAS vs. Wake Forest (live at 2:30 p.m. CT on AXS TV)
Game 3: Xavier vs. Iowa (live at 6 p.m. CT on NBC Sports Network)
Game 4: Tennessee vs. UTEP (live at 8:30 p.m. CT on NBC Sports Network)

Battle 4 Atlantis Second Round Schedule – Friday, Nov. 29
Game 5: Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 loser (live at 12 p.m. CT on AXS TV)
Game 6: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser (live at 2:30 p.m. CT on AXS TV)
Game 7: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner (live at 6 p.m. CT on NBC Sports Network)
Game 8: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner (live at 8:30 p.m. CT on NBC Sports Network)

Battle 4 Atlantis Final Round Schedule – Saturday, Nov. 30
7th-8th Place: Game 5 loser vs. Game 6 loser (live at 12 p.m. CT on AXS TV)
5th-6th Place: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner (live at 2:30 p.m. CT on AXS TV)
3rd-4th Place: Game 7 loser vs. Game 8 loser (live at 6 p.m. CT on NBC Sports Network)
1st-2nd Place: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner (live at 8:30 p.m. CT on NBC Sports Network)

— KU Sports Information —

The Jayhawk Television Network will broadcast the Kansas-Texas football game on Nov. 2 in Austin, Texas. The game will be produced by Time Warner Cable’s Metro Sports alongside the Longhorn Network. Kickoff is slated for 2:30 p.m., at UT’s Darrell K. Royal-Texas Stadium.

In addition to the game broadcast, Metro Sports will also be adding a pre- and post-game show for this game, like those scheduled around all home games during the 2013 season.

The Kansas-Texas game will be the second telecast of the 2013 football season for the Jayhawk TV Network as it is also broadcasting the KU season-opener against South Dakota on Saturday, Sept. 7. Game time for the KU-USD game is slated for 6 p.m., at Memorial Stadium.

Statewide coverage plans for the Jayhawk Television Network games will be released soon. JTV is currently available in the Kansas City area on Metro Sports via Time Warner Cable and Comcast, and on WOW in Lawrence.

Kansas opens its 2013 fall camp on Wednesday, Aug. 7.

— KU Sports Information —