As the Kansas Jayhawks prepare for the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Lawrence police are dusting off the annual safety plan that kicks in ahead of the Elite Eight game, the deputy chief told city commissioners Tuesday.
The Jayhawks, who are 23-10 on the season and the No. 4 seed in the East Region, will first face No. 13 seed Cal Baptist. Tipoff is set for 8:45 p.m. Friday, March 20, and the game will be televised on CBS.
Sweet 16 games will be Thursday and Friday, March 26 and 27. If KU makes it past that game, law enforcement planning kicks into high gear.
However, “We plan for the Final Four every single year,” Anthony Brixius, deputy chief of Lawrence police, told the commission. “We’re pretty blessed that we have such a good basketball team.”
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He said currently, that prep involves about 20 law enforcement agencies and about 12 to 14 points of contact throughout the city and county, “so it takes a great deal of planning.”
“The good thing for us is we’re now at a point that we’ve done it enough times that we can rinse off an old plan and just improve it as well,” he said.
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Police will ask the city manager to enact a temporary ordinance to help keep folks safe if KU makes it to the Elite Eight. Some key points: Glass bottles or containers will not be allowed on downtown streets or sidewalks during game days. Also, no one will be allowed to be on downtown rooftops under city ordinance.
Law enforcement uses the Elite Eight game for prep, Brixius said. They’ll bring in about 60 officers from Lawrence, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and KUPD for that game.
He said they know Lawrence will probably get about 40,000 people in the streets for Final Four celebrations, and typically about double that or more for championship wins.
“As always, we’re looking forward to a safe celebration if we get that far, and that’s the primary focus of law enforcement,” Brixius said.
In addition, if KU is in the Final Four, Massachusetts Street will likely be closed from Seventh to 11th streets beginning around 5 or 6 a.m. on game days, Brixius said.
Elite Eight games are set for Saturday and Sunday, March 28 and 29. Final Four games will be Saturday, April 4, and the championship game will be Monday, April 6. Here’s a full bracket.
Commissioner Kristine Polian asked if the city enacted an entertainment district ordinance to allow alcohol consumption in the streets during the tournament. It does not, but drinking is “not a focus” for law enforcement, Brixius said.
“When the celebration begins, when we win, what we’re really focused on is what things could harm other people,” he said, again referencing glass bottles.
City Attorney Toni Wheeler also highlighted that the Haskell Indian Nations University women’s basketball team made it to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Tournament.
The team secured an NAIA bid after winning the Continental Athletic Conference Tournament championship game, topping Georgia Gwinnett College 66-56.
Haskell, the No. 16 seed in the NAIA tournament, fell 92-67 to No. 1-ranked Marian in the first round. But senior Ona Dauphinais reached 2,000 career points and senior Tierzah Penn hit 1,000 career points in their final collegiate game, according to posts on the team’s Instagram.
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Mackenzie Clark (she/her), reporter/founder of The Lawrence Times, can be reached at mclark@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
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