By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post
With the Kansas Shrine Bowl less than a month away, the final touches of the events surrounding the all-star football game in Hays are starting to fall into place and that includes the appearance of a Pro Football Hall of Famer.
The 2023 President of the Kansas Shrine Bowl, Donnie Bohannon recently spoke with the Hays City Commission about plans for the 50th annual All-Star Football game July 15 in Hays.
Bohannon said he has been working to build up the Kansas Shrine Bowl Alumni Association. NFL Hall of Fame running back and Kansas native Barry Sanders will be in Hays, at this year’s game, to be inducted into the Kansas Shrine Bowl Hall of Fame.
“That's been a goal,” Bohannon said, “and I'm so excited for the city and the Shrine Bowl.”
Bohannon said a documentary crew has contacted the Shrine Bowl about coming to Hays as part of the festivities as they film a documentary on Sanders.
“They'll be filming the parade. They'll be filming some of the game (and) they'll be filming his induction ceremony,” Bohannon said. “I can't say enough how excited I am for the event coming up.”
Sanders, a Wichita North graduate, played for the West team in the 1986 game. Sanders went on to Oklahoma State where he won the Heisman Trophy and was drafted by the Detroit Lions in 1989. After a 10-year NFL career, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004.
Bohannon said they are looking for places around the community to host Sanders and the film crew.
The events for this year’s Shrine Bowl start Friday, July 14 with the golf tournament. They also will have a community kickoff at 9 a.m. on that Friday morning and then a 50th Birthday Banquet later in the afternoon.
Gameday, on Saturday, July 15, kicks off with the parade on Main Street at 10 a.m. followed by a pep rally at 11 a.m.
There also will be an alumni reunion Saturday afternoon followed by a fan fest and then the game at 7 p.m. at Lewis Field Stadium on the Fort Hays State campus.
The annual all-star game and events surrounding the game raise money for the Kansas Shriners in support of the Shriners Hospitals for Children. The charity has given more than $3.7 million to Shriners Hospitals for Children.