This week, the Kansas Turnpike Authority will dedicate a new memorial to Knute Rockne.
The memorial will be part of the Matfield Green service area at mile marker 97, 30 miles southwest of Emporia. Rockne was a legendary football coach at Notre Dame, winning over 100 games and three national championships in a 13-year career, but he was one of eight men killed in a plane crash near Bazaar in 1931.
The dedication ceremony will be at 10 am Friday at the Matfield Green service area and is open to the public. Remarks are planned from Turnpike Authority CEO Steve Hewitt; Rockne’s grandson, Nils Rockne; sculptor and Notre Dame alum Jerry McKenna, University of Kansas sports management lecturer Dr. Bernie Kish and Notre Dame representative Reggie Brooks.
