Campus Alert Archive
KU

A KU Football Player Anonymously Phones In a Bomb Threat to His Own Facility — Through the Athlete Tip Line

KSbomb threatemergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed HoaxDetermined to be a hoax. The institutional response is documented because it reveals how the alert system performed under a perceived real threat.

On the afternoon of July 24, 2023, an anonymous threat was sent through Kansas Athletics' RealResponse tip line — a 2022 initiative meant to give athletes a confidential way to flag concerns — reading 'There is a bomb at the football facilities.' KU Police evacuated and searched the David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, the Anderson Family Football Complex, and the Beatty Family Pavilion. No device was found; the all-clear was issued about five hours later. Sophomore offensive lineman Joseph Michael Krause, 22, was charged with felony aggravated criminal threat — making this case unusual: the alleged caller was a current player threatening his own program's facility.

Alerts
3
Response
—
Killed
—
Injured
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Institution
University of Kansas
Public R1 · KS
~28,466 studentsKU Alerts
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

3 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTSMS
Approximate reconstruction214 chars
KU Alert: Bomb threat reported at the football complex and Memorial Stadium. Evacuate the area immediately and avoid the vicinity. KU Police, Lawrence Police, and partner agencies are responding. Updates to follow.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed initial KU Alert SMS consistent with the [evacuation of the Anderson Family Football Complex, Beatty Family Pavilion, and David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium](https://www2.kusports.com/sports/college/football/2023/aug/09/player-accused-of-bomb-threat-against-football-facility-is-no-longer-enrolled-at-ku-affidavit-says-the-threat-was-made-on-an-anonymous-tip-line/) KU Sports reported on July 24, 2023
KU's emergency-notification protocol pushes a campus-wide alert when a bomb threat names a specific campus facility — even out of season — because the [Clery Act 'immediate threat' standard](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clery_Act) applies regardless of the academic calendar
The threat was [received via the RealResponse athlete tip line](https://www2.kusports.com/sports/college/football/2023/aug/09/player-accused-of-bomb-threat-against-football-facility-is-no-longer-enrolled-at-ku-affidavit-says-the-threat-was-made-on-an-anonymous-tip-line/), an unusual channel for bomb threats and one that materially shaped both the rapid response and the subsequent investigation
ALL CLEARSMS
Approximate reconstruction294 chars
KU Alert (Update): All-clear issued. KU Police, Lawrence Police, and partner agencies have completed a thorough search of the football complex and Memorial Stadium. No devices were found. There is no ongoing threat. The facilities are reopening to authorized personnel. Investigation continues.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed all-clear message reflecting the [five-hour all-clear](https://www2.kusports.com/sports/college/football/2023/aug/09/player-accused-of-bomb-threat-against-football-facility-is-no-longer-enrolled-at-ku-affidavit-says-the-threat-was-made-on-an-anonymous-tip-line/) KU Sports reported in its retrospective coverage
Search of the [200,000+-square-foot Anderson Family Football Complex plus the 47,000-seat Memorial Stadium](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Booth_Kansas_Memorial_Stadium) took longer than typical bomb-threat sweeps because the multiple connected facilities required coordinated K-9 and explosive-detection coverage
[The Lawrence Times](https://lawrencekstimes.com/2023/07/25/ku-athlete-charged/) reported the all-clear and the early focus on the RealResponse tip-line origin — a key thread that led investigators to the alleged caller within roughly two weeks
FOLLOW-UPWebsite
Approximate reconstructionThe University Daily Kansan — Kansas football's Joe Krause arrested following bomb threats to facilities1333 chars
Joint statement from the University of Kansas and KU Athletics On July 24, 2023, KU Athletics received an anonymous threat referencing the football facilities, leading to the precautionary evacuation of David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, the Anderson Family Football Complex, and the Beatty Family Pavilion. No explosive devices were found, and an all-clear was issued the same evening. KU Police, working in coordination with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Lawrence Police Department, have identified the source of the threat. Joseph Michael Krause, a sophomore football student-athlete, has been charged with one felony count of aggravated criminal threat. Mr. Krause is no longer a member of the football program and is no longer enrolled at the University of Kansas. KU Athletics is reviewing the operation of the RealResponse anonymous reporting platform in light of this incident. RealResponse was implemented in 2022 to give student-athletes a confidential mechanism for reporting concerns; we remain committed to that goal while strengthening the safeguards that allow law enforcement to act when the tip line is misused for criminal threats. We appreciate the patience and cooperation of our community during the response on July 24, and we thank the responding agencies for their swift and thorough work.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed joint statement modeled on the [University Daily Kansan's reporting](https://www.kansan.com/news/kansas-football-s-joe-krause-arrested-following-bomb-threats-to-facilities/article_b55776e4-2aa0-11ee-a1fb-4368a5feb4cb.html) and the [August 9 KU Sports article](https://www2.kusports.com/sports/college/football/2023/aug/09/player-accused-of-bomb-threat-against-football-facility-is-no-longer-enrolled-at-ku-affidavit-says-the-threat-was-made-on-an-anonymous-tip-line/)
[Krause was charged with one felony count of aggravated criminal threat](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/kansas-football-lineman-charged-connection-alleged-bomb-threat-rcna96366) — NBC News confirmed the charge and the no-longer-enrolled status; the [affidavit reported by WIBW](https://www.wibw.com/2023/08/09/affidavit-reveals-new-details-ku-football-players-arrest-threat/) detailed the RealResponse tip-line origin
[Krause entered a two-year diversion agreement](https://www2.ljworld.com/news/public-safety/2023/nov/30/former-ku-player-who-allegedly-called-in-bomb-threat-to-university-football-facilities-will-enter-into-a-2-year-diversion-agreement/) in November 2023, resolving the felony criminal threat charge without a trial — a quiet ending to a case whose response had been very loud
Context

Background

Kansas Athletics implemented RealResponse in 2022 to give student-athletes a confidential channel to report concerns — abuse, NIL frustrations, mental-health issues, and anything else they did not feel comfortable raising publicly. On July 24, 2023, the platform was used to deliver a bomb threat targeting the football facilities themselves, an inversion of the platform's purpose. The message — 'There is a bomb at the football facilities' — triggered evacuation of the David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium (47,000+ seats), the Anderson Family Football Complex, and the Beatty Family Pavilion. KU Police, Lawrence Police, and the FBI ran a coordinated K-9 search; no device was found, and the all-clear was issued about five hours later. The case became notable when, on August 9, KU revealed that the alleged caller was Joseph Michael Krause, a 22-year-old sophomore offensive lineman on the very team whose facility was threatened. The WIBW affidavit described prior RealResponse messages from the same account referencing self-harm and NIL grievances with Mass St. Collective, KU's NIL partner. Krause was charged with one felony count of aggravated criminal threat, removed from the team, and ultimately accepted a two-year diversion in November 2023. The case illustrates two intersecting pressures of the early NIL era: (1) athletes navigating new commercial-and-emotional pressures had access to anonymous internal-reporting tools never previously available, and (2) when those tools were misused, the resulting alert-and-evacuation responses were indistinguishable, in their first phase, from external terror threats. Kansas Athletics' subsequent review of RealResponse balanced confidentiality with the need to permit law-enforcement intervention when threats crossed the criminal line.
Analysis

Key Findings

The alleged bomb-threat caller was a sophomore offensive lineman on the same KU football team whose facility he threatened — a near-unique case in the post-2010 college-athletic alert record
The threat was sent through RealResponse, an athlete-confidentiality tip line implemented in 2022 to surface concerns, demonstrating how athlete-mental-health tools can be misused when interpersonal pressures escalate
KU's institutional response — five-hour evacuation, FBI coordination, and a joint athletics-university statement two weeks later — modeled the multi-agency posture now standard for stadium-facility bomb threats
The two-year diversion outcome quietly closed a case that began with a 47,000-seat-stadium evacuation, illustrating the criminal-justice gap between alert-system response intensity and ultimate prosecution disposition
Outcome
No device found. Joseph Krause was charged with felony aggravated criminal threat, removed from the football team and from the university; in November 2023 he entered a two-year diversion agreement. The case ended RealResponse's anonymous-only architecture for Kansas Athletics.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Player accused of bomb threat against football facility is no longer enrolled at KU (KU Sports)
    www2.kusports.com
  2. News
    Kansas football lineman charged in connection with alleged bomb threat that evacuated stadium (NBC News)
    nbcnews.com
  3. Student Paper
    Kansas football's Joe Krause arrested following bomb threats to facilities (University Daily Kansan)
    kansan.com
  4. News
    KU athlete charged after alleged bomb threat at football facilities (Lawrence Times)
    lawrencekstimes.com
  5. News
    Affidavit reveals new details in KU football player's arrest for threat (WIBW)
    wibw.com
  6. News
    Former KU player who allegedly called in bomb threat to university football facilities will enter into a 2-year diversion agreement (Lawrence Journal-World)
    www2.ljworld.com
  7. News
    Former KU football player who allegedly called in a bomb threat waives right to preliminary hearing, seeks diversion (KU Sports)
    www2.kusports.com
Tags
bomb-threatconfirmed-hoaxmemorial-stadiumanderson-family-complexkansasfootballathlete-perpetratorrealresponseanonymous-tip-linenil-erafelony-aggravated-criminal-threatdiversion-agreementpublic-r1Hoax
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion