KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Steven Schoon is from Winfield, Kansas.
His dad, Scott Schoon, describes it as an "established community of about 12,000 people — traditonal, yet progressive in some ways."
Steven's mom, Michelle, said nearly everyone in small-town Kansas is "KU or K-State fans. There's quite a split in the community."
Everyone in their supports the Jayhawks. Steven graduated from the University of Kansas in 2008 and started his career in sports communications.
Nine years later, Steven started a new role as director of communications for athletics at another Big 12 school — Texas Christian University.
"It's the second-smallest Power 5 (school) in the country, so it has the family atmosphere," Steven said. "It kind of has an underdog, fighting spirit which everyone kind of gravitates to, and it's still kind of up-and-coming."
It also prompted the Schoon family to re-evaluate their allegiance.
"Once Steven landed the job at TCU, we became big Horned Frog fans," Scott said. "We watch every game. We go to as many games as we possibly can. We're probably the biggest TCU fans from Kansas, so we're in love with the Frogs."
That includes a trip from Winfield to the 2017 Big 12 Tournament, when TCU beat KU in the quarterfinals.
"They were rooting like crazy for the Frogs and I was shocked, because I had been at TCU for three months and they had already just dove right in on the Horned Frogs," Steven said.
For the Schoon family, team loyalty on goes so far. Ultimately, family is more important to them than anything else.
"We've always cheered for KU, but, when it came right down to it, you've got to support your son," Scott said. "We had to support the Horned Frogs. We sat right behind the TCU bench and we were very happy after the game even though they upset our beloved Jayhawks."
Despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and limited capacity, the Schoon family returned for the 2021 Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament — ready to support Steven and the Frogs once again.
