The 1956 Kansas Jayhawks football team represented the University of Kansas in the Big Seven Conference during the 1956 college football season. In their third season under head coach Chuck Mather, the Jayhawks compiled a 3–6–1 record (2–4 against conference opponents), finished tied for fifth in the Big Seven Conference, and were outscored by all opponents by a combined total of 215 to 163.^[1][2] They played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kansas.

The team's statistical leaders included Homer Floyd with 638 rushing yards, Charlie McCue with 48 points scored, and Wally Strauch with 596 passing yards.^[3] Galen Wahlmeier was the team captain.^[2]

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
September 22	No. 7 TCU*	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS	L 0–32	28,000
September 29	Pacific (CA)*	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS	T 27–27	17,000
October 6	Colorado	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS	L 25–26	20,000
October 13	at Iowa State	Clyde Williams Field Ames, IA	W 25–14	9,552
October 20	No. 1 Oklahoma	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS	L 12–34	30,129
October 26	at Oklahoma A&M*	Lewis Field Stillwater, OK	W 21–13	14,000
November 3	at Kansas State	Memorial Stadium Manhattan, KS (rivalry)	W 20–15	19,000
November 10	Nebraska	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS (rivalry)	L 20–26	26,422
November 17	at UCLA*	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	L 0–13	21,913
December 1	at Missouri	Memorial Stadium Columbia, MO (Border War)	L 13–15	28,002
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game