“Rock Chalk” may sound nonsensical, but there’s much more to the famous KU chant than you probably realize.

Though all Jayhawks claim the Rock Chalk Chant today, it wasn’t always so universal. It began as the yell for the KU Science Club in the 1880s — “Rah rah Jayhawk, go KU.” The chant eventually turned into “Rock Chalk, Jayhawk, KU,” a reference to the chalky limestone native to the region.
College yells were in style and KU needed one. So the catchy chant was adopted by the university and, well, the rest is Jayhawk history.