Rentals
KU commencement is the one on the Hill. Graduates walk down through the Campanile and into David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, 1101 Mississippi Street, Lawrence, and families come from everywhere to watch it.
It is also, genuinely, the best-served graduation in this region for anyone with mobility needs. KU publishes more detail than any other school we cover, and several of the most useful things are free. We would rather tell you about those first than sell you something you may not need.
The free things KU provides
Read this before you rent anything:
- A complimentary Commencement shuttle. Buses labeled "Commencement" run from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday, covering campus lots and downtown Lawrence, and take guests to the stadium. Published downtown stops include 900 New Hampshire Street, 6th and New Hampshire, and 8th and Vermont, with campus stops near Allen Fieldhouse and along Naismith Drive, Sunnyside Avenue and Jayhawk Boulevard.
- Paratransit, on request, for wheelchair accessibility. KU's instruction is short and worth memorizing: "For wheelchair accessibility, request a paratransit vehicle from any bus driver." You do not need to arrange it in advance. You ask the driver.
- Accessible drop-off on the west side of Memorial Stadium at the Anderson Family Football Complex. Enter the lot at 11th and Missouri and exit at 11th and Fambrough Way, or park there if spaces are available.
- Free parking in many lots and all garages from 1 p.m. Friday to noon Monday. Any guest with a state-issued disability hangtag or license plate can use KU's accessible stalls, on the west side of the stadium and across campus.
- A published stairless route. This is the single most useful sentence on KU's site: "To avoid stairs between Jayhawk Boulevard and Memorial Stadium, use the posted entrance for Snow Hall and take the elevator from Level 3 to Level 1 to reach the Memorial Campanile." For more stairless routes around campus, KU points to its Hawk Route map.
- Alternate indoor viewing that meets ADA requirements, at the Kansas Union, the Jayhawk Welcome Center and the KU Conference Center, with the ceremony broadcast live and captioned, plus a livestream anyone can watch from a phone.
- A sign language interpreter on the platform, shown on the stadium video screen.
- Accessible restrooms in the west concourse, plus accessible portable restrooms on the west side of the football practice fields.
If the person you are bringing can manage a shuttle step and a short walk, that list may be all you need. Say so plainly: for some families the right answer here is the free shuttle and no rental.
Where a scooter or chair still earns its keep
Three things KU publishes that the shuttle does not solve:
Accessible seating is first come, first served. KU describes "open limited-mobility and wheelchair seating that can be claimed by guests on a first-come, first-served basis." Nothing is reserved. Arriving early is the whole strategy, and arriving early is much easier when the walk in is not the hard part.
Parking at the stadium is reduced. For the 2026 ceremony KU said parking at the stadium "will be significantly reduced due to construction" and actively encouraged guests to shuttle in from downtown. Less parking near the stadium means longer walks for whoever does drive.
It is a long morning. The shuttle starts at 8 a.m., the ceremony begins at 10:30, and KU says it should conclude by 12:30 p.m. That is four or more hours of being out, most of it not sitting in your own seat yet. The ceremony is rarely what tires people. The morning around it is.
How the day runs
KU publishes the shape of it clearly. The ceremony begins at 10:30 a.m. with the procession down the Hill; the procession takes just over an hour; the formal program inside the stadium is about 35 minutes; and it should all be finished by 12:30 p.m. Graduates assemble on Memorial Drive by 10 a.m.
Tickets are not required for guests.
If the graduate is the one with limited mobility
KU addresses this directly, and it is easy to miss:
- Graduates who want to join the procession can be dropped off at the far east and far west ends of Memorial Drive. Because of closures, cars have to turn around after dropping off.
- "For the procession through the campanile and into Memorial Stadium, the west path has no stairs and is recommended for any graduates with limited mobility."
There are two parallel paths down the Hill. Take the west one.
Bear in mind the procession takes just over an hour, in regalia, outdoors, in mid-May. That is a long time on your feet for a graduate who struggles with distance, and it is the part of the day people underestimate most.
A note on the year
Most of KU's detailed guidance above was published for the 2026 ceremony, and several parts are tied to construction at Memorial Stadium for the Gateway District project. For 2026 KU limited seating to sections on the west and north sides, said there would be no overflow seating on the field, and asked each graduate to limit guests to six people. Accessible seating that year was listed in sections 101, 103, 109, 114–117, 214–221, 304, 305, 307 and 308, with the west-side elevators available.
KU's homepage lists the next ceremony as Sunday, May 16, 2027 at 10:30 a.m. Whether the construction limits still apply that year is not something we can tell you, so confirm the current arrangements before you travel.
For accommodations, KU asks guests to contact the Office of University Ceremonies and Special Events at commencement@ku.edu, and for the 2026 ceremony it set a deadline of May 1. If you need something specific, that email and an early date are the way to get it.
KU Senior Sendoff
The week before Commencement, KU's Senior Sendoff brings the senior class and their families to campus for programming, awards and receptions at venues such as Allen Fieldhouse. If you're coming for both, one rental can cover the whole stretch: we deliver to your Lawrence hotel or home, and you keep the equipment through Commencement weekend.
Delivering to Lawrence
Lawrence is about 40 miles west of Kansas City. It is outside our everyday metro run, but it is well within reach and closer than some places we already serve. We deliver there for events like this with a little notice, and delivery is quoted separately.
We bring a mobility scooter, wheelchair, transport chair or rollator to where you are staying, cleaned and charged, and collect it afterwards. For a Sunday ceremony, most families take delivery on the Saturday so the morning is just driving.
One practical note: if you are planning to use KU's shuttle, tell us. A rollator with a seat or a folding transport chair loads onto a bus far more easily than a full-size scooter. For a guest whose problem is standing rather than distance, it is often the better piece of equipment anyway, and it costs less. If your plan is to drive and park instead, a scooter usually wins. We will tell you which we think fits your day rather than selling you up.
Booking
Tell us the date, where you are staying, and whether you are shuttling or driving. Commencement weekends are the tightest dates in our year, because every family in the same position is booking the same Sunday. Call as soon as you know your plans.
KC Mobility Scooter Rentals is an independent rental company. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or speaking on behalf of the University of Kansas, and we do not control any campus or venue policy. Details here were read from KU's own published commencement pages in September 2026. Always confirm the current year's arrangements with the university before you travel.