Kansas is ‘Building a Championship-Caliber Football Program’ Under Lance Leipold
Kansas was the lovable loser of college football for over a decade after the Jayhawks failed to find traction after the end of the Mark Mangino era.
The program failed to record a .500 season and missed out on a bowl game in every season between 2008 and 2022.
However, when Lance Leipold stepped in and took over the program in 2021, something about the team in Lawrence changed almost immediately. That season, despite a 2-10 record, KU made history by beating Texas in Austin for the first time ever. It was also the Jayhawks’ first Big 12 win since October 26, 2019.
While many folks couldn’t see it then, that night foreshadowed much of the success that Kansas would come to find under Leipold in the seasons that followed.
“I’m so proud of our guys,” Leipold said. “They have been through so much. They battled, they kept believing in what we’re doing. We let the lead slip away, but we talked about trying to finish and playing hard for 60 minutes. We did it and then some. I’m so proud of them, and hopefully, it’s something we’re going to build on.”
Oh boy, did they ever build on it.
Heading into the 2022 season, the Jayhawks found themselves in a very familiar place – at the bottom of the Big 12 Preseason Poll. With 41 points and 48 voting members of the media, all but seven Big 12 experts put Kansas in the cellar of the conference.
Frankly, who could’ve thought otherwise? Kansas had finished in last place in all but one season (9th, 2014), dating back to 2012, and has won just seven conference games since Mangino’s exit after 2008.
However, 2022 was not another domino in a formation of helpless campaigns for the Jayhawks’ football program but a resurrection of a program that had been asleep at the wheel over the tenures of four head coaches.
In 2022, Lance Leipold reminded Kansas football how to win. After wins over Tennessee Tech, West Virginia, Houston, Duke, and Iowa State, KU found itself ranked No. 19 nationally and hosting College Gameday ahead of their matchup with No. 17 TCU. The Jayhawks would lose the game and their starting quarterback against the Horned Frogs, but by that time, the feelings in and around Lawrence had transformed.
There were expectations again. There was palpable disappointment with the loss.
“I think we showed ourselves that we can line up and play against people,” Leipold said after the loss. “We’ve just got to clean some things up.”
Kansas would take down No. 18 Oklahoma State, 37-18, a month later to get bowl eligible, but that would be the last time they’d taste victory all season.
Still, a 6-7 finish was thought to be impossible just a year or two beforehand, so things continued to trend upward for the Jayhawks.
Fast forward to the summer of 2023, and the perception of Kansas football had transformed even to those on the outside. The Jayhawks were picked ninth in the Preseason Poll, but not ninth out of 10 teams – ninth out of 14, putting them five spots ahead of last place.
Who would’ve believed that back in 2020?
Still, going 6-7 again would’ve been a disappointment after the program had made so much progress in its first two seasons under Leipold. Yet, despite all that success, a winning season had still eluded them.
That all changed, though, as Leipold’s culture and mindset permeated every heart in Blue and Crimson. They were ready to be the change that KU fans had been dreaming of for so long.
KU worked its way to a 5-2 record through seven games in 2023, mirroring its season to that point a year ago. On top of that, Oklahoma, a team that Kansas hadn’t beaten since 1997, was coming to town.
On a cold and rainy October day, all the history, laughing, and underachieving that had held Kansas back for so long came crashing to the ground when the final seconds ticked away inside David Booth Memorial Stadium, and the scoreboard read: Kansas 38, No. 6 Oklahoma 33.
The win moved Kansas to 6-2, making them bowl-eligible, but it also validated that what Leipold was building in Lawrence was real and that it was working.
“I’m just processing everything with the ups and downs, (the) emotion,” Leipold said. “How proud I am of this football team for so many reasons — so many today, but so many as a (coach)… To find a way to keep battling, come up with stops when we needed them and executing plays on top of that.”
“We’ve sat here for a long time just trying to keep it even, go steady and not talk about (it),” Leipold said. “You know what, it’s probably time for me to start talking about how proud I am of how far this program has come. It really has in a short time. That has to do with the players … especially the ones that stuck around (who) believed in the direction.”
The win over Oklahoma was not Kansas’ last in 2023 though, as the Jayhawks finally broke through and locked up their first winning season since 2007, finishing with a 9-4 record, including a Guaranteed Rate Bowl win over UNLV.
Entering the offseason, Kansas football had more momentum than it’s had since winning an Orange Bowl, and it’s thanks to the man who’s taken a beaten and battered program and turned it into a blue-collar, hard-nosed team on the rise.
Even in the transfer portal era, KU’s top players are returning to play for Leipold. Jalon Daniels and an entire supporting cast of offensive skill talent are set to return in 2024. His coordinators and assistant coaches are being targeted by top schools and NFL teams, but replacing them is easy when there’s an opportunity to coach under the man who turned Kansas around.
Fast forward to today, February 28, 2024, and it’s no wonder why Kansas did its part to make sure Leipold is locked in with the Jayhawks for the long haul — investing in the architect of all their recent success by making him one of the 20 highest-paid coaches in college football.
Reportedly earning $7.0 million annually, Leipold now ranks just behind Brent Venables (Oklahoma) and just ahead of Dan Lanning (Oregon) in terms of average annual salary.
“Today’s announcement is an indicator of two absolute truths surrounding Kansas Football – Lance Leipold is among the very best coaches and leaders in the country, and the University of Kansas continues to be unwavering in its commitment to building a championship-caliber football program for the long haul,” said Director of Athletics Travis Goff.
“Since Lance and his staff arrived in Lawrence, our program has seen exponential growth in every facet, both on and off the field. Winning nine games and earning a bowl trophy is an incredible accomplishment, but we are equally proud of the team for earning the highest grade point average in program history. Every aspect of our program is on an unprecedented positive trajectory, and we are eager to continue this prodigious build with Lance.”
That annual investment is part of a much larger plan to elevate Kansas football for the foreseeable future, as KU Athletics is well underway in rebuilding David Booth Memorial Stadium. With a price tag just short of $450 million, the renovations will totally transform the look and feel of a Saturday game in Lawrence, Kansas.
In a college town that has always been basketball-centric, a $448 million investment toward football is unheard of. Not anymore. Why? Leipold.
After winning six national championships at Division III Wisconsin-Whitewater and transforming a lowly Buffalo program into a winner in the MAC, Leipold has now turned Kansas into a winner.
Now, with the full support of his administration and fan base, Leipold can focus on turning the Jayhawks into “champions.”
“We are incredibly proud of what our football program has accomplished over the first three seasons in Lawrence, and look forward to the continued challenge of bringing a consistent winner and championship home to the University of Kansas,” Leipold said after signing the amended contract. “With the alignment that exists between Chancellor Girod, Travis Goff and Kansas Football, it gives us great confidence in the future of the Jayhawk program, and we are thankful and humbled by the support of the University and Kansas Jayhawk fans everywhere.”
