Sources: KU rewards Leipold with brand-new agreement
9:07 PM ET Pete ThamelESPN The University of Kansas and head football coach Lance Leipold have actually accepted terms on a brand-new
agreement that includes an extension through the 2029 season, sources told ESPN.Leipold, 58, has actually resuscitated the Jayhawks program in simply his second season in Lawrence, leading Kansas to a 6-5 record and its very first championship game considering that the 2008 season. This is Leipold’s second extension this season; the school announced an extension through the 2027 season in September.The dedication to Leipold, who was balancing $2.75 million each year on his preliminary six-year deal when employed in 2021, is indicative of Kansas’surge in dedication to football financial investment. In October, the school announced an arena overhaul project and other facility improvements that are expected to cost more than$300 million.
1 Associated The offer also is structured to keep Leipold in Lawrence for the long term. His name had been linked to the open jobs at both Nebraska and Wisconsin.The facility enhancement announcement at Kansas came prior to the Jayhawks hosted TCU for an appearance on ESPN’s “College GameDay”in October, the very first time the show had checked out Lawrence. Kansas started this season 5-0, with star quarterback Jalon Daniels emerging as an early favorite for the Heisman Prize. The Jayhawks won roadway games versus West Virginia and Houston and at home versus Duke and Iowa State, resulting in the school’s very first national ranking since 2009. Leipold didn’t get hired by Kansas up until late April of last season, acquiring a mess left behind by former coach Les Miles, who went 3-18 in 2 seasons. In Leipold’s first year in 2021, he authored a signature triumph with an overtime upset of Texas in Austin. Kansas was a 31-point underdog because game, which snapped a 56-game conference roadway losing streak. Perhaps more vital, the win provided a jolt of wish to a program that had long been entrenched in the Huge 12’s basement and provided immediate reliability for Leipold’s program.Since reaching the Insight Bowl and Orange Bowl in back-to-back seasons, in 2007 and 2008, Kansas football had spiraled into one of the sport
‘s laughingstocks. None of the 4 coaches since Mark Mangino’s shooting in 2009– Turner Gill, Charlie Weis, David Beaty and Miles– provided a winning record or lasted longer than four years.Leipold emerged as an early prospect for nationwide coach of the year in 2022, although those expectations have actually been tempered after Daniels got hurt in the home loss to TCU and the Jayhawks lost three straight. Kansas then beat No. 18 Oklahoma State to clinch bowl eligibility.Leipold won 6 national titles at Division III Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he went 109-6 prior to taking the Buffalo job in 2015. He led the Bulls to three bowl looks and two bowl success in six seasons.