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Pete ThamelESPN
Kansas has extended the contract of football coach Lance Leipold by a year, athletic director Travis Goff announced Thursday.
Leipold’s first season was highlighted by a win at Texas, as the Jayhawks went 2-10 and showed tangible signs of progress.
Leipold was hired in late April 2021, taking over one of the most challenging situations in college football last season in the wake of a winless 2020 campaign and the turmoil left behind from the departure of Les Miles.
The extension brings Leipold through the 2027 football season, and he’ll make $3.5 million in the final year of the deal, sources told ESPN.
Leipold signed a six-year contract upon his arrival, and Kansas officials considered it Year 0 because he didn’t coach spring practice and wasn’t around his players for a significant amount of time until summer camp. This extension brings him back to a six-year deal.
Along with the win on the road at Texas, Kansas led No. 3 Oklahoma 17-7 late in the third quarter of their October game and played competitively with Kansas State and TCU at the end of the season.
“This is a statement about our exceptional confidence in Lance, his outstanding staff and the unlimited potential of Kansas Football,” Goff said in a statement. “Given the progress that’s been made both on and off the field in such short order, I could not feel more strongly about the trajectory of this program under Lance’s leadership, as well as our shared commitment to elevate Kansas Football to unprecedented heights.”
Kansas has added 31 transfers since Leipold’s arrival, and the roster looks completely different than it did during Miles’ tenure. Since June 2021, 45% of the scholarship players have changed.
Along with investing in Leipold, Kansas is looking at ways to put more into the program’s infrastructure. Kansas is in the exploration phase of a significant facilities overhaul, which includes the football stadium and plans for a renovated day-to-day operations center for the program.
Leipold arrived at Kansas after a strong stint at Buffalo, where he led the Bulls to three consecutive bowl games and the only two bowl wins in school history. He is one of the most accomplished coaches in the history of Division III football, as he led Wisconsin-Whitewater to six national titles and went 109-6 in his eight seasons there.