Wisconsin native and former Whitewater coach Lance Leipold gets big raise at Kansas
Former University of Wisconsin-Whitewater coach Lance Leipold is getting quite the raise as head football coach at the University of Kansas.
Leipold signed an updated contract Wednesday that increased his overall compensation to $7 million per year, to more than $40 million through the 2029 season. It's not an extension; his contract was already expected to run through 2029, but it's a $2 million bump from the $5 million he made last year when the Jayhawks went 9-4 and won the Guaranteed Rate Bowl.
Leipold, 59, has only a 17-21 record since arriving at Kansas but he's turned the program around and gotten them to back-to-back bowl games for the first time in more than 15 years. Kansas didn't win a game the year before Leipold arrived after spring football just before the 2021 season.
“Since Lance and his staff arrived in Lawrence, our program has seen exponential growth in every facet both on and off the field," Kansas athletic director Travis Goff said in a statement. "Every aspect of our program is on an unprecedented positive trajectory, and we are eager to continue this prodigious build with Lance.”
The contract also includes a pool of money that will allow Leipold to increase pay for his assistants.
Before arriving at Kansas, Leipold helped turn Buffalo into a consistent winner in the Mid-American Conference.
The native of Jefferson, Wisconsin, was a graduate assistant under Barry Alvarez at Wisconsin from 1991 to 1993 and got his first head-coaching gig with his alma mater, UW-Whitewater, in 2007. He promptly led the program to six NCAA Division III national titles in eight seasons. He reached 100 victories faster than any coach in NCAA history, needing just 106 games.
Leipold has been buzzed about for even bigger openings in recent years, including the University of Washington fresh off an appearance in the national title game. Leipold reportedly withdrew his name from that coaching search in mid-January.
With Texas and Oklahoma leaving for the SEC, Kansas becomes a bona fide contender for the Big 12 crown next year, even with new arrivals Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Former Whitewater coach Lance Leipold gets big raise at Kansas
