Coming off back-to-back strong seasons, Kansas has reportedly approved a major pay bump for head football coach Lance Leipold.
According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Leipold will receive a “significant raise” in his salary, pushing it over $7 million yearly and into the top three among his Big 12 peers.
“Leipold has delivered back-to-back bowl seasons at Kansas, and the school has prioritized keeping him,” Thamel tweeted. “Leipold’s salary bump does not include new years on the deal. It’s part of a bigger investment in Kansas football by AD Travis Goff, as Kansas has invested $450 million in football stadium and facility upgrades and also a significant uptick in on-field and support staff salary.”
Leipold, who won six national championships at Division III Wisconsin-Whitewater from 2007-14, was hired by Kansas after six seasons at Buffalo. He led the Bulls to a 37-33 overall record, three bowl games and two MAC Eastern Division titles.
After going 2-10 in his first season at KU, Leipold guided the Jayhawks to a 6-6 regular season mark in 2022, ending the year with a loss to Arkansas in the Liberty Bowl.
That progress set up Kansas’ best season in 16 years, a 9-4 campaign that included four weeks in the AP top 25 and a 49-36 victory over UNLV in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl.
The win over the Rebels was KU’s first bowl triumph since beating Minnesota in the 2008 Insight Bowl.