Kansas hires Lance Leipold to interchange Les Miles as head soccer coach

LAWRENCE, Kan. — Lengthy-struggling Kansas soccer is all over over again in contemporary fingers.

The Jayhawks on Friday morning stuffed their vacancy at head coach with the hiring of Lance Leipold, who arrives at KU after a six-season stint in that characteristic with Buffalo. Leipold, 56, is now tasked with resurrecting a program that has lost 115 of its final 136 games in a skid that dates encourage to the center of the 2009 season — the Jayhawks secure chewed through five beefy-time head coaches in that point physique.

Vital facets of Leipold’s contract settlement weren’t at present available from KU, which launched the hiring appropriate after 9 a.m.

“It’s an exhilarating and humbling different, and that’s a day I will by no blueprint omit,” Leipold acknowledged. “We’re going to invent this program through increasing avid gamers, self-discipline and backbone. The philosophies engrained in our programs alongside the vogue will doubtless be key as we turn this spherical. That is a program that has somewhat a couple of young talent on the roster and has the infrastructure in space to be triumphant.

“The categorical days for this program are ahead, and my family and I are elated to be a section of it. I’m ready to rep to work and give every thing I in actual fact secure to the Jayhawks.”

Leipold earned the nod over Military head coach Jeff Monken, Louisiana Tech head coach Skip Holtz and Texas A&M defensive coordinator Mike Elko, with ESPN reporting that quartet because the checklist of finalists for the outlet. That vacancy used to be created when the Jayhawks’ outdated head coach, Les Miles, licensed a buyout of the final three years of his contract on March 8 amid resurfaced allegations of sexual harassment from his tenure at LSU.

When Leipold’s first season with KU kicks off with a matchup in opposition to South Dakota on Sept. 4 at David Gross sales situation Kansas Memorial Stadium, the team will doubtless be taking a look to interrupt a 13-game losing whisk. The Jayhawks dropped 17 of their closing 18 games under Miles.

Athletic director Travis Goff labeled Friday a “ample day” for KU.

“(Leipold) is a particular person of integrity, a developer of young males, a program builder and a winner,” acknowledged Goff, who himself used to be hired April 5. “His be conscious story of sustained excellence is precisely what we were taking a look for in our next leader, and is what the University of Kansas and our fans deserve. His commitment to maximizing our scholar-athletes’ abilities and skills on the self-discipline, within the study room, within the neighborhood, and in life after KU is animated. These qualities will attract folks and create them into outstanding Jayhawks.”

Leipold accrued a 37-33 story at Buffalo, though he’s enjoyed his most piquant success throughout the final three seasons, the keep he’s led the Bulls to a 24-10 keep with three straight bowl game appearances. And the Jefferson, Wis., native has already illustrated an means to secure success at a tough space to salvage — prior to Leipold’s arrival, Buffalo had made appropriate two bowl game appearances in its history and posted only two winning campaigns across its first 14 seasons within the Mid-American Convention.

A two-time MAC coach of the yr, Leipold led the Bulls to extra victories throughout the final four seasons (30) than any assorted member of their convention. And gradual final season, Buffalo cracked The Connected Press Top 25 poll for the first time in program history, a spotlight in a yr that culminated with a 5-1 story and a victory within the Camellia Bowl.

Leipold’s most piquant achievements arguably came at the Division III degree. Forward of taking the Buffalo job, Leipold served as head coach at Wisconsin-Whitewater, the keep the worn standout quarterback accrued a 109-6 story with six nationwide championships in eight seasons alongside with his alma mater. Identified six cases as a nationwide coach of the yr, Leipold holds the admire of reaching 100 profession victories sooner than any assorted coach in NCAA history.

Leipold’s profession also consists of stints as an assistant coach and later offensive coordinator at Nebraska-Omaha (1994-2000; 2004-06), time as a recruiting assistant at Nebraska (2001-03) and early-profession stops as an assistant at Wisconsin-Whitewater (1987-88; 1990) and Doane (1989). Leipold also served as a graduate assistant at Wisconsin (1991-93).

“We secure an responsibility to providing a world-class skills for our scholar-athletes and that remained at the forefront in the end of the quest,” Goff acknowledged. “Additionally, we owe our fans, donors and alumni a soccer program that will doubtless be built for sustained success. I’m assured that’s what we can present under the management of Coach Leipold.”

KU’s spring game is decided for 6 p.m. Saturday. It’s unclear what characteristic Emmett Jones, who served as meantime head coach following Miles’ departure, would support on a Leipold-led workers must he remain with the Jayhawks — Jones, who has been wide receivers coach for KU since 2019, used to be named a candidate for the permanent opening on April 15.

This text first and main seemed on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas Jayhawks soccer hires Buffalo’s Lance Leipold as head coach