Lance Leipold
Head Coach, Kansas
AGE: 58
HOMETOWN: Johnson Creek, Wisconsin
EDUCATION: Bachelor’s Degree, Wisconsin-Whitewater (1987); Masters, Wisconsin-Whitewater (1991)
FAMILY: Wife, Kelly; and children, Lindsey and Landon
Career Highlights
- Head Coaching Record: 163-60
Kansas 2023
- Finished the season 9-4; the school’s best finish in 15 years
- Back-to-back 4-0 starts (first time since 1914-15)
- 51-22 victory over UCF (biggest margin of victory against a conference opponent since 2008)
- Jalon Daniels and Devin Neal nominated for the Maxwell Award watchlist (first Kansas duo since 2009)
- With the sellout against BYU, Kansas football has officially had more sellouts since the start of the 2022 season as it did in the combined 13 years prior
- 2023 marked the University of Kansas’ largest freshman class ever and highest overall enrollment in 13 years
Kansas 2022
- First Bowl Game Appearance since 2008
- First National Ranking since 2009
- College GameDay came to Lawrence for the first time
- Started 5-0 for the first time since 2009
- First ranked win since 2010 (#18 Oklahoma State)
- First ranked win against a conference opponent at home since 2005
- Jayhawks won their first ever game in Morgantown
Kansas 2021
- Jayhawks defeated Texas in Austin for the school’s first Big 12 road victory since 2008 (ending a 20 game losing streak to FBS opponents)
Buffalo
- 3x Bowl Appearances (2018-2020)
- 2 MAC East Division Championships (2018, 2020)
- Nationally ranked for the first time in school history
- First 10-win season in program history
- Three of the Top 5 Buffalo seasons during tenure
- School-record 12 players named All-MAC (2020)
- First MAC Offensive POY and Second MAC Championship game appearance in school history
- Matt Weiser was named the first Academic All-American in Buffalo football history
Wisconsin–Whitewater
- 6x National Champions (2007, 2009-11, 2013-14)
- Record: 109-6
- 7 WIAC conference titles
Accolades
- Fastest Coach in NCAA History to reach 100 career wins
- MAC Coach of the Year (2018, 2020)
- National Coach of the Year, Division III (2007, 2009, 2010-11, 2013-14)
- George Chryst Coach of the Year (2009-11, 2014)
Experience
2021 – Present: Kansas (Head Coach)
2015 – 2020: Buffalo (Head Coach)
2007 – 2014: Wisconsin–Whitewater (Head Coach)
2004 – 2006: Nebraska–Omaha (AHC/OC)
2001 – 2003: Nebraska (Assistant)
1994 – 2000: Nebraska–Omaha (Assistant)
1991 – 1993: Wisconsin (GA)
1990: Wisconsin–Whitewater (Assistant)
1989: Doane (Assistant)
1988: Wisconsin–Whitewater (WR)
1987: Wisconsin–Whitewater (QB)
Bio
As a six-time National Champion, five-time conference coach of the year, two-time MAC Coach of the Year, and the fastest coach in NCAA history to reach 100 career wins, Lance Leipold knows what it takes to build a winning program. Coach Leipold started at Kansas in 2021 after a successful six-year stay at Buffalo, where in his final three years, he posted three straight winning seasons. Under Coach Leipold, Buffalo won 24 games from 2018 to 2020, marking the most successful three-year run in Buffalo history. Before his time at Buffalo, Coach Leipold served as the head coach at Wisconsin-Whitewater for eight seasons from 2007 to 2014, capturing six NCAA Division III National Championships and tallying an astounding record of 109-6.
After taking over a Buffalo program that went 7-17 in his first two seasons, Coach Leipold put together a record of 30-16 over his final four seasons, including three bowl appearances, and two bowl victories. In 2018, Buffalo won 10 games in a season for the first time in program history with the help of the Bulls’ record-breaking offense. Buffalo scored 484 points, 64 touchdowns and totaled 5,803 yards of total offense, establishing new school records in each category. In 2020, Coach Leipold continued showcasing his ability to create a winning team when Buffalo went a perfect 5-0 in the regular season, appeared in the national rankings at No. 24. for the first time in school history, and won the MAC East Division title for the second-straight year.
Coach Leipold is one of the best in the nation in player development and has a keen eye for recruiting. Leipold’s recruiting philosophy is to find under-the-radar prospects and put his time and effort into developing those players. This approach has come with great success for Coach Leipold as shown by Buffalo’s school-record tying 12 All-MAC selections in 2020, all of whom were recruited by Leipold. Buffalo also had 12 all-conference players in 2019, a season that culminated in the school’s first-ever bowl victory – a 31-9 win in the Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl. The 2019 season featured one of the best defenses in school history, ranking seventh nationally in total defense and fourth nationally against the run. Throughout his time as a head coach, Leipold has had four players selected in the NFL Draft and a total of 56 All-American honors.
Reputation
“Lance is a man of integrity, a developer of young men, a program builder, and a winner. His track record of sustained excellence is exactly what we we’re looking for in our next leader and is what the University of Kansas and our fans deserve. His commitment to maximizing our student-athletes’ abilities and experience on the field, in the classroom, in the community, and in life after KU is inspiring. Those qualities will attract individuals and develop them into exceptional Jayhawks.”
Travis Goff
Kansas Director of Athletics
