Kansas football: Why fan support against Texas could be key for the future

This year’s Kansas football team has been a breath of fresh air for a fanbase that’s longed to see a competitive product on the field. Except, this team has been more than competitive.

In just year two of their current coaching regime, they’ve won games no one thought they could win, broken streaks that no one saw coming, and accomplished more than anyone thought possible by becoming bowl eligible for the first time since 2008.

Why all that success of the present state of the football program is (and should be) celebrated, there is a cause for concern about the future that shouldn’t get lost in all the excitement.

Because of the success the program has had in such a short amount of time, that has made head coach Lance Leipold a popular target for a pair of Big Ten head coaching jobs.

Nebraska fired Scott Frost back in September and Leipold’s name was one of the first ones floated around.

It makes sense. Leipold has ties to Nebraska, having been an assistant there under former head coach Frank Solich for four seasons in the early 2000s. Prior to that, he spent several years at Division II Nebraska-Omaha.

He’s familiar with the area, the program, and the Big Ten – including the University of Wisconsin.

Wisconsin fired their head coach Paul Chryst in early October. Former Badger and defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard then took over as interim head coach, but that interim tag has not yet been removed – making Leipold and others still very much in the mix.

Leipold – a native of Wisconsin – spent three years as a graduate assistant at Wisconsin under legendary head coach Barry Alvarez.

Alvarez then served as athletic director at Wisconsin from 2004 to 2021.

Both of these programs make a lot of sense for Leipold. If ever there was a “dream job” for him – Nebraska and Wisconsin would both qualify.

They both have passionate fanbases that support their football team year in and year out. They also play in a Big Ten conference that is set up to be one of the most powerful conferences – in terms of brands, competitiveness, and money – in the country next to the SEC.

Although Leipold has come out and said he plans to be at Kansas for the long haul, nothing is certain until he signs an extension this offseason.

Which is why it’s all the more important that Kansas fans come out and show their support this Saturday against Texas to demonstrate to Leipold that this fanbase can (and will continue to) support the football program.

This team is also bowl eligible for the first time in 14 years and it’s Senior Day. And yet, based on tweets like this, it appears fan attendance may be in doubt.

There couldn’t be more reason to support this team in their last home game of what has been a remarkable season.

Doing so could go a long way into reaffirming Leipold’s commitment to this university as contract talks begin to ramp up heading into December and Nebraksa and Wisconsin look to make their final head coaching decisions.