Lack of departing transfers shows growth in Kansas football culture

The transfer portal can be both a blessing and a curse for many programs in college football.

Oftentimes, it’s a benefit to schools who have the winning pedigree, fan support, and NIL money to attract the biggest names looking for a new home. Oppositely, it can be a detriment to programs that aren’t as established in those areas as many of their players look for greener pastures (money pun intended) once the season ends.

Luckily for Kansas – a program trending upward but still not nearly as established as many of their peers – they are not one of the schools suffering from mass exoduses to the transfer portal this offseason.

The spring college football transfer portal window officially closed on Tuesday, April 30, and according to football recruiting expert Mike Farrell, KU was tied for the least amount of scholarship players entering the portal among Power 5 schools since Aug. 1, 2023, with nine.

That is nothing but a testament to the culture built by head coach Lance Leipold and his staff these past few years.

After years of hardship and ugly football, they have turned Kansas into a program that has seen back-to-back bowl appearances, hosted ESPN’s College GameDay, broken decades-long losing streaks, and brought life into a fanbase desperate for a team to be proud of.

They have earned the trust of their players by proving they can develop them and showing that they can have success at Kansas. That success has turned into more exposure, stronger NIL opportunities, and better facilities to support a winning program.

The low transfer numbers are also a testament to the players on this roster who want to play for this coaching staff and want to be a part of the rebirth that is taking place in Lawrence.

It would be easy for players having success to go play for a bigger name program in the SEC or Big Ten or perhaps play somewhere closer to home, but they aren’t. They aren’t taking the easy way out. Instead, they are bought in to making Kansas a consistent winner and building upon the change they’ve started.

And with all the talent returning this upcoming season, the Jayhawks have a chance at taking this program to heights it has never reached before.