# Kansas Jayhawks football
**Kansas Jayhawks football** is the intercollegiate [American football](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-football) program of the [University of Kansas](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-kansas) in [Lawrence, Kansas](https://www.edgepedia.org/lawrence-kansas), competing in the Big 12 Conference. The program has played 126 seasons from 1901 through 2026 and holds an all-time record of 559 wins, 673 losses, and 54 ties, with five conference championships and a 7-7 record in 14 bowl appearances.[1](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/kansas/index.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Seasons / record | 126 seasons (1901 to 2026); all-time record 559-673-54[1](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/kansas/index.html) |
| Conference titles | 5 conference championships; the most recent came in the Big Eight in 1968[1](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/kansas/index.html) • [2](https://apnews.com/article/1a6354be1c72dbf1d9d9f1525fb8b105) |
| Bowls | 14 appearances, 7-7[1](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/kansas/index.html) |
| Best modern season | 2007 under Mark Mangino: 12-1, capped by a 24-21 Orange Bowl win over Virginia Tech[3](https://kuathletics.com/sports/2024/4/15/football-archives) |
| Stadium | David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, capacity 50,071, in Lawrence[1](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/kansas/index.html) |
| Head coach | Lance Leipold, hired for the 2021 season; contract extended through 2029 at an average salary over $7 million[4](https://kuathletics.com/sports/football/coaches?path=football) • [5](https://www.deseret.com/sports/2026/07/21/kansas-football-2026-preview/) |
| Conferences | Big 12, Big 8, Big 7, Big 6, MVIAA, and independent[1](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/kansas/index.html) |
## Program history
Kansas has passed through a succession of conference affiliations that traces the reorganization of college football in the central United States: the MVIAA, the Big Six, the Big Seven, the Big Eight, and the Big 12, along with periods as an independent.[1](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/kansas/index.html) The program's strongest stretches came early in its history, and its most recent conference championship was won in the Big Eight in 1968, a season that ended with a 14-15 [Orange Bowl](https://www.edgepedia.org/orange-bowl) loss to Penn State.[2](https://apnews.com/article/1a6354be1c72dbf1d9d9f1525fb8b105) • [3](https://kuathletics.com/sports/2024/4/15/football-archives)
**The Mangino peak.** Under Mark Mangino, Kansas reached its modern high point. The 2007 team finished 12-1, placed second in the Big 12 at 7-1, and defeated [Virginia Tech](https://www.edgepedia.org/virginia-tech) 24-21 in the Orange Bowl.[3](https://kuathletics.com/sports/2024/4/15/football-archives) The program also reached bowls after the 2003, 2005, and 2008 seasons, beating Houston in the 2005 Fort Worth Bowl and Minnesota 42-21 in the 2008 Insight Bowl.[3](https://kuathletics.com/sports/2024/4/15/football-archives)
## Decline in the 2010s
From 2010 to 2020, Kansas won a total of 21 games, a stretch the Associated Press described as the standard for Power Five ineptitude.[2](https://apnews.com/article/1a6354be1c72dbf1d9d9f1525fb8b105) Coaching turnover was costly. Turner Gill was fired after two seasons with a 5-19 record, and Kansas owed him $6 million on the remaining three years of a five-year, $10 million contract, with his assistants owed another $2 million.[6](https://time.com/4006558/college-football-coach-salaries/) His successor [Charlie Weis](https://www.edgepedia.org/charlie-weis) received a five-year deal at $2.5 million a year and produced records of 1-11 in 2012 and 3-9 in 2013, leaving him 4-20 in two seasons before his dismissal during the 2014 season.[6](https://time.com/4006558/college-football-coach-salaries/) • [3](https://kuathletics.com/sports/2024/4/15/football-archives) David Beaty's tenure from 2015 to 2018 produced seasons of 0-12, 2-10, 1-11, and 3-9, and [Les Miles](https://www.edgepedia.org/les-miles) went 3-9 in 2019 and 0-9 in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.[3](https://kuathletics.com/sports/2024/4/15/football-archives)
## The Leipold era
[Lance Leipold](https://www.edgepedia.org/lance-leipold) became head coach for the 2021 season and inherited a team that went 2-10 that year.[4](https://kuathletics.com/sports/football/coaches?path=football) • [3](https://kuathletics.com/sports/2024/4/15/football-archives) Improvement followed quickly. The 2022 team finished 6-7 and reached the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, losing 53-55 in triple overtime, and the 2023 team went 9-4, finishing seventh in the Big 12 at 5-4 and winning the Guaranteed Rate Bowl 49-36.[3](https://kuathletics.com/sports/2024/4/15/football-archives) The 2023 season was the program's first winning season since 2008, and Kansas appeared in the AP poll and the [College Football Playoff](https://www.edgepedia.org/college-football-playoff) rankings that year, reaching as high as No. 19 in the AP poll and No. 16 in the CFP rankings.[1](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/kansas/index.html)
The two following seasons did not sustain the rise. Kansas finished 5-7 in both 2024 and 2025, missing a bowl game in each year, and the 2025 team placed 12th in the Big 12 at 3-6.[3](https://kuathletics.com/sports/2024/4/15/football-archives) Despite the setbacks, the university extended Leipold's contract through 2029 at an average salary of over $7 million a year.[5](https://www.deseret.com/sports/2026/07/21/kansas-football-2026-preview/)
## Rivalries and stadium
The team plays home games at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, a 50,071-seat venue.[1](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/kansas/index.html) Its principal rivalry is the Dillons Sunflower Showdown against Kansas State; the 2026 meeting in Manhattan was scheduled as the 124th time the two programs have played.[7](https://kuathletics.com/sports/football) The Border War series with Missouri was, at one point, the second-most played rivalry in college football history; the teams played regularly while both were in the Big 12, and the series was revived with a 2025 meeting won by Missouri 42-31.[8](https://static.www.nfl.com/image/upload/league/apps/league-site/media-guides/2025/KC.pdf) • [9](https://www.axios.com/local/kansas-city/2025/09/05/mizzou-ku-football-rivalry-jayhawks-tigers)
## References
1. [Kansas Jayhawks School History, Sports-Reference](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/kansas/index.html)
2. [AP Top 25: Oklahoma slips to No. 10; Kansas, K-State enter poll, Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/1a6354be1c72dbf1d9d9f1525fb8b105)
3. [Football Archives, University of Kansas Athletics](https://kuathletics.com/sports/2024/4/15/football-archives)
4. [2026 Football Coaches, University of Kansas Athletics](https://kuathletics.com/sports/football/coaches?path=football)
5. [Big 12 team preview: 2026 season an inflection point for Kansas, Deseret News](https://www.deseret.com/sports/2026/07/21/kansas-football-2026-preview/)
6. [How College Football Coaches Became Multi-Million-Dollar Money Pits, Time](https://time.com/4006558/college-football-coach-salaries/)
7. [Football, University of Kansas Athletics](https://kuathletics.com/sports/football)
8. [College Football at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, NFL media guide](https://static.www.nfl.com/image/upload/league/apps/league-site/media-guides/2025/KC.pdf)
9. [Mizzou vs. KU football rivalry reignites, Axios Kansas City](https://www.axios.com/local/kansas-city/2025/09/05/mizzou-ku-football-rivalry-jayhawks-tigers)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Rugby and other football codes › College, minor, and international American football › College football programs › Football programs › Central and Western United States programs*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license