Archive for Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Perkins did it his way

A.D. driven by money, winning



December 9, 2009




















TopJayhawk 5 years ago

I will miss Mangino. But like the article said. For 2.3 million. You really do expect more.
Go Lew Go.

TLR 5 years ago

Great article.

Sounds like Perkins understands the world of business and make no mistake about it, college sports is now a world of business. It no longer is the warm and fuzzy "all about the fans and student athletes" it once was. There's big money involved.

TCU had a full page ad in the "Houston Chronicle" yesterday congratulating their team but also selling the virutues of TCU.

When the Hawks continue to win on the field, the story will become, "Mangine who?"

Lee Eldridge 5 years ago

I don't understand all the Lew haters out there.

Mangino took the program as far as he could take it. If KU wants to be a football school, and Lew has moved it in that direction (sell out crowds, tailgating, real money for the head coach, the Anderson complex...) then he's made all the right moves here.

killjoy 5 years ago

When is he going to get the same investigation for his anger management problem? He is such an embarrassment to KU.

Kawatchi 5 years ago

Lew's job is to generate money and wins. Why would you not want to find a coach that can do more of each? Mangino had some good moments as a coach, but he rarely was interested in doing the things off the field that help generate money and interest in KU football.

julienstockwell 5 years ago

I am no English scholar, but why is "athletic director" not capitalized while "A.D." is? I'm just curious.

davidsmom 5 years ago

Those of you who say KU should fire Lew so we can hire a good coach - how does that make any sense? How long do you think it would take to find a new AD first? How long do you think we should go without a football coach? There are plenty of opinions out there and fortunately yours may not be requested by University admin. on this situation.

tennishawk 5 years ago

I very thought out article..I will miss MM also.I liked the exciting spread office ,,but it was half complete without a very good back.but did put up points with a healthy Reesing.

The stranglehold on Mangino was the terrible defense,a combination of lack of talent and coaching .It was this side of the ball that brought him down. Now for the new coach.I think Lew will bring in a guy who can bring the program up a notch.

Btw ,,,i wish the best for coach Mangino and his family.

tennishawk 5 years ago

hitme,,i think you have already been hit too hard in the head for writing that article..jump back in bed and get some rest so you can think things a little clearer after your swelled head resides.

Jerry Collins 5 years ago

Can't start out a new untested coach with $2M+. This is the Big 12. If you get a REAL coach give him the money, anyone else has to work his way up. Also, it was funny when Gruden's name came up- He sure want's to get involved with a program that does not allow you to raise your voice to the players.

moralebooster 5 years ago

What proven coach would want to work for Lew Perkins. As mentioned, he's not exactly "football-friendly." Couple that with his anger management problem and we standing in a bigger hole to recruit from. We're already paying out a fortune between the Mangino's and the extra we need to spend to draw someone that can both recruit and coach. Let Drue Jennings have the ball; he hired Bill Self. Hit the road Lew.

onetime97 5 years ago




yankeevet 5 years ago

My only complaint is the wasted practice football field; which could be used for parking during the games. I hardly ever saw them use it; instead they used the regular field; to hide from the public during practices. Looking forward too the new football coach; and new players; go KU Jayhawks. I think the KU/Missouri game was great; KU fought hard. I think that was the best game all season.

Jim Williamson 5 years ago

Folks who don't like Perkins say they understand college athletics is a business, but they really don't or they wouldn't dislike him so much. They just don't get it.

Find me a successful major corporation and I'll find you a CEO that the 90% of people think is an SOB.

DB Ashton 5 years ago

Houses don't clean themselves. They need a house cleaner. Mr Perkins has delivered precisely what he was hired for, and more. It wasn't going to be pretty, nor gentle. Now, he will live or die with this next hire and I will be gobsmacked if he opts for Nolan Cromwell/Turner Gill "potential," over an experienced, proven winner with regional connections. (Although I wish KU had the luxury of giving Nolan a three-year shot.)

Ricky_Vaughn 5 years ago

To all those bitching about "no more closed practices":

Get a life! You like beating dead horses? You think it really makes a difference?

Cry me a river, then build a bridge and get over it already.

1951jayhawks 5 years ago

I don't think it is as important who we get as the new Head Coach as we need to pay-up and get the best Assistant Coaches we can and let them do their jobs. Assistant Coaches make the program. Just look at the old K-State teams, it wasn't Snyder who made them winners it was the Stoops and the other Assistants. When they left Synder had dog poop seasons his last three years.

Ricky_Vaughn 5 years ago

KU's lack of talent is their biggest concern, not some spy watching their practices.

hesshawk 5 years ago

Uncle Fester continues to lurk in the shadows because he is a sneaky, backstabbing SOB. How has he survived this long in Athletic Administration without being able to speak in public is beyond me. I do not condone what MM did. But I did have a real problem with the conducting of an alleged "unbiased investigation" headed up by an employee of KUAC, who ultimately answers to Uncle Fester. Looks like Charlie Strong is going to Louisville. The longer this is dragged out, the more these "up and coming" coaches are gonna get extended to keep them where they are now. Turner Gill No NO NOOOOOOOOOO

Rock Chalk

Mark Bowers 5 years ago

What I find hard to understand from LP supporters is why they don't feel that the timing was completely horrible and distructive to the university? You all remind me of Republicans that blame the current administration for our over whelming deficit. If LP wouldn't have made it personal & handled it like a true busiman, than this could of happened now and our amazing basketball program would have probably over shadowed it a bit. Be honest, you either liked MM and don't appreciate the way LP handled it, or you're for the change because you blame everything on MM.

anon1958 5 years ago

LP is not answerable to anyone. Thus he is free to make manifest the fact that he is a manipulative, greedy, two-faced, dishonest egomaniac.

People that claim he is a "good businessman" are spouting rubbish. A good businessman achieves business goals while conducting their business in a professional manner that brings respect not shame to their business. The Lew lovers can make the case that he is a successful businessman in the narrow context of raising money but their are many people who will remain sour on KUAC long after Lew has snatched up all the easy pickings and fled Kansas.

Anyone that supports Lew is obviously too dense to realize he insulted them when he said that Mangino quit of his own accord and that he didnt have anything to do with it. Even in the context of absurd statements regularly made by many KU mouthpieces, Lew's laughable hypocrisy is noteworthy as a fabulous insult to people. It is also indicative that Lew has started to believe some of his own arrogant spin as ground truth.

jonas_opines 5 years ago


What's with all of the baseball-related metaphors? Couldn't he think of any good football-related ones?

4everahawk 5 years ago

With jobs being cut at KU and furloughs for some positions being put out there, does anyone ever wonder how many sons, daughters, girlfriends, boyfriends, wives, etc are being hired by athletics when no job vacancy was made public...seems it is becoming more a 'family' if you know what I mean....

Bruce Rist 5 years ago

I hope everyone remembers that Coach Mangino left KU Football a Heck of a lot better than he found it. We should be grateful

ResQd 5 years ago

Get over it, people. It was a business decision. Do you think that if KU basketball wasn't doing well, we'd still have Bill Self? I think not!

StrangerCreek 5 years ago

For those of you who know the term, Mangino was a perfect example of the "Peter Principal"

4everahawk 5 years ago

It's a good thing for coaches and staff that investigations aren't done into their private lives - half the staff would have to 'resign'. Good luck MM!

freighttrain221 5 years ago


When an allegation of abuse is made there's an obligation to look into it immediately, rather than when it's convenient for the alleged abuser. If a teacher was doing inappropriate things with your son or daughter, would you prefer to wait until the end of the school year to have the matter looked into?

hammerhawk 5 years ago

I have paid very close to this Perkins guy who stomped into Jayhawk country a few years ago and has wrecked havoc upon us. What turned me totally off the guy in the first place, was when he began his one-man attack on a downtown business man and through legal means wiped him out.
As an alum who was fairly successful after graduation, I donated quite often to the University. However, since the dastardly Perkins has arrived and strewn about his venom and ungentlemanly ways, I no longer give a dime to my alma mater. When Perkins perks his way out of our area, taking with him a sizable $$$ package I am sure, I probably will once again provide financial donations to my school. But then, I may not because of the lingering stench strewn about so carelessly by this so-called athletic director. Just who does he think he is anyway? Fire Perkins is the rallying cry from this quarter.

walkingonwater 5 years ago

I have a different take than the two previous posts. I do not read the article as bashing Mangino. If anything, I get the impression that Keegan liked Mangino. Instead, I think Keegan is calling into question Lew's tactics. I find the tone of the article to be disappointment at the way Mangino was fired. I am interested in how others read this article.

Ms_P_Lane 5 years ago

4everahawk, you’ve got a point about the family members of coaches and other athletics employees being hired on to the KU athletics payroll. I have also noticed the ever-growing trend that if a kid has a parent or other relative high enough on the KU corporate ladder, then after graduating from KU (or wherever), they are simply given (or should I say “gifted”) a job with KU athletics. This is quite interesting in light of all of the cuts to other KU programs…and a pretty nice graduation gift in light of today’s job market and economy, don’t ya think?

anon1958 5 years ago

walkingonwater (Anonymous) says…

I am interested in how others read this article.

It is a pedestrian rehash of the last few weeks, not really all that slanted. The facts speak for themselves. Lew is a hypocrite, Mangino is a run of the mill football coach, big time college athletics are joke, the quest for money is the real goal of college athletics and university presidents and chancellors are spineless cowards that will endure any shameful behavior from powerful coaches and/or athletic directors. All of this banality is ultimately endorsed by and paid for by a narcissistic fan base that requires hourly doses of sports news and entertainment.

The same opera plays out several times per year around the country.

newmedia 5 years ago

Just win Lew. Just win and eveything else takes care of itself...

Mixolydian 5 years ago

I really don't get all the dumping on Lew Perkins.

Successful teams, higher ticket prices, that's just the way it is and we should be happy for it. I could readily afford a ticket to the KU-KSU football game when both teams were winless and they ended up in a tie in the early 80's. (The toilet bowl to end all toilet bowls, both teams 0-10-1.)

Don't listen to the know nothing whiners Lew, we love you.

4everahawk 5 years ago

Ms P Lane: LP will be the first to tell staff that 'it is a privilege to work for athletics, not a right' but I guess it is his 'right' to create positions and then hire family and friends, then those people will consider it a 'privilege' to have a well paying job handed to them....

I just don't understand all the 'new' positions with so many cuts at KU. Sad, very sad situation for KU.

Haiku_Cuckoo 5 years ago

Lew is the best thing that ever happened to KU. No other A.D. In the country can match his business skills or vision. He wants teams that win and top-notch facilities...and that's what we've been getting.

Randall Uhrich 5 years ago

Say what you want about Mangino, but he's two wins from being tied for the winningest football coach in KU history. He's got image problems, and outperforming previous coaches wasn't all that hard, but he accomplished more than anyone else. One losing season and he's out on his butt.

Rickyonealku 5 years ago

Kansas University Football can enjoy a 2010 season worse than the 2009 season was. Wins and losses that #80 or #10 or #1 or #5 or or or Mark Mangion.

petty5069 5 years ago

Toe---"when will we start paying the athletes?" I think we are already...........they get an education, right? My daughter (at KU) isn't an athlete and she/we pay for her education. It might not be a cash paying job, but they aren't paying for their education either (unless they are a walkon or unscholarshiped player).

raw 5 years ago

Those that believe the world turns because of money has their man in Lew Perkins. Those that believe KU support begins and ends with money respect and love Lew Perkins. Before Lew, retired faculty, widows and long term supporters were treated with respect, kindness and grace. I will wish Lew well on his way out the door.

Don Whiteley 5 years ago

Let's face the facts: Perkins has brought KU sports into the limelight and on par with other major college programs. Like other Div. 1 NCAA schools, KU has dumped students and regular fans alike in favor of rich and corporate donors, KU has absolutely jumped up in both the football and basketball polls over the past 10 years while its academic programs have been on a progressive and continuous skid over the same period. Care to guess where the university's focus lies? Why in the world would you think about improving your Law, Journalism, or Engineering schools when donors like Dana Anderson and Tom Kivisto are willing to pour $31 million into making the Football stadium more cooshy for rich fans and athletes aspiring to multi-million dollar pro sports contracts? Hats off to KU; they made it to the big time in telling the ordinary student: "You don't matter"

Uhlrick_Hetfield_III 5 years ago

Well, since once again the KU basketball game isn't on basic cable thanks to Lew Perkins I have the time to read yet more about what a jerk he is.

Jeff Kilgore 5 years ago

I'm stupidfied at the amount of black/white right/wrong thinking on this board. I liked Mangino and I also like Perkins. What choice did Perkins have in the matter? If you were the parents of the kids that Mangino mistreated, would you ignore it? Not if you had one ounce of sense. Had he tried to sweep it under the rug, or keep it under wraps, then look how terrible the university would have looked. Have you thought of that, or are you just mad?

Yeah, Mangino brought our school some excitement, and I appreciate it. He leaves with millions and some never before reached heights. That's how I'll remember him. Those wins may or may not continue. But for those of you whiners who want to believe that KU or any university can let Grandma pay for retirement seat pricing in the day and age of modern athletics, then you are completely out of touch. I want a winner. I have a winner. KU, the only real winner in the entire Midwest. Let's keep it that way. Go Lew! Go KU!

unklemonkey 5 years ago

Lew Perkins is the best thing that has ever happened to KU athletics.

jaywalker 5 years ago

Jason Whitlock effect? Comeooooooooooon, LJW.

Markstaff 5 years ago


jhokfan 5 years ago

I’m surprised at the naiveté of so many seemingly intelligent people who think we should get rid of our AD. Fire Lew Perkins? Seriously? Why don’t we just eliminate the job description.

kenny_powers 5 years ago

This man is a hack; he'll never make in the real world of professional sports. What this job needs is someone who's been there and knows what it takes to be a superstar, someone who knows how to treat the fans and live the life right. I'm ready for that call...of course, the price has to be right, I'm expensive, but I'm Kenny Powers. Peace,,,out

luck few

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