KU Jayhawks Q&A: Diving into AD Travis Goff’s comments on Kansas football, realignment
Kansas athletic director Travis Goff was cautiously optimistic about the Kansas football team heading into last season.
Still, Goff didn’t know exactly how year two of coach Lance Leipold’s tenure would go.
The Jayhawks (6-7, 3-6 Big 12) made the Liberty Bowl, their first bowl game since 2008 — an outcome that even surprised Goff.
“Without a doubt, in my estimation, (KU football is) ahead of schedule,” Goff told The Star on Wednesday. “I wasn’t telling anybody (to) expect a bowl game, expect six wins. I wouldn’t have said that even in my most optimistic state. That’s the honest answer.”
Goff spoke with The Star in a Twitter Spaces Q&A Wednesday evening that covered a number of different topics. That list included the latest on David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium and Allen Fieldhouse renovations.
Here’s a look at some of what he said and what it means. Some questions and answers have been shortened for clarity.
This replaces our usual Kansas mailbag, which comes out each Friday.
Q: There’s a clause in Lance Leipold’s contract extension that reduces his buyout if Goff no longer leads KU Athletics. Can you speak to your relationship with Leipold?
Goff: I think, without question, our arrivals synced up around the same time and I had a chance to head up that search and bring Lance to Lawrence. We kind of got off the ground at the same time. ...
We had a similar vision of what it would take to build the right kind of football program at KU. When you are doing that and you’ve got the recent history that we’ve had, you better be spending a bunch of time together. You better be communicating regularly, so without question, we’ve done exactly that.
To me, it’s a statement around continuity, whether it be in the athletic director position, the chancellor’s critical role (and) the head football coach position. Gosh, to be successful at this level, you’ve got to have degrees of continuity and I think that’s what reflects in the contract.
What it means (Shreyas’ thoughts):
KU fans should be quite happy with this response. It’s rare to see a coach/AD duo that’s so intertwined, let alone tied together that way in a contract. It’s clear the two communicate with each other regularly — and both are often complimentary of each other.
For better or worse, a large part of KU football’s future hinges on that duo’s shoulders.
Q: Before Leipold signed his contract extension in November, how close was he to leaving KU?
Goff: In this industry, if you allow yourself to be too comfortable, then the reality is that you can miss a particular moment, a particular window in time. I didn’t know much, maybe, but I knew that I wasn’t going to allow KU to miss this particularly critical moment in Kansas football.
You pay attention to the market; there are always rumors out there circulating. At the end of the day, it was about investing in the staff. It was about giving us our very best chance at continuity at the helm and continuing to build upon the momentum we have with Lance and the staff.
So, that really became the driving force. It’s always hard to find the right time and window to start that dialogue because, inevitably, you are going to be in season to some extent, but I wasn’t going sit back and say we won’t talk about it. I might tease it, but we can’t talk about it until the season finishes. I knew that not to be a strategic decision in the best interest of KU.
We had talked about it early and it took the right amount of time to come to the ideal outcome.
What it means (via Shreyas):
Leipold was a hot commodity in the coaching market, especially after a 5-0 start for KU. There were reports leading up to the extension that linked Leipold to openings at Nebraska and Wisconsin.
Clearly, Goff didn’t want to take any extra chances on Leipold leaving and initiated conversations early. In November, Leipold signed a contract extension that will keep him in Lawrence through the 2029 season.
Q: What can KU fans expect from the football team in the upcoming season?
Goff: I think it starts with: How do individuals within the program continue to develop? Obviously, there is a real team dynamic, there is a culture, there is an identity and there is an incredible buy-in. I knew all of that stuff would be intact by now, but I think the development is going to be one of the telltale signs of how much progress we make this offseason going into season three under Lance and the staff.
I expect it to be significant. We’ve got good players in the program. We got guys that are already grown and matured physically with the understanding of the game — all those great things. I think that’s going to show up and that’s going to equate to a team that’s going to make another jump next year.
Again, who knows (about) wins and losses and all that stuff. Obviously, it matters, we keep score, it’s critical. I don’t know that part, but I think we will be a better team in 2023 and I’m excited about that.
What it means (via Shreyas):
Goff has high expectations for KU football next season and who can blame him?
The Jayhawks bolstered their defense and special teams with much needed transfer portal additions. KU’s transfer class is ranked No. 25 in the nation, according to Rivals.
At the minimum, expectations should be another bowl appearance. Anything more than that is gravy. Making two straight bowl games after years of not making a single bowl appearance is a sign of a program on the rise.
Q: What are your thoughts on the men’s basketball team and the chances they repeat the success from last year with another title?
Goff: I don’t know if it was precisely a year ago at this time, but sometime around this time frame last year, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to say, ‘Gosh, was that team going to be able to pull it together? Could they make a deep run?’
It felt like there were still some things that were unsettled — rotation or whatever you might want to evaluate for us novices that aren’t Bill Self.
If I learned anything, it’s to understand that typically what’s been proven is that Bill Self-coached teams are at their best in the new year. Whether that be January and getting into the heart of Big 12 play or whether that be February when you are fighting for a Big 12 championship or as you get into the postseason in March.
That’s what I felt on Monday night against Texas. It was like, ‘Hey, for however many times we’ve had to be reminded this is kind of what Kansas basketball does.’ They start really getting all the pieces to come together. Guys start to maximize their reach (and) potential at this time of the year.
I don’t think any of us should be surprised if this team goes on to achieve at the level we’ve come to expect. I think they are capable of it; I think their confidence is good.
I’m excited for them to get on the road Saturday and keep this thing rolling.
What it means (via Shreyas):
Goff said it best: Patience is a virtue. Kansas men’s basketball is still putting things together, so it’s too early to say they will or will not repeat. But Goff has confidence in the process, for sure.
Q: What’s it like being an athletic director in the age realignment?
Goff: There are definitely no dull moments. No two weeks have been the same since I’ve gotten here. There’s been a lot of change with the announcement of Oklahoma and Texas (leaving the conference) that first summer.
You can’t get comfortable. You can’t assume that anything is fixed. You have to really put your institution at the forefront. But you still have to be a great partner and leader for your conference.
Listen, OU and Texas’ departure, it means something. You feel that in one way shape, or form.
By the time they get out of here, it’s going to feel good. It’s going to be healthy for everybody involved.
The way we’ve thought about it is that there’s no reason why Kansas would not be ‘a’ or ‘the’ leader in the Big 12. I think of the ambition we have. The Big 12 is an awfully competitive conference.
We won’t rest on our laurels as we think about what the future looks like wherever it goes, wherever conferences go, wherever realignment might go, wherever the NCAA goes.
At the end of the day, if we are fully invested in doing things in the right manner with real strategic ambition at KU, Kansas has the incredible balance of being a place with amazing history, tradition and success with also remarkable upside and potential.
That, to me, is what makes it all so exciting.
What that means (via Shreyas):
Goff appears committed to making sure KU is the “leader” of the Big 12 and the school people think of when Big 12 comes to mind.
How does that happen? Continue to make sure football becomes better each year, let basketball do what it does and win as much as possible in other sports.
There’s no better thing to build KU’s brand than winning. Also worth a note, Goff certainly didn’t rule any future possibilities out, conference-wise or otherwise.
