Will KU’s baseball success translate to more dollars for the Jayhawks’ program?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Travis Goff asked fans and boosters to provide funds for an indoor facility and Hoglund.
- Dana and Justin Anderson pledged to match the next $100,000 in donations to KU baseball.
- Fitzgerald’s amended six-year deal signed June 10, 2025 now runs through 2032.
Riding the momentum of Kansas’ Big 12 regular-season baseball title and successful performance in the league’s postseason tourney, athletic director Travis Goff last week asked fans for renewed financial support — specifically, money targeted toward Jayhawks coach Dan Fitzgerald’s rejuvenated baseball program.
The ask came amid the likelihood of the school being awarded — for the first time in program history — a coveted assignment as host site for an NCAA Tournament regional. (That happened, by the way, over the weekend.)
In an aggressive fundraising push, Goff got the message out via social media and email: Donors were needed to provide funds for construction of a state-of-the-art indoor facility and possible improvements to Hoglund Ballpark — a facility that opened in 1958 as Quigley Field.
“It’s been off the charts,” Goff said Monday of money coming in as the Jayhawks prepare for the start of a Friday-to-Monday regional that includes Northeastern, Arkansas and Missouri State.
There’s also a chance KU could host a super regional next, depending on upcoming results.
“We’ve had multiple gifts of six figures or more, so $100,000 or more multiple (gifts) that have sort of naturally come in through that effort,” Goff said. “We’ve had people step up. A group joined us in Phoenix and Surprise (Arizona) over the weekend (at the Big 12’s postseason tourney) that is rising to an unbelievable occasion to make these investments possible.
“We’re going to announce some of those gifts and then we’re going to help use them as catalyst to drive more support back to Kansas baseball. So it’s a combination of grassroots of social emphasis on getting more people engaged, and then, of course there’s a lot of targeted conversations happening at higher levels for the program.”
On Monday, several hours after the NCAA Tournament selection show on ESPN, Goff announced a matching challenge. According to a KU Athletics presentation on social site X, “(donors) Dana and Justin Anderson have stepped up in a major way for @KUBaseball with a commitment to match the next $100,000 in donations! Now is your chance to double your impact and help fuel the future of a program making history in Lawrence. From record-breaking moments to sold-out crowds, the momentum around Kansas Baseball has never been stronger!”
Goff said hosting a regional presents an opportunity to “think bigger and bolder about a more permanent future state for Hoglund. That’s obviously something we’re talking about.”
Goff explained that construction of an indoor facility is first on the baseball wish list.
“It’ll be right there, adjacent to the clubhouse to the locker room, and it will be critical as we and ‘Fitz,’ most importantly, have prioritized the day-to-day development for this team,” Goff said, referring to Fitzgerald. “So that’s first and foremost our lead emphasis, and then learning through the home enhancements this spring.
“The reality is ... are there things we should do and want to do with Hoglund Ballpark? Absolutely. Is that number one or number two on the immediate (list)? I think this weekend will show Hoglund’s got it. It’s got that spark. It’s got that magic.”
KU is adding temporary bleachers and standing room-only areas to increase the capacity from 2,500 to about 4,000 fans for the regional, which opens Friday with KU’s noon contest against Northeastern.
“We’re not trying to match some palace in some other part of the country and so we’re just excited to be given this opportunity to approach this in this baseball program to find ways to invest and find ways to make sure this isn’t just a one-time opportunity,” Goff said.
Donations in the future also will likely move toward an increase in baseball scholarships, possible revenue-sharing for student-athletes in the program and facility improvements.
Of course, with KU’s recent success — the Jayhawks (42-16) have reached the NCAA field of 64 for the first time in back-to-back seasons, and have become the fourth team in Big 12 history to win the regular season and postseason title in the same year — comes the challenge of keeping program-builder Fitzgerald in the Jayhawks’ dugout.
South Carolina reportedly has KU’s fourth-year coach on its list of candidates to fill a vacancy. At 48, he figures to be mentioned for various jobs in the future, as wel.
Fitzgerald was asked Monday if he’s “engaged in conversations at all contract wise whether it’s for you or your assistants to keep this going.”
“No,” the coach said, “but if you remember I signed a six-year extension last year and I think it’s triggered (an additional year for winning the Big 12 title).
“I’ll be honest, when I say I spend 100% of my time on the day in front of me, I really mean that, but I think it also triggered an additional year, so I’m not engaged in anything, except Travis and I talk literally daily and text each other about 10 times a day, so we’re as engaged as an AD and head baseball coach can be.
“There’s no possible way that I could be more excited about the future of Kansas baseball, and when someone told me that I triggered an additional (contract) year, that’s total joy,” Fitzgerald added. “We love every second of being here, and are so thankful for the extension last year, and yes, I wake up daily incredibly grateful for literally everything in my life, including the extension last year, to know where we’re going to be.”
On June 10, 2025, Fitzgerald signed an amended six-year contract that extends through the end of the 2031 season. Another year has been added for winning the 2026 Big 12 title, and thus his contract now runs through 2032.
His base salary, according to reports, rose to $675,000 last June with a $50,000 signing bonus. His salary is expected to grow to over $820,000 by the final year of the deal.
Goff was asked what makes him confident Fitzgerald will remain at KU.
“Again, it starts just with relationship, sort of human-to-human, man-to-man, so to speak,” Goff said. “The connection we have goes back before even the hire of him being here at KU.
“Somebody asked me this some weeks back, ‘What gives you that confidence?’ Again, it’s the human piece, first and foremost. It’s the part about him and his family having an awareness and a gratitude for what this place is providing them and affording them, and they deserve far more than we need to be able to give them.
“And then it goes back to a year ago. We didn’t say, ‘Let’s do something to check a box.’ We said, ‘We’re doing something for the long haul to make a statement, investing in this program and the staff.’
“When you look at that contract, my hope is it certainly won’t be the last one with Dan Fitzgerald at the helm. But it wasn’t just because you’ve got to do it, it was long haul — let’s lock this thing in.
“Now we’ll continue to be proactive and jump out in front not because of some narrative or the landscape, but because that’s what is earned and that’s what they warrant and have created and built here. So I’ve got great confidence, and ultimately when you talk about coach retention, they’re not all created equally, because you don’t always get the information you need on this side.
“Dan Fitzgerald’s not going to hold anything back in his communication to me about being here for the long haul and what this incredible increased support and investment look like, and so I get a ton of confidence with the quality of the human being that we will continue to be working with on those fronts.”
This story was originally published May 26, 2026 at 10:05 AM.
