Turner Gill
Encyclopedia
Turner Hillery Gill is an American football coach who most recently served as the head coach at Kansas
from 2010-2011, and was one of 11 African-American head coaches in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision at the time of his hiring.
Gill arrived on campus in 1980 and saw limited action in mop-up duty as a freshman, which at the time was still relatively unusual, as freshmen had only been recently allowed under NCAA rules to participate at the varsity level.
Nebraska started the 1981 season poorly, losing two of its first three games and performing anemically on offense at times in all three. Gill had found himself third on the depth chart prior to the Huskers season opener, behind Mark Mauer and Nate Mason.
Down 3-0 to Auburn at halftime during the fourth game, with the season on the verge of slipping away, Osborne inserted Gill into the game. The Huskers pulled out a 17-3 victory, and Gill was given the starting job the following week. Behind Gill, the Huskers demolished Colorado 59-0, thus setting off an unbeaten run through the Big 8 conference, which Nebraska would win outright for the first time since 1971. However, during the season's penultimate game against Iowa State, Gill suffered what initially appeared to be an innocuous leg injury. Instead, doctors discovered nerve damage which sidelined him for the remainder of the 1981 season. Although the Huskers would beat Oklahoma without him, they were not able to overcome a stingy Clemson defense in the Orange Bowl
, where a win may have given the Huskers a possible national championship.
Gill came back strong during 1982 and led the Huskers to a second consecutive outright Big 8 title and a 12-1 record overall, losing only a controversial game at eventual national champion Penn State in September. However, he suffered the first of many concussions in a game against Missouri which would ultimately shorten his playing career.
During his senior season, Turner would call the signals for one of the most prolific offenses in college football history, averaging 52 points and 401 rushing yards per game. Gill finished fourth in the voting for the 1983 Heisman Trophy
which was won by teammate Mike Rozier
. The Huskers came within a whisker of a national championship, falling to the University of Miami
, just one point short following a failed two-point conversion attempt in the 1984 Orange Bowl
.
Overall, Gill finished with a 28-2 record in his three years as a starter, winning three consecutive outright Big Eight championships with a perfect 20-0 mark in conference play. Despite this, he was unable to lead the Huskers to a national title, falling agonizingly short in each of his three seasons.
Montreal Concordes. In two seasons with the Concordes, Gill had 727 pass attempts with 411 completions for 4,928 yards and 23 touchdowns to 24 interceptions. He also had 826 rushing yards on 173 carries and seven touchdowns. Gill was just beginning to reach his potential as a professional player when he suffered three concussions, two of them coming in back-to-back games against the Saskatchewan Roughriders
and British Columbia Lions
. His third concussion was deemed serious enough that he was advised by doctors to retire from football at age 23 in 1986. At the time Gill had one year plus an option remaining on a three-year contract reportedly worth $1.2 million
at age 17 and again by the New York Yankees at age 21. In college, he batted .284 in 48 games for Nebraska during the 1983 season. Gill was signed by the Cleveland Indians
in May 1986 and spent two years in their organization and a third in the Detroit Tigers
farm system before deciding to return to football as a coach.
, his alma mater, serving one year as a graduate assistant coach. After spending a season each at the University of North Texas
and Southern Methodist University
, Gill returned once again to Nebraska, where he coached quarterback
s from 1992–2003 and wide receivers in 2004. Gill served as position coach for two first team All-Americans, Tommie Frazier
and Eric Crouch
, with Crouch also earning the Heisman Trophy
under Gill's tutelage. The Cornhuskers
earned three national championships in Gill's time as an assistant there.
as Director of Player Development to help players become acclimated to playing professional football in Green Bay
and to direct players to resources concerning community involvement, continuing education, financial management, and retirement planning. He also served as an assistant wide receivers coach and an offensive assistant coach through December 2005.
championship in 2008.
) with a winning record for the first time since joining the MAC in 1999. Kent State had a 5-3 record at the time but ended the season 6-6.
, the first winning conference record the squad had posted since joining the MAC in 1999. This was also the Bulls' first winning record at home since moving to Division I. The team finished third out of six schools in the Mid-American Conference
East Division but shared co-division champion honors. Gill was named MAC Coach of the Year for 2007.
Because of the great turnaround that Gill orchestrated in only his second season at Buffalo, he was one of two leading candidates to replace Bill Callahan
as head coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
However, Bo Pelini
was hired as the new Nebraska head coach.
, Gill's Buffalo
team continued its steady improvement, finishing the regular season 7-5 and winning the East division of the MAC. On December 5, Buffalo played #12 Ball State
in the MAC Championship Game
at Ford Field
in Detroit. Ball State was heavily favored, as it entered the game with a perfect 12-0 mark, while Buffalo came in off a home loss to Kent State that had ended a five-game winning streak. However, Buffalo scored two touchdowns on fumble returns and won the game 42-24, giving the school its first MAC championship. Following the victory, Buffalo accepted a bid to play in the International Bowl
in nearby Toronto, marking the school's first bowl since joining the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision in 1999. The season also saw Buffalo break its all-time scoring record, having numerous players break school career and single-season records and saw UB earn unprecedented national coverage, with five appearances on the ESPN family of networks as the Bulls were 4-0 in those contests. Also, four of Buffalo's five losses this season (Pittsburgh
, Missouri
, Western Michigan
, and Central Michigan
) came against teams which advanced to bowl games, with two of those teams ranked in the AP Top 25.
With Gill's continued success at Buffalo, he once again became the focus of speculation about a possible move to a bigger program. Gill interviewed at Syracuse University
, where he was passed over for Doug Marrone
, the offensive coordinator for the NFL's New Orleans Saints
.
Gill also interviewed for the head coaching position at Auburn University
, losing out to Iowa State head coach Gene Chizik
, who had a 5-19 record. On December 15, former NBA superstar and Auburn player Charles Barkley
, who had previously endorsed Gill for the position, criticized Auburn's passing over of Gill in favor of Chizik, saying "race was the No. 1 factor. You can say it's not about race, but you can't compare the two résumés and say [Chizik] deserved the job. Out of all the coaches they interviewed, Chizik probably had the worst résumé."
The following day, December 16, Buffalo announced that Gill had agreed to a contract extension and a raise, with his contract running through 2013 and making him one of the highest-paid coaches in the MAC.
football team, replacing Mark Mangino
, who resigned amid rumors and an investigation of questionable coaching practices. His daughter, Jordan Gill, was already a student at the University of Kansas, as well as an employee with the athletic department. It marked his return to the Big 12 Conference
after leaving his assistant coaching post at Nebraska after the 2004 season.
Kansas Jayhawks football
The Kansas Jayhawks football program is the intercollegiate football program of the University of Kansas Jayhawks. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I, and the team competes in the Big 12 Conference....
from 2010-2011, and was one of 11 African-American head coaches in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision at the time of his hiring.
College
Gill graduated from Arlington Heights High School in Fort Worth, Texas where he was an all-state, all-county and all-district quarterback for Coach Merlin Priddy. During his senior season, Gill was courted heavily by Nebraska, as well as arch-rival Oklahoma, and Texas. Nebraska won the spirited battle for Gill, in part because they would allow Turner to play baseball as well as football, but also because head coach Tom Osborne had managed to quell any rumors about Nebraska supposedly being reluctant to play an African-American at quarterback.Gill arrived on campus in 1980 and saw limited action in mop-up duty as a freshman, which at the time was still relatively unusual, as freshmen had only been recently allowed under NCAA rules to participate at the varsity level.
Nebraska started the 1981 season poorly, losing two of its first three games and performing anemically on offense at times in all three. Gill had found himself third on the depth chart prior to the Huskers season opener, behind Mark Mauer and Nate Mason.
Down 3-0 to Auburn at halftime during the fourth game, with the season on the verge of slipping away, Osborne inserted Gill into the game. The Huskers pulled out a 17-3 victory, and Gill was given the starting job the following week. Behind Gill, the Huskers demolished Colorado 59-0, thus setting off an unbeaten run through the Big 8 conference, which Nebraska would win outright for the first time since 1971. However, during the season's penultimate game against Iowa State, Gill suffered what initially appeared to be an innocuous leg injury. Instead, doctors discovered nerve damage which sidelined him for the remainder of the 1981 season. Although the Huskers would beat Oklahoma without him, they were not able to overcome a stingy Clemson defense in the Orange Bowl
1982 Orange Bowl
The 1982 edition of the Orange Bowl featured the Nebraska Cornhuskers, and the Clemson Tigers.Clemson, coached by Danny Ford, came into the game unbeaten at 11-0 and ranked #1 and was attempting to win its first national championship...
, where a win may have given the Huskers a possible national championship.
Gill came back strong during 1982 and led the Huskers to a second consecutive outright Big 8 title and a 12-1 record overall, losing only a controversial game at eventual national champion Penn State in September. However, he suffered the first of many concussions in a game against Missouri which would ultimately shorten his playing career.
During his senior season, Turner would call the signals for one of the most prolific offenses in college football history, averaging 52 points and 401 rushing yards per game. Gill finished fourth in the voting for the 1983 Heisman Trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
which was won by teammate Mike Rozier
Mike Rozier
Michael Rozier is a former American collegiate and professional football running back who won the Heisman Trophy in 1983. He was born in Camden, New Jersey. Mike and his wife, Rochelle, an attorney, reside in South Jersey and together they have one son. Mike has two other children who reside in...
. The Huskers came within a whisker of a national championship, falling to the University of Miami
University of Miami
The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
, just one point short following a failed two-point conversion attempt in the 1984 Orange Bowl
1984 Orange Bowl
The 1984 Orange Bowl was the 50th annual Orange Bowl Classic, played on January 2, 1984, between the unbeaten Nebraska Cornhuskers and the once-beaten Miami Hurricanes, for the national championship. After leading 31-17 in the fourth quarter, Miami held on for a 31-30 victory...
.
Overall, Gill finished with a 28-2 record in his three years as a starter, winning three consecutive outright Big Eight championships with a perfect 20-0 mark in conference play. Despite this, he was unable to lead the Huskers to a national title, falling agonizingly short in each of his three seasons.
College football statistics
| Passing | Rushing | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| YEAR | CMP | ATT | CMP% | YDS | TD | INT | ATT | YDS | TD |
| 1980 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 26 | 0 |
| 1981 | 47 | 91 | 51.6 | 619 | 9 | 4 | 76 | 263 | 3 |
| 1982 | 90 | 166 | 54.2 | 1182 | 11 | 3 | 101 | 497 | 4 |
| 1983 | 94 | 170 | 55.3 | 1516 | 14 | 4 | 109 | 531 | 11 |
Pro career
Gill bypassed the NFL and instead signed a lucrative contract with the Canadian Football League'sCanadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
Montreal Concordes. In two seasons with the Concordes, Gill had 727 pass attempts with 411 completions for 4,928 yards and 23 touchdowns to 24 interceptions. He also had 826 rushing yards on 173 carries and seven touchdowns. Gill was just beginning to reach his potential as a professional player when he suffered three concussions, two of them coming in back-to-back games against the Saskatchewan Roughriders
Saskatchewan Roughriders
The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a Canadian Football League team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. They were founded in 1910. They play their home games at 2940 10th Avenue in Regina, which has been the team's home base for its entire history, even prior to the construction of Mosaic Stadium at Taylor...
and British Columbia Lions
British Columbia Lions
The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team competing in the West Division of Canadian Football League . Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, the Lions play their home games at BC Place Stadium in Downtown Vancouver, having previously played at Empire Stadium in East Vancouver from 1954...
. His third concussion was deemed serious enough that he was advised by doctors to retire from football at age 23 in 1986. At the time Gill had one year plus an option remaining on a three-year contract reportedly worth $1.2 million
Baseball
Turner decided to return to baseball. A standout shortstop, Gill had been drafted by the Chicago White SoxChicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
at age 17 and again by the New York Yankees at age 21. In college, he batted .284 in 48 games for Nebraska during the 1983 season. Gill was signed by the Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
in May 1986 and spent two years in their organization and a third in the Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
farm system before deciding to return to football as a coach.
University of Nebraska
In 1989, Gill began his coaching career at the University of NebraskaUniversity of Nebraska–Lincoln
The University of Nebraska–Lincoln is a public research university located in the city of Lincoln in the U.S. state of Nebraska...
, his alma mater, serving one year as a graduate assistant coach. After spending a season each at the University of North Texas
University of North Texas
The University of North Texas is a public institution of higher education and research in Denton. Founded in 1890, UNT is part of the University of North Texas System. As of the fall of 2010, the University of North Texas, Denton campus, had a certified enrollment of 36,067...
and Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church...
, Gill returned once again to Nebraska, where he coached quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
s from 1992–2003 and wide receivers in 2004. Gill served as position coach for two first team All-Americans, Tommie Frazier
Tommie Frazier
Tommie James Frazier, Jr. is a former American football player and coach in the United States. He played quarterback for the Nebraska Cornhuskers....
and Eric Crouch
Eric Crouch
Eric Eugene Crouch is an American quarterback for the Omaha Nighthawks. He also is a TV sports analyst and recreational equipment vendor....
, with Crouch also earning the Heisman Trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
under Gill's tutelage. The Cornhuskers
Nebraska Cornhuskers
The Nebraska Cornhuskers is the name given to several sports teams of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference...
earned three national championships in Gill's time as an assistant there.
Green Bay Packers
In 2005, Gill was hired by the Green Bay PackersGreen Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
as Director of Player Development to help players become acclimated to playing professional football in Green Bay
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Green Bay is a city in and the county seat of Brown County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, located at the head of Green Bay, a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It has an elevation of above sea level and is located north of Milwaukee. As of the 2010 United States Census,...
and to direct players to resources concerning community involvement, continuing education, financial management, and retirement planning. He also served as an assistant wide receivers coach and an offensive assistant coach through December 2005.
University at Buffalo
Gill agreed to a five-year contract to become the 23rd head football coach at the University at Buffalo on December 16, 2005. The Buffalo Bulls had gone 8-49 under previous coach Jim Hofher, and was considered "one of the three or four worst FBS programs in the nation when [Gill] took over." Under Gill, the Bulls improved each of the first three seasons, winning the Mid-American ConferenceMid-American Conference
The Mid-American Conference is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twelve full member schools are in Ohio and Michigan, with single members...
championship in 2008.
2006
Turner Gill won two games in his first season with Buffalo compiling a 2–10 record. Despite its record Buffalo achieved some success. The team set a school record for most points in a season since moving to Division I, with 220. UB also scored the most points of any team in the MAC East Division and defeated an opponent (Kent State UniversityKent State University
Kent State University is a public research university located in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university has eight campuses around the northeast Ohio region with the main campus in Kent being the largest...
) with a winning record for the first time since joining the MAC in 1999. Kent State had a 5-3 record at the time but ended the season 6-6.
2007
Gill's Buffalo team finished 5–7 overall with a 5–3 record in the Mid-American ConferenceMid-American Conference
The Mid-American Conference is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twelve full member schools are in Ohio and Michigan, with single members...
, the first winning conference record the squad had posted since joining the MAC in 1999. This was also the Bulls' first winning record at home since moving to Division I. The team finished third out of six schools in the Mid-American Conference
Mid-American Conference
The Mid-American Conference is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twelve full member schools are in Ohio and Michigan, with single members...
East Division but shared co-division champion honors. Gill was named MAC Coach of the Year for 2007.
Because of the great turnaround that Gill orchestrated in only his second season at Buffalo, he was one of two leading candidates to replace Bill Callahan
Bill Callahan (football coach)
William E. Callahan is the Assistant Head Coach for the New York Jets. He was formerly the head coach of the Oakland Raiders for the 2002-2003 seasons and for the University of Nebraska for the 2004-2007 seasons....
as head coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
However, Bo Pelini
Bo Pelini
Mark "Bo" Pelini is the head football coach at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He had previously been defensive coordinator for the LSU Tigers, Oklahoma Sooners, and the Nebraska Cornhuskers...
was hired as the new Nebraska head coach.
2008
In 20082008 Buffalo Bulls football team
The 2008 Buffalo Bulls football team represented the University at Buffalo in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS college football season. 2008 was a season of firsts for the Bulls. With a 40-34 double overtime win over Bowling Green on November 21, the Bulls won the MAC East division and gained a berth...
, Gill's Buffalo
Buffalo Bulls football
The Buffalo Bulls football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the University at Buffalo located in the U.S. state of New York. The team competes at the NCAA Division I level in the Football Bowl Subdivision and is a member of the Mid-American Conference. Buffalo's first...
team continued its steady improvement, finishing the regular season 7-5 and winning the East division of the MAC. On December 5, Buffalo played #12 Ball State
2008 Ball State Cardinals football team
The 2008 Ball State Cardinals football team represented Ball State University in the Mid-American Conference during the 2008–2009 college football season. Brady Hoke, in his sixth season at Ball State, was the head coach until December 15, when he resigned to become the head coach at San Diego State...
in the MAC Championship Game
MAC Championship Game
The Marathon MAC Football Championship is a football game between the winners of the East and West divisions of the Mid-American Conference to determine the conference champion. The game has been played since 1997, when the conference was first divided into divisions and since 2003 has been...
at Ford Field
Ford Field
Ford Field is an indoor American football stadium located in Detroit, Michigan, USA, that is the current home field of the NFL's Detroit Lions. It is owned by the Detroit/Wayne County Stadium Authority. It regularly seats 65,000, though it is expandable up to 70,000 for football and 80,000 for...
in Detroit. Ball State was heavily favored, as it entered the game with a perfect 12-0 mark, while Buffalo came in off a home loss to Kent State that had ended a five-game winning streak. However, Buffalo scored two touchdowns on fumble returns and won the game 42-24, giving the school its first MAC championship. Following the victory, Buffalo accepted a bid to play in the International Bowl
International Bowl
The International Bowl was a National Collegiate Athletic Association collegiate American football bowl game played in Toronto from 2007 through 2010...
in nearby Toronto, marking the school's first bowl since joining the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision in 1999. The season also saw Buffalo break its all-time scoring record, having numerous players break school career and single-season records and saw UB earn unprecedented national coverage, with five appearances on the ESPN family of networks as the Bulls were 4-0 in those contests. Also, four of Buffalo's five losses this season (Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
, Missouri
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...
, Western Michigan
Western Michigan University
Western Michigan University is a public university located in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. The university was established in 1903 by Dwight B. Waldo, and as of the Fall 2010 semester, its enrollment is 25,045....
, and Central Michigan
Central Michigan University
Central Michigan University is a public research university located in Mount Pleasant in the U.S. state of Michigan...
) came against teams which advanced to bowl games, with two of those teams ranked in the AP Top 25.
With Gill's continued success at Buffalo, he once again became the focus of speculation about a possible move to a bigger program. Gill interviewed at Syracuse University
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
, where he was passed over for Doug Marrone
Doug Marrone
Douglas Charles Marrone is an American football coach. He currently serves as head coach of the Syracuse University Orange, replacing Greg Robinson...
, the offensive coordinator for the NFL's New Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....
.
Gill also interviewed for the head coaching position at Auburn University
Auburn University
Auburn University is a public university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 25,000 students and 1,200 faculty members, it is one of the largest universities in the state. Auburn was chartered on February 7, 1856, as the East Alabama Male College, a private liberal arts...
, losing out to Iowa State head coach Gene Chizik
Gene Chizik
Eugene "Gene" Chizik is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of the Auburn University football team, a position he has held since the 2009 season. Chizik's 2010 Auburn Tigers football team completed a 14–0 season with a victory over Oregon in the BCS...
, who had a 5-19 record. On December 15, former NBA superstar and Auburn player Charles Barkley
Charles Barkley
Charles Wade Barkley is a former American professional basketball player. Nicknamed "Sir Charles" and "The Round Mound of Rebound", Barkley established himself as one of the National Basketball Association's most dominating power forwards...
, who had previously endorsed Gill for the position, criticized Auburn's passing over of Gill in favor of Chizik, saying "race was the No. 1 factor. You can say it's not about race, but you can't compare the two résumés and say [Chizik] deserved the job. Out of all the coaches they interviewed, Chizik probably had the worst résumé."
The following day, December 16, Buffalo announced that Gill had agreed to a contract extension and a raise, with his contract running through 2013 and making him one of the highest-paid coaches in the MAC.
2009
Buffalo went 5-7, ending Gill's track record of improving his team's win total each year.University of Kansas
On December 13, 2009, Gill was announced as the new head coach of the University of KansasUniversity of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
football team, replacing Mark Mangino
Mark Mangino
Mark Thomas Mangino is an American football coach. He was most recently the head coach of the Kansas Jayhawks college football team from 2002 to 2009. In 2007, Mangino received several National Coach of the Year honors after leading the Jayhawks to their first 12-win season in school history...
, who resigned amid rumors and an investigation of questionable coaching practices. His daughter, Jordan Gill, was already a student at the University of Kansas, as well as an employee with the athletic department. It marked his return to the Big 12 Conference
Big 12 Conference
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference of ten schools located in the Central United States, with its headquarters located in Las Colinas, a community in the Dallas, Texas suburb of Irving...
after leaving his assistant coaching post at Nebraska after the 2004 season.