LAWRENCE, Kan. — Kansas coach Mark Mangino resigned Thursday in the wake of an investigation into his treatment of his players, stepping down just two years after leading the Jayhawks to the greatest season in their checkered football history.
The university made the announcement as athletic director Lew Perkins informed the players of the news.
The school said last month it would probe Mangino’s alleged verbal and emotional abuse of players. In the following days, many former players described insensitive, humiliating remarks they claim he made to them in the heat of games or practice, often in front of others.
But next came a wave of support by former and current players who remained loyal, insisting Mangino had strengthened the long-struggling program with structure and discipline, crediting the rotund 53-year-old with making them better players and men.
Perkins declined to describe the school’s settlement with its former coach, other than to say it was satisfactory to both sides.
After going 12-1 in 2007, winning the Orange Bowl and being honored as the national coach of the year, Mangino was given a raise and contract extension through 2012. He would have been due $6.6 million if fired without cause.
“It’s been tough on a lot of people, but probably the most important thing is the kids,” Perkins said. “It’s been pretty tough on them.”
Mangino went 50-48 with the Jayhawks, finishing two victories shy of A.R. Kennedy’s school record set in the early 1900s.
Perkins said assistants David Beaty, Clint Bowen and Bill Miller would share interim coaching duties until a replacement is found.
Possible candidates include Texas A&M offensive coordinator Nolan Cromwell, a wishbone quarterback at Kansas in the mid-70s; Houston coach Kevin Sumlin; and Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen.
Hofstra sacks football program
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — With costs growing and few students even bothering to go to the games, Hofstra shut down its football team.
The decision came in a unanimous vote by the board of trustees, marking the end of a sport at the school that had been around since the university’s founding in 1937. The $4.5 million spent annually on the team will be used on scholarships and other priorities.
