With a year still left on his contract, Kansas athletic director Lew Perkins has decided to throw in the towel early. The announcement was made Tuesday in a press conference by Perkins and university chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little. In true Richard Nixon-like fashion, Perkins said in statement that his retirement was effective immediately and was unavailable for comment afterward.
Perkins’ time in Lawrence was filled with highs and lows. The now former AD oversaw $150 million worth of renovations to football and basketball facilities, including $32 million to new football offices and practice space.
On-the-field success reached a pinnacle in 2008 when Kansas won the Orange Bowl in football and the national championship in men’s basketball.
Those moments of glory would be short-lived, however. Over the past year, Perkins has been the subject of several controversies including a ticket scam involving members of Perkins’ staff that cost the university nearly $3 million. Allegedly, staff members under Perkins sold football and basketball tickets and pocketed the profits. The scam caught the attention of federal authorities and six employees have been implicated.
Perkins was also accused of engaging in excessive travel arrangements to university sporting events and unlawfully accepted free use of exercise equipment in his home.
“I am grateful that Chancellor [Robert] Hemenway allowed Gwen and me to come to Lawrence to be part of the great university,” Perkins said during the press conference. “We love this community. We consider it home. This decision will give us a chance to stay involved in the community in different ways. It will also allow me to explore other professional opportunities.”
Senior associate athletic director Sean Lester will serve as interim athletic director.
He cow-towed to Roy Williams when Roy whined about the university starting to give more attention to football and a little less attention to the darling basketball program, and Roy left anyway. Then he fired the most successful football coach the program has had in recent history.
I’d say Perkins should’ve been fired long before he should’ve had the chance to quit this year.
He definitely did a good job in bringing in money to KU… but I just laugh to myself when considering the timing.
A 6-3 loss to North Dakota State in Lawrence. Just picturing all the attractive Jayhawk female fans with solemn looks on their faces makes me smile.
Sean Lester is NO Lew Perkins. No matter how much he thinks he is. Say what you want about Perkins, but that man truly cared about his student athletes and his coaches. He held them all to a high standards.
Unfortunately, the ticket issue, the travel budget he used, the hiring of one of his son-in-laws, and all the secret deals he had going w/ random donors just makes this entire ordeal must larger than it is.
Today is a dark day in the life of Lew Perkins. I truly hopes he makes it out of all this in good conditions.
Mmmmm, with monetary issues arising from his leadership before he left, an abrupt departure could mean there are more things to come out that I suspect would not be favorable in regards to his leadership!
umm Bill Self was hired before Big Lew took over. Al Bohl was the AD that Roy Williams allegedly “crushed like a dove”
I think KU Fans are going to miss Perkins. He raised a lot of money. Kept Bill Self from going to OSU, and some how got KU in the 2008 Orange Bowl ahead of MU.
KU has benefitted more from his cunning and ruthlessness than it has been harmed.
[...] more thing and as an aside: karma can be a very nasty and vindictive vixen. When your former AD is responsible for firing a head coach like Mark Mangino that deserved a raise and not a [...]