Jeff Long = New AD



  • Jeff Long was bought out at Arkansas because he pissed off too many boosters and others within the athletic department at Arkansas. This is a strange hire to me considering that KU needs someone who is great at fundraising to finish the Memorial Stadium project.

    Combine that with his football hires being less than stellar, Bobby Petrino sleeping with a volleyball player and having another mistress while at Arkansas, Bret Bielema was not good as well.

    I think KU struck big time on this hire based on Long’s track record and what KU’s needs were in an AD.

    I really want to know how much consideration Joe Parker at Colorado Srate got for this position because he appeared to be the perfect guy for the job at Kansas.



  • He was fired at Arkansas because he stuck by Bert and would not fire him after a 4-7 start. To be able to lure Bert from Wisconsin was considered one of the best hires in recent history. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t.

    He also help spearhead a $320 million campaign fund while at Arkansas with $160M of that going to renovate the football stadium.

    So I would assume he knows a thing or two about fundraising. He is also one of only two guys that have been the head of the CFB playoff committee. His resume speaks for itself.





  • I’m giving this an A-. Jurich was my #1 choice but I don’t think he was ever given serious consideration. Long made 2 really good football hires in Petrino and Bielema. Arkansas has really good facilities throughout as well. He’s a super marketing guy, and former head of the CFB Playoff Commitee. Loves fan engagement too, with over 100k followers on Twitter. I for one would do backflips if he got Bielema to Kansas.



  • @Woodrow His two football hire at Arkansas flat out sucked. Bobby Petrino was an absolute embarrassment off the field and Bielema sucked on the field. There is no spinning that in a positive manner. Hiring Bielema from Wisconsin was not the achievement you claim it to be. It’s widely known that Wisconsin is one of the cheapest schools out there when it comes to salaries and why Bielema left.



  • Texas Hawk 10 said:

    Combine that with his football hires being less than stellar, Bobby Petrino sleeping with a volleyball player and having another mistress while at Arkansas, Bret Bielema was not good as well.

    Bielema on paper was a good hire. Unfortunately, he wasn’t ready to make the jump from the Big 10 to the SEC from a recruiting and speed perspective. His last three Wisconsin teams went to the Rose Bowl (although the last squad wouldn’t have gone had Penn State and Ohio State both not been under sanctions). Also, coaching in the SEC West with Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Texas A&M all in your division isn’t exactly a picnic.

    As for Petrino, you can’t hold Long responsible for Petrino’s personal issues. And once that stuff came out, he had to get rid of him because there was misuse of department funds and an inappropriate relationship with another student athlete (either one is a fireable offense, so pick your reason here).



  • Texas Hawk 10 said:

    @Woodrow His two football hire at Arkansas flat out sucked. Bobby Petrino was an absolute embarrassment off the field and Bielema sucked on the field. There is no spinning that in a positive manner. Hiring Bielema from Wisconsin was not the achievement you claim it to be. It’s widely known that Wisconsin is one of the cheapest schools out there when it comes to salaries and why Bielema left.

    Good lord there’s a lot of BS here. Bielema was making almost $3m a year when he left Wisconsin. The state does limit assistant coaching salary pools though. Petrino won 11+ games twice in a row. At freaking Arkansas in the SEC West. Bielema took over from John L. Smith and increased Arkansas’s win total from 3 to 8 in two seasons. In the SEC West. If he went 8-5 here he’d have a statue built. If those hires sucked then we REALLY need a hire that sucks.



  • Gary Bedore ‏Verified account @GaryBedore

    Bill Self says: “Jeff Long is among the best and most respected athletics directors in the country. He has great experience, a great pedigree, and he knows what it takes to succeed at the highest levels.”



  • @FarmerJayhawk

    Thanks for the information and context; it makes a lot more sense now.



  • JayHawkFanToo said:

    @FarmerJayhawk

    Thanks for the information and context; it makes a lot more sense now.

    No problem. I think his style of play would be good for us too. Tough, hard nosed, establish the run. Control the ball.



  • justanotherfan said:

    Texas Hawk 10 said:

    Combine that with his football hires being less than stellar, Bobby Petrino sleeping with a volleyball player and having another mistress while at Arkansas, Bret Bielema was not good as well.

    Bielema on paper was a good hire. Unfortunately, he wasn’t ready to make the jump from the Big 10 to the SEC from a recruiting and speed perspective. His last three Wisconsin teams went to the Rose Bowl (although the last squad wouldn’t have gone had Penn State and Ohio State both not been under sanctions). Also, coaching in the SEC West with Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Texas A&M all in your division isn’t exactly a picnic.

    As for Petrino, you can’t hold Long responsible for Petrino’s personal issues. And once that stuff came out, he had to get rid of him because there was misuse of department funds and an inappropriate relationship with another student athlete (either one is a fireable offense, so pick your reason here).

    This is a lot of well dumb to be honest. If you are not happy or impressed with this hire then there is nobody realistically Girod could have hired that you would have been happy with. Some people are like that. Just like to bitch and moan and that’s fine if that is you thing.



  • I have literally seen over a dozen national pundits comment on this hire and every single one has been positive.



  • @Texas-Hawk-10 Curious, what outstanding hires did Parker make as AD at CSU … given that the decision for a football coach after this season looms as the big one? He may have been a fine choice. Just haven’t heard of any big splashes there.

    But that school does seem on the uptick.

    And if he hired Petrino or Bielema, would you take either of those guys? I mean, since both of them apparently suck.



  • @justanotherfan Actually, you can hold Long accountable for the hire because Petrino had known significant character flaws before he was hired at Arkansas going back to his first stint at Louisville and with the Atlanta Falcons.



  • https://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2015/06/15/In-Depth/Long-profile.aspx

    Here is a good profile on Long from 2015 when he was voted as the AD of the year.

    @HighEliteMajor I would be doing back flips if we could get either Bielema or Petrino.



  • Texas Hawk 10 said:

    @justanotherfan Actually, you can hold Long accountable for the hire because Petrino had known significant character flaws before he was hired at Arkansas going back to his first stint at Louisville and with the Atlanta Falcons.

    Cool. And I can hold him accountable for finishing 3rd in the country in 2011.



  • The sky is blue.



  • None of us really know how this will turn out. For all the naysayers, Bielema from my Badger fan perspective was a big loss. No rose bowls since, and mediocrity in the Big 10 championship game has become our reputation. Long’s basketball resume at Arkansas is nothing to brag about. Zenger’s was something to brag about but TV contracts were not. I will wait and see. Maintain hoops of course, and iboost football is what we’d all like to see I think. And personally, I’d like a move to the Big10, make a trade for Nebraska!



  • BShark said:

    I’m kind of luke warm on this hire. Time will tell. Please save football!

    I personally am A D stupid on this as far as his qualifications go - -don’t really know anything - just don’t follow that closely. - However I DO AGREE with you on - is yes please- - please save our football program. I just love College sports and at least like ALL of our programs to be at least competitive.- -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY



  • @FarmerJayhawk Again total ignorance on my part. Who is this guy you speak of? - -Coach? - -what? - - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY



  • I wanted to see if anyone wanted to argue about the color of the sky…my faith has been restored…lol.



  • @FarmerJayhawk GOD he wins 11 games two years in a row at Arkansas - jumpin gee hossa fats were not even close to 11 wins total in how many years? - If he can get us on track to save our really sad football program – I’m all in - - - Plus if he can generate renewed interest in the Alum the boosters to get this project complete/funded - -HELL YA because flat out telling ya facilities are a huge part of recruiting. We get this done and were right there at least closed the gap in facilities - you can do a lot with the purposed renovation/ being funded - -all part of turning this thing around. - If he can make that connection/ spark interest- -HELL YA



  • jayballer73 said:

    @FarmerJayhawk Again total ignorance on my part. Who is this guy you speak of? - -Coach? - -what? - - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY

    Long hired Bobby Petrino at Arkansas and finished 3rd in the country back in 2011. The guy knows some football.



  • @HighEliteMajor Honestly, I wouldn’t take Petrino or Bielema at this point. Petrino’s off field issues aren’t anything I’d want associated with KU and Bielema won 27% of his SEC games at Arkansas.

    There’s very few coaches out there I’d choose Petrino over at this point and Bielema is gonna have to go somewhere else first and regain what he had at Wisconsin first.



  • KUSTEVE said:

    I wanted to see if anyone wanted to argue about the color of the sky…my faith has been restored…lol.

    I’ll argue lol- - just for shits and grins lol - -when you wanna start - -I’ll say it’s Blue & gray lol



  • FarmerJayhawk said:

    jayballer73 said:

    @FarmerJayhawk Again total ignorance on my part. Who is this guy you speak of? - -Coach? - -what? - - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY

    Long hired Bobby Petrino at Arkansas and finished 3rd in the country back in 2011. The guy knows some football.

    Ahh gotcha thank you for fillin me in - well gives me some hope. – ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY



  • @FarmerJayhawk And you keep ignoring the off field baggage of Petrino which included having an affair with a volleyball player, lying about a motorcycle accident to cover another affair he was having, and that he stole $20,000 from Arkansas.



  • I think it’s a great hire, if you look back I posted that I think thought he was one the better guys that could come. I would’ve been fine with Parker from CSU but he hasn’t done anything great, he raised money for a new stadium for a program that hasn’t been great since McElwain left a fairly decent roster to. In regards to Petrino, Long hired a great coach but a guy that cheated on his wife (not right but recent studies show nearly have the married couples in the country are unfaithful). Time will tell if this was a good or bad move, tons of people thought Charlie Weis was a great hire and the Bill Self was a terrible hire. I know we got a guy unlike Zenger, who only had a few years at a small school (Illinois State). Zenger was a used car sales man with hair slicked back that’s all he was.



  • @Woodrow THIS IS A FOOTBALL POST!!! IT BELONGS IN THE FOOTBALL SECTION!!! FFS PEOPLE, COME ON!!!

    end rant.



  • Remember how risky ANY hire is here. An AD that clashes with Bill Self will end Self’s tenure at Kansas. That’s really what’s at stake (is that better, @Lulufulu?)



  • Maybe he was fired by Arkansas because some of the Hog Aumni weren’t happy about him firing Petrino:

    https://www.seccountry.com/arkansas/jeff-long-not-arkansas-man



  • Texas Hawk 10 said:

    @FarmerJayhawk And you keep ignoring the off field baggage of Petrino which included having an affair with a volleyball player, lying about a motorcycle accident to cover another affair he was having, and that he stole $20,000 from Arkansas.

    Ok, I’ll acknowledge he’s less than ideal in the character department. But he won the Orange Bowl at Louisville and the Cotton Bowl at Arkansas. He can flat coach and I’d take bowls every year with the occasional 10+ win season in a heartbeat. Self isn’t a saint either and I’m sure you’ll be calling for his ouster next.



  • @FarmerJayhawk What has Self done to open KU up to a potential lawsuits? Because that’s what Petrino did to Arkansas.

    And I was also fine with the Mangino firing as well at the time it happened and have never wanted him back either despite his success here.



  • Texas Hawk 10 said:

    @FarmerJayhawk What has Self done to open KU up to a potential lawsuits? Because that’s what Petrino did to Arkansas.

    And I was also fine with the Mangino firing as well at the time it happened and have never wanted him back either despite his success here.

    Lawsuit specifically? Not much. But the program is… ummm… less than squeaky clean… the potential revenue loss from any sanctions are much more than a lawsuit.



  • @FarmerJayhawk What potential sanctions has Bill Self been connected to? Suspending a player as soon as Self is informed their eligibility is in question?

    Other coaches would’ve played Billy Preston last year because the NCAA never ruled him ineligible. Other coaches would’ve played Cliff Alexander once the payments became known. If the Silvio investigation drags out into next season, guaranteed Silvio is not suited up until there is a definitive ruling on him.



  • So now once again I’m confused my friends - imagine that lol. Here we have a poster that says this is TERRIBLE hire , how he hired two terrible hires for Coach’s and off field issues , so he is terrible? - -Yet I in turn, turned right around and read this elsewhere:

    Joe Parker ( Athletic Director Colorado State) hmmm imagine that : Jeff is extremely talented leader , recognized as one of the Nations best ( hmmm )

    Greg Sankey ( SEC Commissioner ) - -wasn’t this where Jeff came from ? ) Jeff will bring integrity , energy . and relentless work ethic - - -( Whaa? are we talking about the same Jeff -the one a poster said is a terrible hire ? )

    Jeff Hughes (Consultant Korn Ferry ) Jeff has more then 16 years experience leading Power 5 programs - -Alum & fan base will see this as a strong step forward toward achieving excellence.

    Steve Hatchell ( Executive Director , National football foundation ) Said Jeff epitomizes EVERY quality that is crucial to athletics today. - he has vison - - -is misson oriented – -goal planning, & TERRIFIC work ethic – hmmmm , not what I heard lol. - vast experience at money levels - - knows the Big 12 well. Jeff is EXACTLY what KU needs today, he is not only exceptional athletic director but a good person ( I’m so confused )

    Kirby Hocutt ( Texas Tech Athletic Director ) Jeff has always exemplified that he has very high standards of character and integrity ( dam , this is just the opposite of what some say here ) EXCELLENT decision by the University of Kansas.

    Bob Golsby ( Big 12 Commissioner ) Jeff is a Veteran who has achieved at the Highest of levels

    Bell Hancock ( Executive Director of College Football playoff ) KU couldn’t of hired a better person ( dam all these people saying such positive things - just doesn’t make sense. ) Solid Judgement ? - - -and a world of experience. Get ready because I know your gonna love him.

    Condoleezza Rice - - -Jeff is a skilled administrator and a worl of experience. The University of Kansas made a great choice

    Lloyd Carr ( former head Coach of Michigan ) Jeff is very tough - - -very fair - - and a person of integrity. ( DASM there is that word again Integrity - - not very good integrity to some people around here ) - - just don’t get it

    Joe Castiglione ( Vice President & Director of Athletics Oklahoma ) Hmmm listen to this:— Says Jeff is one of the MOST RESPECTED athletic directors throughout the National landscape – how can this be with his questionable integrity? - -He says fantastic Hire by KU - Joe says he knows that the Big 12 will benefit from Jeff’s input.

    Well there you have it boys and girls - Now you can see how I’m confused cause w have people here some saying terrible hire BUT yet others people that’s in the profession - people that know him - -have worked with him or been around him - nothing but props -I just don’t get it. Then have other posers off other sites saying how a lot of Arkansas fan base really PO’D he got fired and say that KU got a terrific hire - - I give up - -but I think I’ll take my chances with this guy. - - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY



  • Texas Hawk 10 said:

    @FarmerJayhawk What potential sanctions has Bill Self been connected to? Suspending a player as soon as Self is informed their eligibility is in question?

    Other coaches would’ve played Billy Preston last year because the NCAA never ruled him ineligible. Other coaches would’ve played Cliff Alexander once the payments became known. If the Silvio investigation drags out into next season, guaranteed Silvio is not suited up until there is a definitive ruling on him.

    You answered your own question. If Silvio is ineligible we’ll vacate our FF and Big 12 title. Not saying it’s right, but that’s the penalty.



  • @FarmerJayhawk Actually no, the NCAA has yet to say anything about Silvio one way or the other. Should the NCAA retroactively determine Silvio is ineligible and strip KU of the Final Four last year, they need to vacate every game any player and coach named in the FBI report participated in, otherwise the NCAA is setting themselves up for a massive lawsuit to be filed against them.

    Lastly, where was Bill Self named in that report in regards to having knowingly committed any potential NCAA infractions? All that report says is that KU was the victim in the Silvio case, not the perpetrators in the case.



  • I heard his daughter goes to mizzou🤮



  • Crimsonorblue22 said:

    I heard his daughter goes to mizzou🤮

    FIRE HIM NOW :p





  • Texas Hawk 10 said:

    @FarmerJayhawk Actually no, the NCAA has yet to say anything about Silvio one way or the other. Should the NCAA retroactively determine Silvio is ineligible and strip KU of the Final Four last year, they need to vacate every game any player and coach named in the FBI report participated in, otherwise the NCAA is setting themselves up for a massive lawsuit to be filed against them.

    Lastly, where was Bill Self named in that report in regards to having knowingly committed any potential NCAA infractions? All that report says is that KU was the victim in the Silvio case, not the perpetrators in the case.

    Did you see where I said if? I’ve got oceanfront property about 4 hours nw of Lawrence to sell you if you don’t know that coaches don’t have any idea that this kind of thing goes on. If you’re not bending or breaking NCAA rules, you’re not competitive.



  • @FarmerJayhawk Thanks for the heads up that every coach cheats. Fire them all and let the players self police themselves to stay honest about cheating then.

    Please tell me an allegation against Bill Self that would force KU to fire him the way Long had to fire Petrino at Arkansas.



  • Texas Hawk 10 said:

    @FarmerJayhawk Thanks for the heads up that every coach cheats. Fire them all and let the players self police themselves to stay honest about cheating then.

    Please tell me an allegation against Bill Self that would force KU to fire him the way Long had to fire Petrino at Arkansas.

    I’m in favor of not firing guys for the run of the mill stuff. Wait, are you saying fire him because he did it or because people found out?



  • @Texas-Hawk-10

    There is no way KU is asked to forfeit any games. If it is, programs like Louisville, Arizona and yes, North Carolina, should get the death penalty and this is just not happening.

    It appears the NCAA is waiting for the FBI to do the dirty work before becoming involved and we have not heard a peep from the FBI in a while now and we might not for a long time. It would not surprise me if the entire probe is quietly dropped and the NCAA declares a one time general amnesty with tougher rules and penalties moving forward.



  • @FarmerJayhawk WTF has Bill Self ever been accused of? I’ve asked you multiple times and you have yet to answer that question so answer it unless you can’t.

    If you seriously think I want Bill Self fired for any currently known reason, then you are f-ing stupid.

    What Bobby Petrino did forced Jeff Long to fire him because Petrino opened the university up to a major sexual harassment lawsuit. Petrino was on the hiring committee of a woman he was having an affair with at the time and did not disclose that fact to the rest of the committee. Ethical conflict of interest right there. Not illegal, but still a fireable offense. He also paid the woman $20,000 to keep quiet about the affair which became public knowledge after Petrino filed a falsified accident report from a motorcycle crash which was found out during a subsequent investigation. That would make Petrino guilty of bribery and fraud for those two incidents. Both illegal and required immediate action from Arkansas to keep the woman from suing Petrino and the school for sexual harassment which would’ve cost the school a lot of money because of the settlement they would’ve had to pay out and from lost donations from donors.



  • @JayHawkFanToo I don’t think anything happens to KU from this. @FarmerJayhawk thinks different so give the speech to him because all I did was take his reasoning to its logical conclusion.



  • I don’t think KU gets any sanction from Silvio’s deal. You asked if Self had been linked to anything that could harm KU and that’s certainly one. Also multiple affairs and the possibility of a love child if you must know.

    Yeah, I’m familiar with the Petrino story. And yet, I’d still hire him in a heartbeat. And before you ask, no I wouldn’t hire Briles because there’s a huge difference between white collar stuff and covering up violent felonies.





  • @FarmerJayhawk Where was Self’s name in the FBI report linking him to the Silvio situation in a way that harmed KU? Unless something new came out, that was Silvio, his guardian, Adidas, and Under Armour involved. The closest Self came to being linked was that KU was determined to be a victim of fraud. Last I checked, being a victim of fraud does not make you guilty of any NCAA infractions.

    In regards to your moral compass, adultery, bribery, and lying are all acceptable attributes in a leader and role model for 18-23 year old men, got it.


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