FRISCO, Texas — Kansas football coach Lance Leipold has only gone up against Colorado coach Deion Sanders once, since Sanders took over that program ahead of the 2023 season.
That was back in 2024, in Kansas City, Missouri. KU won the game 37-21. The two sides didn’t play each other in 2025, and aren’t scheduled to face off in 2026 during the regular season, either.
But in July, during Big 12 Conference media days in Frisco, Texas, Leipold was asked about Sanders. Leipold was asked about the effect Sanders has had on college football, especially considering Sanders is a part of the Big 12. And it seemed to be a question that Leipold has dealt with before, referencing various friends who will sometimes ask him what he thinks about Sanders.
“When you really look at what coach has is, I don’t want to say old-school, but he has a very disciplined way of approach,” Leipold said. “When he speaks up in our meetings, it’s very fundamentally disciplined and sound for somebody that you wouldn’t always believe because of his charisma and things like that. He has brought attention to this league and excitement, but again I think for what he’s done he’s, again, he doesn’t seek attention. He’s not doing that. He’s very humble in his meetings, in our coaches meetings. He’s not a grandstander. I have a lot of respect for him and what he’s done and really enjoy being around him.”
After going 4-8 in Sanders’ first year leading the program in 2023, before it made the move to the Big 12 for the 2024 season, Colorado has gone 9-4 in 2024 and 3-9 in 2025. As Leipold mentioned, Sanders’ arrival after a successful stint at Jackson State has come with a lot of attention on the Colorado program. Many will be watching to see what happens in 2026 with Colorado, which the USA TODAY Network preseason media poll predicted to finish 15th in the 16-team league.
Kansas, picked to finish 12th in that poll, is looking to bounce back itself in 2026. The Jayhawks made back-to-back bowl games in 2022 and 2023, but then went 5-7 in 2024 and 5-7 again in 2025. Leipold has expressed confidence his team can enjoy success this season.
Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He was the 2022 National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: What Lance Leipold has seen from Deion Sanders’ time in the Big 12
