Release: Lance Leipold to Kansas is official

Buffalo also had 12 all-conference players in 2019, a season that culminated in the school’s first-ever bowl victory – a 31-9 win over Charlotte in the Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl. The 2019 team featured one of the best defenses in the school’s history. Buffalo ranked seventh nationally in total defense, allowing 291.9 yards per game. The Bulls were also fourth nationally against the run, allowing 94.2 yards per game.

In 2018, Buffalo won 10 games in a season for the first time ever in program history. Leipold’s team went 7-1 in MAC play and won the East Division title. The Bulls also won 42-13 at Rutgers, marking the school’s first-ever win over a Power 5 opponent. He was named the MAC Coach of the Year and was also a semifinalist for the George Munger College Coach of the Year Award.

In that 2018 season, the Buffalo offense had a record-breaking season. Buffalo scored 484 points, 64 touchdowns and totaled 5,803 yards of total offense, establishing new school records in each category. Quarterback Tyree Jackson was named the MAC Offensive Player of the Year, while Patterson earned MAC Freshman of the Year honors.

In Leipold’s third season in 2017, the Bulls gained bowl eligibility for just the third time as an FBS program. The Bulls offense averaged 432 yards per game and led the conference in passing yards per game at 291. Showing an ability for explosive plays, Buffalo produced 20 plays of 45 or more yards on the season.

Leipold became the head coach at Buffalo in December of 2014 after a triumphant career as the head coach at Wisconsin-Whitewater, which saw him earn six National Coach of the Year awards. In his first season there in 2007, the Warhawks went 14-1 and won the Division III national championship. In 2008, the team made it back to the title game and fell to Mount Union.

Wisconsin-Whitewater then went 45-0 over the next three seasons, winning three straight national championships. After a 7-3 campaign in 2012, Whitewater went 30-0 combined in 2013 and 2014 winning two more national titles with Leipold at the helm.

During his time there, Warhawk players totaled 56 All-America honors, with running back Justin Beaver winning the Gagliardi Trophy as the top player in Division III. Brent Allen won the Division III Rimington Award as the top center. Running back Levell Coppage earned D3Football.com Offensive Player of the Year honors, while Cole Klotz won those honors on the defensive side.

Leipold, a native of Jefferson, Wisconsin, began his coaching career at Whitewater in 1987 as a quarterbacks coach. He moved to the University of Wisconsin in 1991, where he served as a graduate assistant for Barry Alvarez for three seasons and helped the Badgers win a Big Ten title and a Rose Bowl appearance in 1993.

He then served as an assistant coach at Division II Nebraska-Omaha from 1994-2000, helping the Mavericks become three-time conference champions. He was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2000, before moving on to Nebraska where he worked for Frank Solich for four seasons. He then returned to Nebraska-Omaha for three years as the associate head coach and offensive coordinator, before moving on to Wisconsin-Whitewater in 2007.

Leipold is a 1987 graduate of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he was a standout quarterback. He is a member of the AFCA Ethics Committee as well as the AFCA Board of Trustees.

Leipold and his wife Kelly, have a daughter, Lindsey, and a son, Landon. Lindsey plays volleyball at Stetson University (DeLand, Florida).