Former KU Football Coach Mark Mangino Returns to Kansas for Hall of Fame Ceremony

Former Kansas football coach Mark Mangino was in Topeka this weekend for the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

Mangino, who was inducted as part of the 2024 class, was in appearance after being unable to attend last year’s ceremony due to illness. This year, he finally got to have his moment alongside several other Kansas sports legends.

“I’m very appreciative,” Mangino said. “I really hadn’t thought of myself as somebody in the state of Kansas who belonged in the Hall of Fame, but I’m appreciative that they did put me here and I’m going to be with some great athletes and coaches that are well known not only in Kansas, but around the country.”

Mangino – who helped lead KU to its best season ever in 2007-08 when the Jayhawks went 12-1 and won the Orange Bowl – gave a lot of credit for his success to the players.

“I’m proud of the players,” Mangino told WIBW. “We recruited really good kids. We recruited hard-nosed, tough kids. We had some talented players, but we mostly had overachievers – guys who just loved to play the game, had a lot of pride, took coaching well – and I’m most proud of those guys more than anything.”

Former KU football players Darrell Stuckey, Derek Fine, and Micah Brown were all in attendance on Saturday to support their former head coach. Mangino gave a shoutout to the players while speaking on stage, saying they helped lay the foundation for KU to be able to build its new football stadium.

A proud day in the Capital city as recent inductee Mark Mangino was recognized by the @kshof.

Coach Mangino praised his former players including Darrell Stuckey, Derek Fine and Micah Brown (all in attendance) and talked about his teams’ role in paving the way for KU’s current… pic.twitter.com/lOgQ5qILcz
— Brian Hanni (@BHanni) August 2, 2025

During his acceptance speech, Mangino also praised current head coach Lance Leipold who he believes has the team headed in the right direction.

“I’m happy that Lance Leipold is the coach,” Mangino said. “I’m a big backer of his. I like him. I like the way he does it…And they will win. He will be successful.”

Mangino also had great things to say about the current state of the program under the leadership of Kansas Athletics Director (AD) Travis Goff, calling him a “game-changer” for KU and saying “it would be a whole new ball game in all sports at KU” had he been AD 20 years ago.

Overall, the ceremony was a perfect reflection of who Mangino was as a coach.

During what could have been an understandably selfish opportunity for someone to embrace all the glory for their own accomplishments, Mangino used his moment to commend his players and those who have worked to turn the KU football program into what it is today.

And that is the mark of a true Hall of Famer.