Let's See What We Can Do Here
An introduction with a HEARING on what happened with Lance Leipold and Nebraska
EVERYTHING IN THIS NEWSLETTER IS BASED UPON WHAT I AM HEARING FROM PEOPLE I TRUST. PLEASE DO NOT MISTAKE THIS FOR FACT OR FOR ACTUAL JOURNALISM, WHICH HAS VERIFICATION STANDARDS THAT I HAVE NOT ADHERED TO. I DO NOT GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY OF THE CONTENT.
1. Why here, why now?
When things began to get weird at KU with Jeff Long and Les Miles, my mentor and friend Tully Corcoran began asking some Twitter questions. He got me riled up like an angry KState fan with an anonymous Twitter account, and off I went.
Turns out the state of KU athletics was in a funky spot back with Jeff Long and Les Miles, and no one asked certain questions out loud1. This journey of scooping has been a great pleasure, and I truly hope to honor this trust – or curiosity – you’ve shown by being here. But also a surprising thing that’s happened through this process, I’ve gotten to know a lot of you via Twitter. You know who you are, and you’re awesome people. So I started asking myself: What if there were a better way to help KU fans stay informed and engaged with each other?
The night Twitter users thought Twitter might die, I was weirdly sad. I was sad because I would miss you. I would miss us. I would miss WE. The KU fans who come together on nights when the football team stuns Texas in Austin and – mostly – type in caps while laughing for hours.
I didn’t want to lose that. I thought there was a chance some of you didn’t either. So I posted a quick Twitter form for emails and names, and the response shocked me. It turns out there were a lot of us. There are well over 1,000 subscribers so far.
This is going to grow. I believe it. If you’ve enjoyed my scoops, please forward this email or link to your friends or group chat and suggest they subscribe for free. It’s a bit of a social experiment – but I’m wondering how big a group of KU fans can make this thing.
So in case Twitter dies – or even if it doesn’t – my mission is to provide content and hearings that we can discuss together.2 To keep the fanbase as informed as reasonably possible (by passing along what I’ve heard). Or that you can share with your KU friends and family to discuss in your community.
Let’s see what we can build together.
2. Sounds Good. Who The Hell Are You?
Some quick facts: I’m Mike Vernon, a former journalist turned techie with a passion for breaking KU news. I covered Kansas from 2010-14, mainly for the University Daily Kansan and the Topeka Capital-Journal. I then covered Cal Berkeley athletics for the San Francisco Chronicle, where I learned I wasn’t yet a mature writer – but I could really report. My next stop was Bleacher Report, where I worked on the app for five years and helped launch the company’s sports betting brand.
I work in tech now, but for the last few years, I’ve had some accurate Hearings on KU. Like Bill Self getting a lifetime contract. Donors meeting with The Chancellor the night before Jeff Long got fired. Travis Goff being named the next Athletic Director. Lance Leipold being interested in the KU job. There have been some clumsy moments as well. A radio appearance on conference realignment and something to do with Remy Martin.
Twitter’s character limitations can sometimes get me in trouble. This will hopefully be a much better platform for Hearings that can include nuance or further explanation.
3. What can I expect to read?
For now, the plan is a newsletter once a week AND “Hearings” whenever I have them. I’ll also have a podcast for longer form discussions. Because I don’t rely on The University for access, pissing someone off isn’t a fear of mine. In fact, it probably means I’m doing something right. Some of what I intend to cover:
HEARINGS and hot gossip.
Deep dives on important topics like the IARP/NCAA and KU
Podcasts about the state of KU media
Updates on conference realignment
The latest on football stadium renovations
Mailbags from subscriber questions
Q&As with forgotten KU athletes
Betting analysis before a game (I should be able to use media connections to get us more than what ActionPro can provide.. For free)
Maybe we do group texts or zoom calls (creating that community feel)
Honest takes on what’s happening at KU
You, the community, our community, will decide more of what we do here. I intend to routinely ask people what they want to know and read. Google forms and surveys will help. And I’m gonna try some stuff that you haven’t seen before. If you don’t like it, please tell me! If you like it, also tell me!
That’s going to be the spirit of The Hearings. Just remember: Bill Self knows a helluva lot more than me.
4. A Quick Hearing on Leipold and Nebraska
Short one: Nebraska fans and reporters may say otherwise, but the Cornhuskers had legitimate interest in Lance Leipold. Their interest was recent and real. Whether or not Leipold had legitimate interest is unclear and really doesn’t matter.
Here’s how I see the last week or so playing out at Nebraska:
Nebraska’s package for coaches was a lower base salary than you’d expect. AD Trev Alberts didn’t want a Mel Tucker situation and tried to land someone with a heavily incentive based deal.
Reporters zero in on Leipold or Klieman for the job. The fanbase isn’t thrilled.
Leipold signs an extension with KU. The pressure goes to 11 on Alberts.
He goes back to Matt Rhule with a substantially better offer than they had previously discussed and gets it done. So of course Nebraska fans are going to say it was fine the whole time, even if it wasn’t.
Until later when this wonderful exchange occurred:
I’m actively researching fun ways for us to talk to each other. We may have to try a few things to see what works best.
Thank you all for being here!
Would love to get a bowl hearings update this week if possible!