Kansas Leads Three Big 12 Programs in CBS Sports’ Best College Football and Basketball Coaching Tandems
While it’s no secret that Kansas head basketball coach Bill Self has been one of the top coaches in the country throughout his entire career, the turnaround in Lawrence on the gridiron is what has people talking.
Kansas head football coach Lance Leipold has been incredible since he was hired. With the football program continuing to elevate at Kansas, Bill Self and Lance Leipold were listed by CBS Sports’ Shehan Jeyarajah as the top basketball/football head coaching duo in the country.
“The best coaching combo in college athletics resides in … Lawrence, Kansas? Self is the consensus best coach in college basketball with 16 Big 12 regular-season titles, two national titles, and an 809-247 career record,” Jeyarajah said. “Leipold, meanwhile, is the fastest-rising veteran on the football side, transforming woeful Buffalo and now Kansas programs into consistent winners. He’s coming off a 9-4 season in 2023 with this Jayhawks program and back-to-back bowl berths (for Kansas!).”
While the Kansas duo of head coaches headlined Jeyarajah’s list, two other teams from the Big 12 Conference were also mentioned in the Top 10. Jeyarajah listed the Houston Cougars at No. 8, followed by the Iowa State Cyclones at No. 9.
“Outside of Self, Sampson has a case next to any coach in college basketball after an incredible run with the Cougars,” Jeyarajah said about Houston. “Houston has won six consecutive conference championships between the AAC and Big 12, and it enters 2024 as a No. 1 seed with a strong national title case. Fritz is a newcomer to the power-conference level, but his track record of winning at all levels stands apart. From JUCO to Group of Five, Fritz has won 247 games, seven conference championships, and two junior college national titles. He won national coach of the year in 2022 as he led Tulane to a Cotton Bowl win over USC.”
The third and final team mentioned on the list was Iowa State’s duo of Matt Campbell and TJ Otzelberger, whom Jeyarajah spoke about, saying, “Otzelberger led one of the fastest turnarounds college basketball has ever seen, elevating a team that went 2-22 the previous season to the Sweet 16. Iowa State captured a No. 2 seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament after winning the Big 12 tourney championship, its best seed in 20 years. Campbell’s stock slipped after a losing season in 2022, but he has six winning seasons in the past seven years. That’s more than the Cyclones had in the 25 previous seasons before his arrival.”
Despite the SEC and the Big Ten attempting to separate themselves from leagues like the Big 12 and the ACC, the Big 12 Conference continues to show off its relevance through some of the nation’s best coaches.
