Kansas football coach Lance Leipold, players talk conference realignment, NIL and more

ARLINGTON, Texas — Topics ranged at the Big 12 Conference’s media days last week for football in Arlington, Texas, beyond what will happen when Kansas and other teams meet on the field this fall.

Kansas head coach Lance Leipold and junior quarterback Jalon Daniels reacted to the current state of conference realignment across collegiate athletics, after their athletic director, Travis Goff, did the same.

Leipold responded to Texas Tech announcing a major facilities project that concerns the Red Raiders’ football program, too. And senior safety Kenny Logan Jr. was among those who talked about the landscape of athletes in college being able to financially benefit from their name, image and likeness (NIL).

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Here’s a look at what was said on these three subjects:

Lance Leipold, Jalon Daniels on recent news in conference realignment

Goff expressed confidence last Wednesday, in the vision the Big 12’s incoming commissioner revealed that day for the conference. He said, “The beauty of it is, you get to live where your feet are, and for us that is right here comfortably and confidently in the Big 12,” when asked if Kansas would consider a move to another conference.

And later that day, Leipold and Daniels provided their own perspectives on what’s taking place.

As someone who grew up in the upper Midwest, Leipold acknowledged it feels weird that USC and UCLA are moving to join the Big Ten Conference and leave the Pac-12 Conference. But it’s also odd to Leipold that Rutgers and Maryland are in the Big Ten, and that Nebraska is as well. He never thought he’d be discussing NIL or what the current rules around athletes transferring are, either.

Leipold tries not to get overly involved in everything that’s happening with conference realignment, and pointed to the excitement he feels should exist around Cincinnati, BYU, UCF and Houston joining the Big 12 next year. He believes those who follow Kansas football know there are more important things for his Jayhawks to focus on. He explained the level the conference realignment discussions happen at is so far removed from coaches and players, that it is wasted energy to act otherwise.

“You want to be concerned about parity and all of that,” Leipold said, “but my job is to build this program for our university, for Travis and the chancellor (Douglas Girod), that we put ourselves in a solid position at the Power Five level."

Daniels, who’s from California, said it’s crazy that USC and UCLA are moving to another conference. He added that’s especially true, considering how far they’ll be from other Big Ten institutions. But he doesn’t doubt the two programs will be able to be competitive.

“Living … 10 minutes down the street from USC, I’ve always loved the Trojans,” Daniels said. “So, I know exactly what they have over there and I have faith in that program being able to compete with them.”

►RELATED: What’s Lance Leipold's goal in year two with Kansas football? Continue to close the gap

Lance Leipold reacts to Texas Tech’s major facilities project

When Goff spoke, he pointed to what Texas Tech is doing as a positive for everyone in the Big 12 and everyone nationally, including Kansas. He thinks it shows everyone they should continue to invest in their programs, and that he’s hoping it can provide momentum to what the Jayhawks are working toward themselves. And Leipold echoed that sentiment, in a way.

Leipold said facilities will remain an important part of college football, and that they know where they stand at Kansas. He highlighted that being one of the reasons Goff was in Arlington, to talk about it. They know they have work to do in that area, in Leipold’s mind.

“We’re working hard on it, and when the right time for those things to be addressed — we’ll go,” Leipold said. “You’re going to keep seeing those things … across the board, and we want to be a part of that as well. Because, though NIL is still there, facilities are still going to be important for a lot of reasons — for our players and their development, their lives, their flow of their days, their stadiums for fans, and experiences. So, it’s all-encompassing.”

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Kenny Logan Jr. sees Kansas moving in right direction with NIL

It wasn’t that long ago this summer that Goff talked about Kansas becoming more progressive in the NIL space in the second year of its existence, and Logan appears to have noticed the program’s efforts. While Logan described his experience so far with NIL as OK, and that initially there weren’t many people to help those like him learn about it, he said it’s different now.

Logan, eager to see his experience with NIL grow, explained things at Kansas are moving in the right direction and the proper steps are being taken.

“I just feel like the structure they have around us now is stronger, is more built to help us find out and help us go in the right direction about it,” said Logan, adding the difference is tangible. “There’s people in place to make sure that we’re doing the right things on our end, too, to make sure that we’re going to be able to get and receive NIL and just to be in a position to receive the opportunity.”

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Logan said he hasn’t had many recruits ask him about NIL, while Leipold pointed to the still young existence of the NIL space when asked if it’s something that can help him even the playing field in recruiting. Leipold added that at times it’s unclear if what everyone is hearing is true or not, when it comes to NIL’s part in that aspect of the sport.

And Leipold highlighted it as one of a few different things, including conference realignment, that is so different now compared to when he took the Kansas job last year.

“So, you really look how much college football is changing in 13, 14 months,” Leipold said. “All those things can either really help you get where you want to be, but also are going to probably help set some programs back, too.”

Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: KU football's Lance Leipold, players talk conference realignment, NIL