Kansas University athletic director Lew Perkins said Tuesday he plans on making Lawrence his home following his retirement in September of 2011.
“Long before I decided to retire we decided we were going to stay in Lawrence,” Perkins said of he and his wife, Gwen.
“We love this university, this community. We have great friends here. We’ve lived in many, many places, none better than Lawrence,” he added.
Perkins announced his retirement on June 10. He will work at KU until Sept. 4, 2011. He was hired at KU in June of 2003.
Comments
cheeseburger 2 years, 9 months ago
Oh joy! Isn't there some retirement community for arrogant, smug buffoons that would be better suited for The Schnoz? It would be one thing if he left the university's employ under favorable conditions, but he had embarrassed us on the national stage too many times. Goodbye Lew.
Hydra 2 years, 9 months ago
No othern town will take him.
newmedia 2 years, 9 months ago
Gotta keep that Lawrence economy cranking !
cheeseburger 2 years, 9 months ago
I'm afraid you are right!
consumer1 2 years, 9 months ago
I am willing to say Welcome Lew and Gwen, I hope you both enjoy your retirement here. In reality you have done for KU exactly what you said you would. I don't always agree with KU motives but, you did your job well.
cheeseburger 2 years, 9 months ago
Bonnie? The jury is still out. Football practice facility? Ill-placed eyesore. Mangino firing? Not handled well at all. Big dream for the stadium? Ain't gonna happen. Priority seating? That worked well. Oversight of department? Asleep at the wheel. Acceptance of vendor equipment? Not done above-board. Moving home games out of town? The locals sure do appreciate that!
If that's what he told KU he would do, then shame on KU for hiring him anyway. Good riddance.
garyr 2 years, 9 months ago
Why would he move from Lawrence? He can take the private jet anywhere he wants for free, even after his retirement!!
Kontum1972 2 years, 9 months ago
sure why not ..all the perks are here......free this...free that....LoL!
ChristheJayhawk 2 years, 9 months ago
This is great news. Trickle down economics will favor all the small people in Larence once Perkins spents all he has squeezed out of KU.
4everahawk 2 years, 9 months ago
Could be he burned all his bridges on the east coast......
I love Lawrence, but really folks, if you were a multi-millioniare and could live ANYWHERE in the world, would you choose Lawrence? This is suspicious at best. Perhaps he believes he can still influence athletics even after his retirement. What are the chances that his staff will be left intact next year?
cheeseburger 2 years, 9 months ago
With local builder Fritzel and Topeka funeral guy Newcomer at the ready to fly him anywhere he wants to go, maybe it's just too enticing to leave. Heck, maybe local developer Compton could even be talked into building Perkins Plaza somewhere here in town!
salad 2 years, 9 months ago
Lew wants to stay in Lawrence and make sure the town is safe against outlaw T-shirt printers, who shall be CRUSHED under his mighty heel!!!
esteshawk 2 years, 9 months ago
Ok Larrytowners - get over your selfselves. Uncle Lew may have his drawbacks, but don't we all? And look what he did for the program: One National Championship and an Orange Bowl win. Look at Allen and Memorial Stadium and all the improvements. You can whine and moan about his style, but you cannot dispute the results, which in America is really what matters. 20 years from now, those trophies will still be in the case, and all the other stuff will be fading memories.
cheeseburger 2 years, 9 months ago
What exactly was his great contribution to either the National Championship or the Orange Bowl win? He didn't hire either coach, and likely did not participate in recruiting.
And in true Lew "what have you done for me lately" fashion, he sure enjoyed the limelight the Orange Bowl afforded him, then later proceeded to drag the man responsible through the proverbial mud in a disgraceful manner.
parrothead8 2 years, 9 months ago
Lew was hired to increase fundraising. He did. The Allen Fieldhouse renovations, paid for by the increased fundraising, were completed in 05-06. KU won a national championship in 08, but I'm sure none of the players who contributed to that were influenced to come here at all by the great facilities.
As for "dragging the man responsible through the proverbial mud," the "man responsible" deserved what he got. The "man responsible" also had a losing record against every conference opponent except for Iowa State.
cheeseburger 2 years, 9 months ago
Perhaps the job description verbiage for Perkins' replacement should be amended to read:
All fundraising and oversight shall be done in an ethical and legal manner.
Individual behavior must be commensurate with that of a professional employee, and must not bring discredit or embarrassment upon the university.
The acceptance of gifts and perks must be in complete compliance with laws and regulations governing such.
That ought to help prevent a repeat of the Perkins debacle.
jimjones 2 years, 9 months ago
Lew rode the coattails of the Nat. Championship and the Orange Bowl. He didn't contribute to either success. Those wins generated a lot of money which Lew then wasted on the worst decision the university has ever seen, putting a practice field net to the hill. Of course, that was after his other stupid decision, not to grandfather the existing b-ball ticket holders. He fired Mangino before the season was over, basically punting on the last (Mizzou) game. Then, the ticket scandal; he can't even manage what he's supposed to do. The Athletic Department has suffered more embarrassment under Lew than every other year combined.
Lew - results? I don't think so.
You know that he's a hated man in Connecticut, right?
Maybe he can move back to Wichita. There's nothing like a Shocker football game. Pun intended. (He eliminated football as a sport at WSU in case you weren't aware.)
esteshawk 2 years, 9 months ago
And as far as the T-shirt garbage: Please. KU owns the logo and the brand, not Larry Sinks. If you love KU, you should thank Uncle Lew for protecting that brand, which helps fund the athletic department, not Larry "Eddie Haskell" Sinks bank account.
salad 2 years, 9 months ago
Esteshwak, you must be good friends with David Whittig and Jeff Skilling. Who cares what a greedy scumbag a guy is, as long as the boosters/shareholders are happy?
kansasredlegs 2 years, 9 months ago
After retirement, will Big Lew have to get in line with all the others for tickets under the point system he implemented? Perhaps the Williams Fund could get back some of its money by making him buy points.
oneeye_wilbur 2 years, 9 months ago
With 4 million a year anyone could claim this as "home" but have plenty of money to leave whenever.
Most folks don't understand, that there are some of the elite who have moved to Lawrence from the East because they would be just someone there, but here they believe they are somebody!
Will Lew deliver Meals on Wheels? And will his wife upon retirement do lots of charity work?
Just curious!
bearded_gnome 2 years, 9 months ago
let the guy retire!
in fact, why is this in the paper?
yes he made some decisions that were unpopular, and some that weren't good for lawrence.
if we love lawrence, why wouldn't we understand his desire to retire here?
besides, since Mangino left town, it's 20% cheaper to hit any buffet in town. great for retirees!
blindrabbit 2 years, 9 months ago
A Connecticut Yankee in King Georgie's town. I was hoping he would take that Eastern style back to the Yukon or UConn.
cheeseburger 2 years, 9 months ago
If they can't write any better 'then' you, that's nothing to brag about either!
4everahawk 2 years, 9 months ago
KAI has a great academic program. Most, if not all, of those staff were hired by Dr. Bob, not Lew. Their offices have been improved upon and there may be more tutors available, but the staff have always worked very diligently with the student athletes and done a remarkable job. Recruiting more students who have more academic potential and the staff that has been there WAY before Lew came to town is the reason for the improved academic scores. Why do you people keep giving him credit for EVERYTHING? He in no way has contributed to the academic improvement.
cheeseburger 2 years, 9 months ago
According to edjayhawk, Lew can do no wrong, and is directly responsible for all successes at KU.
HA!
Lew is responsible for very few successes at KU, and has done nothing but bring shame and discredit upon the university.
Oh to return to the days of honor and integrity - the Dr. Bob days! Maybe it's better Dr. Bob isn't here to see this morass - he clearly would not be pleased.
Did_I_say_that 2 years, 9 months ago
cheeseburger - You may enjoy this pix if you have not yet seen it. http://www2.ljworld.com/weblogs/did_i_say_that/2010/jul/21/lhs-graduation-/#KUA
TopJayhawk 2 years, 9 months ago
Give the man a break.
He did a lot for KU. He made some big mistakes too. Of course he ain't perfect like all the Lawrence intelligencia on here.
Get over yourselves. Glad you are staying Lew.
cheeseburger 2 years, 9 months ago
We'll agree that no one is perfect, but for what he is being paid, he ought to be a heck of a lot closer to perfect than he is! Someone taking his first AD job could be forgiven for making such egregious mistakes, but not someone who has been around the block a few times.
swmrsue 2 years, 8 months ago
See how much KUAC is in debt to the tune of $93,670,643 (line item 26..page 13). KUAC was in debt $60,533,735 the year before. That is quite an increase. This is a pattern that Lew has had in every previous job as an AD. Yes, we have the facilities but are now left in POOR financial conditions. This report is from a year ago. I hate to see where we are now. http://www.kuathletics.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/kan/genrel/auto_pdf/08-form990fiscal0809
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