KU AD Sheahon Zenger receives contract extension through June 2021

By Matt Tait     May 28, 2017

Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby, left, and Kansas athletic director Sheahon Zenger laugh while taking reporters' questions after the first day of the conference's meeting Thursday, Feb. 4, 2016, in Irving, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Kansas athletic director Sheahon Zenger, who took over for Lew Perkins in early 2011, recently received a contract extension through June of 2021 from outgoing chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little.

According to a news release sent out by the KU athletic department on Sunday, the amendment to Zenger’s existing contract, which was signed a couple of weeks ago, will increase Zenger’s base pay from $619,000 to $700,000 annually.

That puts Zenger in the middle of the pack among Big 12 Conference athletic directors. At the time of his last extension, signed in 2013 and termed through 2018, Zenger became the sixth highest paid AD in the Big 12 and the new deal is expected to move him up one spot, thanks mostly to the departure of Kansas State AD John Currie.

“I’m very pleased that I will have the opportunity to continue to represent this great university and work alongside the outstanding coaches and student-athletes we have here at KU,” Zenger said in a news release. “I have really enjoyed sharing in the tremendous accomplishments so many of our teams have achieved over the past several years. Likewise, we are committed to doing everything we can to raise the level of success of every one of our teams.”

The extension proved to be the final collaboration between Zenger and Gray-Little, who last week was replaced by new chancellor Dr. Doug Girod. Girod, the executive vice chancellor of the KU Medical Center, officially will step into his new post on July 1.

“Since Sheahon’s arrival in (January) 2011 Kansas Athletics has enjoyed success on and off the field,” Gray-Little said. “We’ve had a team win a national championship, two teams reach NCAA Final Fours and multiple NCAA Tournament appearances by other sports. We’ve seen some $90 million in construction and renovation, from Rock Chalk Park to Memorial Stadium to the DeBruce Center. And academically, Athletics’ Graduation Success Rate and APR marks put us in excellent standing with the NCAA. I am confident that under Sheahon’s leadership Athletics will experience even more success in the coming years.”

Kansas coach Bill Self also offered appreciation for Zenger’s support of all KU teams throughout his time overseeing Kansas Athletics.

“I’m happy for Sheahon and the department,” Self said. “Sheahon’s focus since he’s been here is to give the coaches what they need to be successful. We’ve got a bunch of teams doing really well, we’ve added great new facilities, and I can see things getting even better in the next few years.”

Zenger, who took over as KU’s leader after a successful stint at Illinois State, has never been shy about expressing the meaning of returning to his home state to take on such an important and highly visible role. It has not been all roses for the Hays native, who already has worked with three football coaches, hiring two and firing two, and overseen large-scale turnover in other areas of the athletic department, as well.

Long days, sleepless nights and heavy scrutiny and times of stress have been as much a part of his time as KU’s AD as the successes — both those mentioned by Gray-Little and dozens of smaller and sometimes more meaningful victories — but Zenger has stayed true to himself and his Kansan morals throughout the process, leading with a measured approach and a smile.

“This is home for me,” he said. “And I truly believe we’re poised for even more success in the near future and I can’t wait to share in that excitement as well.”

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.