College football notebook
David Beaty inherited a football program in disarray when he arrived at Kansas, years of losing having left the Jayhawks short on scholarship players and long on fan apathy.
Not enough has changed over the past three-plus seasons.
So after a loss to Iowa State on Saturday in which the Jayhawks looked unprepared and uninspired, Beaty was let go with three games left in another disappointing season. The school announced the news in a statement Sunday, and athletic director Jeff Long planned a news conference later in the evening.
“After a thorough evaluation of the program, I believe that new leadership is necessary for our football team to move forward and compete at the highest level of the Big 12,” Long said. “I know that Coach Beaty cares deeply about his players, and I respect that. The student-athletes on this team have continued to play hard and I am confident they will do that for the rest of the season.”
Beaty, who is 6-39 with just two Big 12 wins, will coach the remainder of the season beginning with Saturday’s rivalry game at Kansas State. He will paid $3 million in six installments under terms of his contract, which was extended two years through 2021 in late 2016.
Long said he informed Beaty of his decision Sunday, though word began leaking late Saturday that the coach was on his way out. The AD then addressed the football team.
“The search for a new head coach will begin immediately,” Long said.
Beaty arrived at Kansas as a nondescript wide receivers coach from Texas A&M who had stints as the offensive coordinator of the Jayhawks and Rice but had never been a college head coach.
The program he inherited was in shambles following the failed tenure of Turner Gill and the abject failure of Charlie Weis, but with an abundance of energy and positivity he began to slowly improve things.
Some of the Jayhawks’ best players, including freshman running back Pooka Williams, were lured to Lawrence despite the losing, and the roster itself is in much better shape.
But Beaty’s success on the recruiting path didn’t translate into enough wins.
Air Force mascot improving after Army prank: An Air Force falcon injured at West Point during an apparent prank before Saturday’s annual rivalry game between the two service academies is back home and showing signs of improvement.
The 22-year-old bird named Aurora “was able to fly around in her pen” on Sunday, said Air Force Academy spokesperson Lt. Col. Tracy A. Bunko.
The development is “an extremely good sign,” Bunko said, adding that the academy is “grateful for the outpouring of support and optimistic for Aurora’s recovery.”
The falcon will continue to be evaluated and will get antibiotics to prevent infection, Bunko said.
Army officials at West Point apologized Sunday for the injuries to the falcon and promised a full investigation.
“We are taking this situation very seriously, and this occurrence does not reflect the Army or USMA core values of dignity and respect,” the academy said in a statement.
The Gazette of Colorado Springs reported that the falcon was taken from an Army colonel’s home in a prank by West Point cadets, according to an Air Force representative who spoke to the newspaper on the condition of anonymity.
Aurora is the Air Force Academy’s official and oldest mascot. On the school’s falconry page, the bird is described as a white phase gyrfalcon, which is a “falcon species that is extremely rare in the wild and whose beauty will take your breath away.”