Big wins, bowl-eligible seasons, unprecedented interest in the program, and player recognition are just some of the attributes that have signified the Mark Mangino era at Kansas. As Mangino closes out his sixth season as the head coach at Kansas, there is no doubt the Jayhawk football program is much more talented and competitive than before his arrival. In addition to leading his 2007 team to an 11-1 overall mark and a 7-1 ledger in Big 12 Conference play, in six years at KU, Mangino has guided the Crimson and Blue to a trio of bowl contests, including the 2008 BCS Orange Bowl and given the Jayhawk faithful a renewed sense of pride.

Under Mangino, Kansas has been bowl eligible four times in the last five years and with wins against Nebraska, Texas A&M, Colorado, Oklahoma State and Kansas State in 2007, KU has taken a big step forward in striving to become one of the Big 12's elite programs. For his efforts he was named Big 12 Coach of the Year by both the media and his peers and entering the month of December Mangino was a candidate for a number of national coach of the year awards.

This year's 2007 set a number of school records, including most wins in a season, while achieving its highest national ranking in school history, when the Jayhawks reached second in every major poll in November.

This season. Mangino's team has been one of the nation's best statistically, ranking among the nation's elite in scoring offense, total offense, scoring defense and total defense. The well-disciplined Jayhawks top the country in fewest penalties and turnover margin.

The on the field success can be seen off the field as well, especially in interest in the program. In 2007 a new all-time attendance record was set as the Jayhawks drew 46,784 fans per home outing. It is the third-straight season a new attendance record has been set which is just another sign that Mangino has the Kansas program running on all cylinders.

Also with an increased number of victories has come player recognition. In 2007 Kansas has had two players recognized as All-Americans by numerous college football outlets in junior offensive linemen Anthony Collins and junior cornerback Aqib Talib. In addition to their All-America status, Collins was named a finalist for the Outland Trophy honoring the top linemen in the NCAA and Talib was a finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Award given to the nation's top defensive player.

In Mangino's tenure, seven Kansas players have earned All-America recognition while he has produced the school's single-season rushing leader in Jon Cornish, the career receiving leader in Mark Simmons and two of the top passers in school history including sophomore quarterback Todd Reesing and current graduate assistant Bill Whittemore, who ranks sixth in career passing yards despite playing just two seasons. In 2007 the Jayhawks could finish the season with a 3,000-yard passer (Todd Reesing, 3,259 yards), 1,000-yard rusher (Brandon McAnderson, 1050 yards) and a 1,000-yard receiver (Marcus Henry, 994 yards) for the first time in school history.

And while there have been plenty of offensive highlights in his career at Kansas, Mangino's teams have also become known for their defensive stinginess. The Jayhawks have been one of the Big 12's best against the run and that toughness was evident in the 2007 season as KU finished the regular season ranked fifth in the NCAA scoring defense and 14th in total defense.

In 2007, Mangino's squad reeled off 11-straight wins and boasted a No. 2 national ranking in all four of the college football polls before falling to Missouri in the regular season finale. The 11 wins are a school record and the No. 2 national ranking is the highest in program history. A school-record 51,910 fans saw Kansas defeat Nebraska 76-39 in Memorial Stadium. Along the way during their magical season, the Jayhawks set numerous other school records and program firsts.

KU had four players named to the 2007 All-Big 12 First Team in Collins, Talib, senior defensive lineman James McClinton and junior linebacker Joe Mortenson. McClinton was tabbed Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year by the coaches. He recorded 38 tackles, including 11 tackles for loss in 2007. McClinton collected 2.5 sacks and registered an interception in KU's win over Colorado. In addition junior wide receiver/kick returner Marcus Herford was selected by the coaches as Special Teams Player of the Year. Herford led the Big 12 and ranked eighth in the country with a 30.04 kickoff return average. He enters the Orange Bowl as one of 10 players in the NCAA this season with at least two kickoff returns for touchdowns after scoring against Southeastern Louisiana and Baylor.

Reesing, who was in his first year as a starter, threw for a school-record 3,259 yards and a school-record 32 touchdowns, while ranking 12th in the NCAA in passing efficiency. Henry is just six yards shy of becoming the third player in KU history to record 1,000 receiving yards in a season as he has 52 catches for 994 yards and nine touchdowns entering the Orange Bowl. Henry has five 100-yard receiving games in 2007. McAnderson led the Jayhawk rushing attack as he became the 12th player in Kansas history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season as he has 1,050 yards through the regular season. He had five 100-yard games and has averaged 6.0 yards per carry during 2007. All three players were named second team All-Big 12 by the league coaches.

In addition, six Jayhawks earned honorbable mention All-Big 12 honors in junior center Ryan Cantrell, junior linebacker James Holt, junior lineback Mike Rivera, senior offensive tackle Cesar Rodriguez, sophomore safety Darrell Stuckey and senior place kicker Scott Webb.

In 2006, he led the Jayhawks to bowl-eligibility for the second-straight year after the team posted a 6-6 overall record -- the first time since 1994-95 that the team was eligible to participate in a bowl contest in back-to-back years.

Cornish set KU's single-season rushing record and Jayhawk fans flocked to Memorial Stadium in impressive numbers, highlighting Mangino's fifth year at the helm of the Kansas football program. On Nov. 25, Cornish became the school's rushing king after running for 126 yards on 15 carries against Missouri in the final game of the regular-season.

In addition, a then school-record attendance of 51,821 at KU's game vs. Kansas State on Nov. 18 helped the team average 44,137 fans at Memorial Stadium during the 2006 season -- breaking the single-season attendance record for the second-straight year.

Kansas ended the regular-season as one of the hottest teams in the Big 12, claiming victories in three of its final four games of the year, including a 39-20 rout of in-state rival Kansas State. KU's three-game win streak over Colorado, Iowa State and Kansas State marked the first time in school history that the Jayhawks had won three consecutive Big 12 games.

Two KU players, Cornish and Talib earned All-Big 12 First Team honors following the season. Cornish led the Big 12 with 1,457 rushing yards and averaged a school-record 5.8 yards per carry. Talib led the nation in passes defended with an average of 2.80 break-ups per game and tied for the Big 12 lead with six interceptions. During the 2005 season, Mangino led the Jayhawks to their first bowl victory since 1995 as the team defeated Houston 42-13 in the Fort Worth Bowl. By appearing in the 2005 bowl game, Mangino became the only coach in KU history to direct his team to a pair of bowl contests in a three-year span.

Mangino's 2005 squad also posted a perfect 6-0 record at KU's Memorial Stadium - the team's first undefeated/untied season at home since 1951. In fact, KU fans backed Mangino and his team like never before. An average of 43,675 fans showed up per game - then an all-time Memorial Stadium record. He also guided the team to its first win over Nebraska since 1968, snapping a 36-game Cornhusker win streak. In addition, Mangino's club won its third consecutive game against border rival Missouri.

He coached the 2005 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year in senior linebacker Nick Reid, who became the first Kansas player to ever earn the honor. Three of his athletes -- Reid, senior defensive end Charlton Keith and junior all-purpose player Charles Gordon were each named All-Big 12 First-Team following that season. In 2004, Mangino guided a relatively inexperienced club to a 4-7 record, despite a schedule that included six games against opponents that were ranked among the Top 25 during the 2004 season. Only two NCAA teams played more regular-season games against opponents ranked in the Top 25.

For the first time since the 1989 season, Kansas was victorious against both of its biggest rivals -- Missouri and Kansas State. The Jayhawks snapped K-State's 11-game win-streak in the series by defeating the Wildcats 31-28 on Oct. 9 in Lawrence, and later tamed the Tigers 31-14 on Nov. 9 in Columbia, Mo.

Mangino coached his first All-American at Kansas as sophomore cornerback Charles Gordon was named third-team All-America by the Associated Press. After recruiting Gordon to Lawrence as a wide receiver, Mangino made the bold move to switch him to the defensive side of the ball where Gordon tied for the NCAA lead with seven interceptions and broke-up a Big 12-best 15 passes.

It was easy for KU fans to see that Mangino's decision to bolster the defense was a wise move. As a team, the Jayhawks recorded 19 interceptions in 2004, the most since the 1987 club had 23. In addition, eight different Jayhawks had at least one interception, and Gordon's seven picks marked the third-best single-season total in school history and the most by one KU player since 1951.

Furthermore, the revamped secondary allowed the Jayhawk rush defense to surrender an average of just 117.6 yards per game on the ground -- the third-best average in school history and the best since 1961.

In 2003, Mangino led the Jayhawks to their first bowl appearance since 1995 when the team was selected to participate in the Mazda Tangerine Bowl. His 2003 team, which finished the season 6-7 overall, collected more victories than any KU squad since the 1995 Jayhawks ended the year with a 10-2 record. Mangino's exciting brand of offense set 12 different single-season school records including most points (384), most first downs (286), most touchdown passes (25) and most yards gained (5,479). A dynamic recruiter, Mangino has seen two of his signees named Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year during his tenure at KU -- quarterback Bill Whittemore in 2002 and center Joe Vaughn in 2003.

Prior to his arrival in Lawrence, Mangino was one of the primary architects in the rebuilding process at both Oklahoma (1999-01) and Kansas State (1991-98). As assistant head coach and offensive coordinator under Bob Stoops at OU, the Sooner staff took a program that was 5-6 in 1998 and carved out seasons of 7-5 (1999), 13-0 (2000) and 10-2 (2001).

Mangino was the recipient of the 2000 Frank Broyles Award as the top assistant coach in college football in the second of his three seasons as assistant head coach/offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at Oklahoma.

Throughout his career, Mangino has been associated with football programs which have experienced phenomenal success and has been a key ingredient in building that success during that time. He has been in a leadership role with teams that have qualified for bowl games in nine of the last 11 years, including the 2000 season when the Sooners won the Big 12 Conference championship, finished ranked number one nationally and beat Florida State in the Orange Bowl to win the national title.

During its run to the national championship in 2000, Mangino's Sooner offense ranked seventh nationally in scoring (39.0) and 13th in pass offense (294.7). In addition, OU averaged more than 427 yards per game in total offense for the second consecutive season. Under the influence of Mangino as offensive coordinator, the Sooners ranked second in the conference in pass offense at the conclusion of both the 2000 and 2001 seasons.

During his three years on the Sooner staff, the OU offense scored 31 or more points in 26 of 37 games and produced 40 or more points 14 times. The Sooners averaged 34.1 points per game during those three seasons.

At Kansas State, Mangino served as recruiting coordinator, running game coordinator and, in 1998, was appointed assistant head coach. The season prior to his arrival in Manhattan, the Wildcats posted a 5-6 record. Over the next eight seasons, K-State went 71-23-1 with six consecutive nine-plus win seasons and played in six straight bowl games.

Overall, Kansas State and Oklahoma was a combined 101-30-1 and ranked in the top 25 nationally in eight of 11 seasons during Mangino's involvement on the coaching staff.

Prior to his stint at Kansas State, Mangino worked one season as head football coach at Ellwood City (Pa.) High School. He spent three seasons (1987-89) as offensive line coach and as offensive coordinator at Geneva (Pa.) College, where he helped that program to its three best seasons (combined 24-9) in modern school history. The 1987 Geneva squad reached the NAIA national semifinals.

Mangino also coached two seasons (1985-86) at Youngstown State, including one under current Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel and was an assistant coach at his alma mater, New Castle (Pa.) High School for four seasons.

Mangino and his wife, Mary Jane, have a daughter, Samantha, a graduate of the University of Kansas, and a son, Tommy, a senior at Washburn University. Samantha and her husband, David Hardy, reside in Lawrence, with their daughter Gabriella.